Keith Truscott
Encyclopedia
Keith William "Bluey" Truscott DFC
& Bar
(17 May 1916 – 28 March 1943) was a World War II
ace fighter pilot
and Australian rules football
er with the Melbourne Football Club
. He was the second highest Australian World War II ace credited with 20 confirmed victories and .5 unconfirmed victories.
Born in Prahran, Victoria
the son of William Truscott and Maude Truscott (née Powell). Truscott attended Melbourne High School
, where he captained the First XI for the school in cricket.
He mentored the young Keith Miller
, who entered the First XI at the age of 14 and went on to be regarded as Australia's finest all round cricketer. After completing his scholling he worked as a school teacher and clerk.
Truscott played 44 games (and kicked 31 goals) of VFL
football as a half-forward flanker from 1937-1940 including Melbourne's 1939 and 1940 premierships.
in July 1940, a move that attracted much publicity. He almost failed pilot training; among other problems it was ascertained that he had a poor ability to judge heights. In the words of the Australian Dictionary of Biography
: "[Truscott] never fully came to terms with landing and persistently levelled out about 20 ft (6 m) too high." This problem would come to have a grim significance.
Truscott completed flight training in Canada
and joined No. 452 Squadron RAAF
, flying Spitfires
in England
on 5 May 1941. He destroyed at least 16 Luftwaffe
aircraft, was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
, and was made flight commander. Truscott was later made acting Squadron Leader
.
In 1942, he was then posted back to Australia
with 76 Squadron
, flying Kittyhawks. By this stage Truscott was, along with Clive Caldwell
, one of the most famous RAAF
pilots.
Truscott's squadron was posted to Milne Bay
, Papua
and played a significant role in the Battle of Milne Bay
where he was mentioned in dispatches for his actions.
It was later transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory
for a time, then Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia
. Truscott was killed in an accident in Exmouth Gulf on 28 March 1943. His Kittyhawk hit the sea at high speed, after he made a mock diving attack against a low-flying Catalina
. The surface of the sea was unusually smooth that day, and it is believed that Truscott misjudged its proximity. His body was recovered and he was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery
, Perth
.
as Truscott Airfield
.
The Melbourne Football Club's award for the Best and Fairest
player is named in his honour, the "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy
.
At Melbourne High School (Vic, Australia), a scholarship is awarded in his name to a student displaying all-round achievement in academic, sporting and extra-curricular activities. For reasons unknown it was discontinued, apparently in 1948. In 1994 Old Boy – Dr John Miller AO, winner of the 1946/47 Bluey Truscott Scholarship, Principal Ray Willis and the MHSOBA re-established the Bluey Truscott Scholarship. Dr John Miller provided the Bluey Truscott bronze plaque (hanging in the school foyer) and the "John Miller Distinguished Achievement Medal" to be awarded to all subsequent MHSOBA Bluey Truscott winners.
Truscott Street in North Ryde, Truscott Avenue in Matraville, Sydney and Truscott Street in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory
are also named in his honour.
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(17 May 1916 – 28 March 1943) was a 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...
ace fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er with the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
. He was the second highest Australian World War II ace credited with 20 confirmed victories and .5 unconfirmed victories.
Early life and sporting career
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
the son of William Truscott and Maude Truscott (née Powell). Truscott attended Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a selective entry state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation...
, where he captained the First XI for the school in cricket.
He mentored the young Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, who entered the First XI at the age of 14 and went on to be regarded as Australia's finest all round cricketer. After completing his scholling he worked as a school teacher and clerk.
Truscott played 44 games (and kicked 31 goals) of VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
football as a half-forward flanker from 1937-1940 including Melbourne's 1939 and 1940 premierships.
War service
Truscott joined the Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
in July 1940, a move that attracted much publicity. He almost failed pilot training; among other problems it was ascertained that he had a poor ability to judge heights. In the words of the Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
: "[Truscott] never fully came to terms with landing and persistently levelled out about 20 ft (6 m) too high." This problem would come to have a grim significance.
Truscott completed flight training in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and joined No. 452 Squadron RAAF
No. 452 Squadron RAAF
No. 452 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force air traffic control unit. It was originally formed in 1941 fighter unit formed in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme during World War II, in England. The squadron flew Supermarine Spitfires for the entire war, initially over...
, flying Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 5 May 1941. He destroyed at least 16 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....
aircraft, was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, and was made flight commander. Truscott was later made acting Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with 76 Squadron
No. 76 Squadron RAAF
No. 76 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force flight training squadron. Established in 1942, the squadron operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aircraft and saw combat during World War II. Following the war it formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan until it was...
, flying Kittyhawks. By this stage Truscott was, along with Clive Caldwell
Clive Caldwell
Group Captain Clive Robertson Caldwell DSO, DFC & Bar was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged...
, one of the most famous RAAF
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
pilots.
Truscott's squadron was posted to Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
and played a significant role in the Battle of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
where he was mentioned in dispatches for his actions.
It was later transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
for a time, then Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia
Exmouth, Western Australia
-Further reading:* Western Australia. Ministry for Planning. Exmouth-Learmonth structure plan. Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Planning Commission...
. Truscott was killed in an accident in Exmouth Gulf on 28 March 1943. His Kittyhawk hit the sea at high speed, after he made a mock diving attack against a low-flying Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
. The surface of the sea was unusually smooth that day, and it is believed that Truscott misjudged its proximity. His body was recovered and he was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery
Karrakatta Cemetery
Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, with Robert Creighton. Currently managed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, the cemetery attracts more than one million visitors each...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Memorials
The RAAF later named a base on the northern coast of the Kimberley regionKimberley region of Western Australia
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...
as Truscott Airfield
Mungalalu Truscott Airbase
Mungalalu Truscott Airbase, which during World War II was known as Truscott Airfield is today a commercial air field in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia. The airbase falls under the traditional ownership of the Wunambal Gaambera people...
.
The Melbourne Football Club's award for the Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
player is named in his honour, the "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy
Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal
The Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Melbourne Football Club player judged Best and Fairest for the season.It is named in honor of Keith 'Bluey' Truscott, a former dual premiership player and World War II fighter ace killed in 1943....
.
At Melbourne High School (Vic, Australia), a scholarship is awarded in his name to a student displaying all-round achievement in academic, sporting and extra-curricular activities. For reasons unknown it was discontinued, apparently in 1948. In 1994 Old Boy – Dr John Miller AO, winner of the 1946/47 Bluey Truscott Scholarship, Principal Ray Willis and the MHSOBA re-established the Bluey Truscott Scholarship. Dr John Miller provided the Bluey Truscott bronze plaque (hanging in the school foyer) and the "John Miller Distinguished Achievement Medal" to be awarded to all subsequent MHSOBA Bluey Truscott winners.
Truscott Street in North Ryde, Truscott Avenue in Matraville, Sydney and Truscott Street in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory
Campbell, Australian Capital Territory
Campbell is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Covering an area to the South East of the central business district, Campbell sits at the base of Mount Ainslie. On Census night 2006, Campbell had a population of 4,797 people...
are also named in his honour.
Honours and awards
- Distinguished Flying CrossDistinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
and Bar (DFC*) - awarded 17 October 1941 and 27 March 1942 - 1939-1945 Star
- Air Crew Europe StarAir Crew Europe StarThe Air Crew Europe Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II. Specifically, the medal was awarded to Commonwealth aircrew who participated in operational flights over Europe, from UK bases....
- Pacific StarPacific StarThe Pacific Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II. It was also awarded to certain foreign servicemen, such as Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz of the United States.-Entitlement:...
- Defence Medal
- War Medal 1939–1945War Medal 1939–1945The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...
(With Oakleaf, Mention in Despatches published in London Gazette 26 March 1943) - Australia Service Medal 1939-45Australia Service Medal 1939-45The Australia Service Medal 1939-45 recognises service by Australia's armed forces, Mercantile Marine and Volunteer Defence Corps during World War II....
- Mentioned in Despatches
See also
- List of World War II aces from Australia
- VFL/AFL players who died in active serviceVFL/AFL players who died in active serviceSince the inception of the Victorian Football League in 1897, many of its players have served in the armed services, including the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War , and the Vietnam War .A number of the VFL players who served also lost their lives in active...
External links
- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Keith William Truscott DFC & BAR (400213)
- AFL Statistics: Keith Truscott
- Stephens, "Truscott, Keith William (Bluey) (1916 - 1943)", Australian Dictionary of Biography
- Bio at Australian War Memorial
- Details of his aircraft
- National Archives of Australia Casualty report file
- National Archives of Australia Service Record - Keith William Truscott, Service Number 400213