Tony Gaze Frederick Anthony Owen " Tony " Gaze DFC & Two Bars , OAM ( 3 February 1920 – 29 July 2013 ) was a decorated Australian World War II flying ace credited with 12 . 5 confirmed victories ( 11 and 3 shared ) , and a racing driver . Early life . He was born in Melbourne on 20 February 1920 , the son of Irvine Gaze , a member of the Ross Sea Party who were preparing for Ernest Shackleton ' s expedition . He was educated at Geelong Grammar School , and when war was declared in September 1939 he was a student at Queens ’ College , Cambridge . Military service . First success . He joined the RAF in 1940 , and on completion of training and with 122 hours flying time recorded was posted to No . 610 Squadron RAF at RAF Westhampnett in March 1941 , flying cross - channel fighter sweeps . Gaze ' s first ' kill ' came on June 26 when he downed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 . The next month he claimed two further victories , one half and two probables . For these victories he was awarded the first of three DFC s . His brother , Pilot Officer Scott Gaze had joined No . 610 Squadron RAF with him in early 1941 , but was killed in action on 23 March 1941 . In November 1941 Gaze was posted to No . 57 OTU as an instructor . He started his second tour in June 1942 , with No . 616 Squadron RAF , flying the high altitude Spitfire Mk . IV . During the ill - fated Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942 , he received his second DFC after destroying an enemy fighter . In late August 1942 he was posted to command No . 64 Squadron RAF flying the new Spitfire IX . Demotion and escape after being shot down . On 26 September 1942 Gaze led a wing of Spitfires in support of a bombing raid Morlaix . An Eagle Squadron , No . 131 Squadron RAF , became scattered in high winds and lost 11 of 12 fighters . Gaze was made the scapegoat for the mission failure and was transferred back to No . 616 Squadron as a flight commander . It was later determined that the cause of the high losses on that mission were down to pilot inexperience and unexpected adverse weather . After a rest from operations in early 1943 , he again was posted to an operational Squadron in August 1943 , to No . 66 Squadron RAF at RAF Kenley . On 4 September 1943 over Le Tréport after downing a Focke Wulf 190 Gaze ' s own Spitfire V was shot down by Heinz - Gerhard Vogt of II . / JG 26 ( his 14th claim of an eventual 48 ) . Gaze crash landed 20 miles from Dieppe with slight injuries , evading capture and making his way , with help from the French Resistance , to neutral Spain . Back to Britain . In February 1944 he joined the Air Fighting Development Unit ( ADFU ) at Wittering , rejoining No . 610 Squadron on the continent in July 1944 . He claimed a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet shot down near Emmrich on Rhine on 14 February 1945 ( a Me 262A - 2 of I . / KG 51 flown by Rudolf Hoffmann ) ( the first Australian to achieve this feat ) and shared an Arado Ar 234 jet bomber on 12 April 1945 . The Me 262 victory resulted in Gaze being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the third time ; one of only 47 men in the Second World War . After a month with No . 41 Squadron RAF in April , on 1 May 1945 he was posted to command No . 616 squadron , becoming the first Australian to fly the Gloster Meteor in combat during the closing stages of the war . During the war he had also flown with some of the most famous names including Wing Commander Douglas Bader , top Allied ace Johnnie Johnson ( 38 victories ) as part of the RAF ' s Tangmere Wing and Paul Tibbets , pilot of the ' Enola Gay ' , B29 Bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima . List of air victories . Gaze ended the war as Australia ' s tenth ranking highest ace , claiming 12 . 5 confirmed destroyed ( 11 and 3 shared ( note : below list includes the destruction of a V1 ) ) , 4 probables , and 5 damaged in 488 combat missions , all while flying the Spitfire . Motor racing . After the war Gaze became the first Australian to contest a World Championship motor race when he competed in the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix . His racing career saw him competing in Europe , Australia , New Zealand and South Africa in open wheelers and sports cars . Early in 1955 Tony helped to established Australia ’ s first all Australian overseas racing team called ‘ The Kangaroo Stable ’ that included racing drivers such as Jack Brabham , Tom Sulman , David McKay , Les Cosh and Dick Cobden but after the tragic 1955 Le Mans race many events in Europe were cancelled leading to the Stable disbanding later that year . He also helped establish the Goodwood motor racing circuit in 1948 by suggesting it as a potential replacement for Brooklands to the then Duke of Richmond . Today the Goodwood circuit is again a premier track as it stages the annual ' Festival of Speed ' and ' Goodwood Revival ' meetings . Later he helped with the development of Australian motorsport and represented Australia in the 1960 World Gliding Championships in Germany . Gaze was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2006 New Year ' s Honours List for ' service to the sport of motor racing ' . He participated in four World Championship Grands Prix driving his HWM , debuting on 22 June 1952 . He also participated in numerous non - Championship Formula 2 races across Europe as well as competing in the Australian and New Zealand Grands Prix in the early 1950s . Personal life . Tony Gaze was married twice ; to Kay Wakefield who died in 1976 and to fellow racing car driver Diana Davison who died in 2012 . Davison was the widow of Lex Davison . Gaze was also step - grandfather to the third generation of Davison racing drivers , Alex , Will and James . Medals and awards . < br >