caption serviceyears branch commands relations death_date death_place birth_place allegiance awards battles birth_date rank image article_title name
colin gray c. 1942 1939 -- 1961 united kingdom no & nbsp ; 64 squadron . & nbsp ; 81 squadron no . personnel director at unilever 01 august 1995 waikanae , new zealand christchurch , new zealand united kingdom distinguished service order distinguished flying cross & two bars second world war 09 november 1914 group captain colin gray.jpg colin falkland gray
 colin falkland gray
colin falkland gray

group captain colin falkland gray & two bars -lrb- 9 november 1914 -- 1 august 1995 -rrb- was the top new zealand fighter ace of the second world war .
born in 1914 , gray was accepted into the royal air force -lrb- raf -rrb- in 1939 after two previous attempts failed on medical grounds .
he flew with no. 54 squadron during the battles of france and battle of britain , and had shot down 14 aircraft and had a half share in another by september 1940 .
he later added another 13 kills while leading fighter squadrons and wings in the north african and italian campaigns , and finished the war with a confirmed 27 1/2 kills .
after the war he held a number of staff and command positions in the raf before his eventual retirement in 1961 .
he returned to new zealand to work for unilever .
he died in 1995 at the age of 80 .
