Willie McKnight William Lidstone " Willie " McKnight DFC & Bar of 242 Squadron was the first Canadian ace and that country ' s fifth - highest scoring ace of the Second World War . McKnight joined the RAF in early 1939 and served in No . 242 Squadron RAF during the final phase of the Battle of France , covering the Allied retreat from Brittany , and later the Battle of Britain . McKnight ' s aircraft wore a distinct cartoon of a jackboot kicking Hitler on the port side of the engine cowling . His Hurricane also carried a human skeleton image which held a sickle in its hand under the cockpit , on both sides of the aircraft . McKnight scored 17 victories , as well as two shared and three unconfirmed kills . McKnight was shot down and killed on 12 January 1941 during a fighter sweep over Calais . Early years . William Lidstone " Willie " McKnight was born in Edmonton , Alberta , Canada on 18 November 1918 and grew up in Calgary . He was considered a bit of a character at school and showed a rebellious streak . At Crescent Heights High School , he quarterbacked the football team but was renowned for once crashing his father ’ s car into a neighborliness fence while trying to impress a new girlfriend . In 1939 , after entering the medical school at the University of Alberta , McKnight continued his cockiness but was on the verge of expulsion when a British recruiting mission for the Royal Air Force arrived in Calgary . Seeing a chance for adventure as well as leaving behind a turbulent romance with his girlfriend Marian , he enlisted as a prospective fighter pilot in February 1939 and sailed for England . Second World War . Commissioned in the Royal Air Force and appointed Acting Pilot Officer on Probation , RAF ( 41937 ) , 15 April 1939 , McKnight began training at No . 6 Flying Training School ( FTS ) , Little Rissington , Bourton - on - the - Water , Cheltenham . While in training , he was nearly incorrigible , being confined to his barracks twice ( for a fortnight ) and , along with a classmate , being placed on open arrest as " perpetrators of a riot . " Highjinks soon came to an end when Germany invaded Poland and the recruits in training were hurriedly graduated as fighter pilots . P / O McKnight was posted to No 242 Squadron on 6 May 1940 . The squadron had reformed on 30 October 1939 at RAF Church Fenton and initially had a large number of Canadian personnel on strength . The first aircraft assigned to the squadron were Blenheim MK 1F twin - engine fighters but replacement Hawker Hurricane fighters were sent in January 1940 . After transitioning to the more potent Hurricane , the squadron becoming operational on 24 March 1940 . Battle of France . As part of the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) , P / O McKnight and 242 Squadron began operations over France on 14 May , a detachment being based at French airfields . With the squadron partly stationed in England in reserve , four individual pilots ( with six more following ) were attached to other BEF units . McKnight flew with No . 615 Squadron at Abbeville , France , but the constant retreats necessitated three new relocations in six days . In typical McKnight style , he commandeered a limousine that had been abandoned by a " brass hat " and carried on a romantic encounter with a Parisienne ( whom he eventually tried to smuggle back to England in a transport ) . On 19 May 1940 , McKnight scored his first victory while on an evening patrol over Cambrai . The four patrolling Hurricanes were " bounced " by two groups of Messerschmitt Bf 109 s totalling 19 enemy fighters . Flying as the " tail - end Charlie , " McKnight shouted a warning and wheeled into a steep climbing turn that brought him on the tail of one of the diving Bf 109s , which he shot down , his squadron ' s first kill over France . On 21 May 242 Squadron pilots were withdrawn to Britain essentially to begin a seven days ' leave which was abruptly cut short after 48 hours when was the retreating BEF and allied armies were pushed into Dunkirk . The squadron was rushed to RAF Manston and operated out of French airfields during daylight hours but returning in the evening . As fierce fighting over Dunkirk took place , McKnight claimed a victory over a Bf 109 on 28 May but his Hurricane was hit , and he had to limp home with his oil and coolant systems shot up . Over Dunkirk , in four days , McKnight shot down six enemy aircraft , eventually claiming 10 victories by 7 June 1940 . The constant combat had been telling on McKnight and he was admitted to hospital in July 1940 to recuperate . He had lost in weight and was clearly suffering from sleep deprivation as well as a host of other ailments including stomach problems . While in hospital , he openly fretted over a squadron mate , P / O Stan Turner overhauling him as the top scorer . Battle of Britain . No . 242 Squadron was badly mauled over France , losing 11 pilots and was reassembled at Coltishall with a new commanding officer , Squadron Leader Douglas Bader . In 242 , he saw a squadron that needed to be " whipped back into shape " and he proceeded to establish his brand , selecting new flight commanders , requisitioning new equipment and eventually winning the approval of every squadron member , especially " Willie " McKnight . Bader saw his top ace as a surrogate son and chose him as a wingman . By mid - July , 242 was declared operational again and joined No . 12 Group , Fighter Command . Throughout July and August although the Battle of Britain had raged over England , the industrial Midlands which the squadron patrolled did not receive heavy attacks . On 30 August 1940 , the squadron relocated to RAF Duxford and was involved in action when a large formation of He 111s with Bf 109 and Bf 110 escorts was intercepted on a raid against RAF North Weald . Bader scored two victories while his " wingman " claimed two enemy Bf 110s and a He 111 . On 9 September , McKnight scored twice when enemy raiders were intercepted by a group of three squadrons that were coordinated into a single unit by Bader as part of his " Big Wing " plan . While trying to split the escorting fighters from the bombers , McKnight ' s Hurricane ( bearing his irreverent individual marking of a death ' s head skull and skeleton with a sickle ) was hit and one aileron was shot away . He barely made it back to his home base . Another two kills took place on 18 September when McKnight brought down a Dornier Do 17 and shared in the destruction of a Junkers Ju 88 . His final victory was over the Thames Estuary on 5 November 1940 , McKnight disabled a Bf 109 , pulling close and motioning for the enemy fighter pilot to lower his undercarriage in a sign of defeat . Instead the pilot ( Fw Scheidt of Jagdgeschwader 26 ) bailed out over the Thames . Promoted to Flying Officer , McKnight was awarded the DFC on 30 August 1940 and a Bar in September 1940 . Death . No . 242 Squadron was relocated to Coltishall in November 1940 , followed by a further move to Martlesham Heath in December . On 12 January 1941 , the squadron began a series of offensive sorties against targets in France , first acting as escorts for Blenheim bombers then beginning on 12 January , the first of the " Rhubarbs , " low - level intruder attacks on targets of opportunity . While strafing an E - boat in the English Channel , P / O M . K . Brown accompanying McKnight , broke off as the duo were under fire from anti - aircraft fire from the French coast just as a Bf 109 attacked . Brown made it back home but McKnight was listed as " missing . " Recent research suggests McKnight fell to Fw . Brugelmann of Jagdgeschwader 26 ( three kills ) . Bader was distraught at the loss of McKnight and vowed revenge , but 242 ' s " top gun " was never found . Fellow Canadian ace Pilot Officer John B . Latta ( seven kills and one shared ) was also killed on this day . Before his death in January 1941 he had 17 kills , two shared and three unconfirmed credited to his score . Following is a list of victories ; Flying Officer McKnight has no known grave ; his name is inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial , Englefield Green , Egham , Surrey , United Kingdom . Calgary ' s McKnight Boulevard is named after him . References . http : / / www . acesofww2 . com / Canada / aces / McKnight . htm