Ioannis Kellas was a Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 aviator and Hellenic Air Force

Hellenic Air Force

The Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...

 officer during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Career

Kellas was born in Trikala

Trikala

Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala peripheral unit, and is located NW of Athens, NW, of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and graduated the Greek Military Academy in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. In the following Greek-Italian War (October 28, 1940 to April 7, 1941), he was positioned as commander of the 21st Pursuit Squadron, initially based on the airfield of Thessaloniki, but then moved to Vasiliki, near Kalabaka, central Greece.

At the outbreak of the war his squadron comprised 12 PZL P.24

PZL P.24

|-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Axworthy, Mark. Third Axis, Fourth Ally. London: Arms and Armour, 1995. ISBN 1-85409-267-7.* Bernád, Dénes. Rumanian Air Force: The Prime Decade 1938-1947. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc, 1999. ISBN 0-89747-402-3.* Cynk, Jerzy B. Polish...

 fighters. Kellas got involved in several dogfights with the Italian Regia Aeronautica

Regia Aeronautica

The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...

aircraft. At November 20, he had his first success by hitting a bomber over lake Prespa

Prespa

Prespa is a region in Republic of Macedonia. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen with 9,000 inhabitants....

. During December 1940, while Italian pressure was continuous, the 21st Pursuit Squadron was equipped with Gloster Gladiator

Gloster Gladiator

The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...

 aircraft from the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. In February 1941, during a patrol mission over the Permet-Kelcyre sector, southern Albania, Kellas shot down two enemy fighters.

At April 15, during the German invasion

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, Kellas was hit by a Messerschmitt Bf 109

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

 of the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

and made an emergency landing. He managed to escape to North Africa where he served as commander of the 335th Greek Squadron. In one occasion on October 28, 1942, 12 Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

s of the 335th squadron under Kellas performed a strafing

Strafing

Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...

 attack on the Italian XX Corps

Italian XX Motorised Corps

The Italian XX Motorised Corps was an armoured formation of the Italian army. The Corps took part in the Western Desert Campaign in World War II from summer 1941 to 1943...

 headquarters, an operation that was a huge morale booster for the expatriate Greeks during the Second Battle of El Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...

.

After the war Kellas followed a short career with Civil Aviation as a pilot of Olympic Airways.