George Beurling--if looks could KILL!

[NickM]

I'm in the process of reading Brian Cull's 'Spitfires over Malta' & I came across a very striking photo of George Beurling, the Canadian Ace; I've heard in the past that he was not the most social fellow but that photo of him! If ever a man had a 'what the hell do YOU want?!' look on his face it was him; very bright & intense looking eyes--one could say 'scary looking'; I just wanted to comment--I don't think I've ever seen a photo quite like it;

NickM

[jednastka]

I've had the same feeling of the man. For more info try:

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-177-...buzz_beurling/

a radio interview with George Beurling. Also try:

http://www.constable.ca/beurling.htm

http://101squadron.com/101real/people/beurling.html

Vic

[Rwrwalker]

There have been several recent books on the man published in Canada, try Googling his name for listings.

The CBC radio link above is interesting, as it perpetuates the myth of "pilot error" in his death in the Norseman crash in Italy. Several eye witness accounts report the aircraft attempting to return to the field with the engine on fire, hard to see how pilot error causes this. At least one of the new books lambasts the shoddy nature of the Italian accident investigation. This could explain the persistant rumour of anti-Israeli sabotage. Would anyone out there have more info on the crash?

[nick de carteret]

Pierre Clostermann recounts in a very telling way in his book 'Flames In The Sky' the occasion he met Beurling and the particular attitute the man carried.

Does not make comfortable reading in terms of Canada's greatest ace but if true, then the way in which Beurling was summarily dealt with by the CO was entirely appropriate.

[Martin Bull]

A good introduction to the Beurling story is Brian Nolan's 'Hero - The Falcon Of Malta' ( Blackwood, 1982 ).

The book is very frank about Beurling's difficult and troubled nature ( similar in many ways to Guy Gibson ). And yes - Beurling was quite a hit with the ladies....

[Graham Boak]

I think that you need to expand on your off-the-cuff comparison of Beurling and Gibson. If I recall correctly, such criticism as there is of Gibson (and I haven't seen much) seem to centre on his attitudes towards subordinates: he is deemed a disciplinarian and a martinet. Hardly the same as the undisciplined Beurling. Both appear to have been self-centred, but that is not an unusual attribute in a successful wartime career.

[Martin Bull]

Sorry Graham - I did not mean to be off-the-cuff or indeed critical. I was referring more to the restless nature and troubled personal life of both men; also the way in which they showed no particular sign of 'greatness' in their peacetime youth and educational record, in fact both were 'outsiders' in their way.

But come the war and they flourished under particular circumstances and became deeply unhappy when 'rested' or removed from the scene of action.

And finally, both made one seemingly unnecessary flight too many.

Not unique, I know, among WWII fighting men but even so, reading the biography mentioned above and Richard Morris' 'Guy Gibson' one does note many similarities.

Can I just stress again that I find both men deeply interesting personalities and have the greatest respect for their wartime record.

[SMF144]

Off-the-cuff remarks? Is the pot calling the kettle black?

I find the remark about George Beurling being self-centred rather uncalled for. On, what basis, Graham? Could you please provide the forum with examples? If this is indeed the case, then why did Beurling spend “his” time with pilots teaching them the art of deflection shooting? Just ask Andy MacKenzie, DFC what he thought of Beurling – you’d be surprised. Without having my reference at hand, I believe Andy’s comment was something along the lines that I didn’t know how to shot down aircraft until Beurling showed me. Over the years I’ve managed to interview several pilots who flew with or knew Beurling and all but a couple of them had nothing but good things to say about Beurling. The ones that didn’t have anything nice to say were obviously jealous of the man because it was quite evident in their answers or the way the talked about him.

The CBC interview conducted with Beurling after the war is quite revealing and it offers a side of the man that, as far as I can tell, has gone unnoticed in the books and articles about the man. When the interviewer, Bob Bowman asked Beurling about reaching officer status, Beurling’s response is very interesting.

Bowman: “How’s it feel to be an officer, seeing that you’re supposed to dislike them?”
Beurling: “Well, that’s not exactly right that I hate officers. The thing is that an officer or AC2 are all the same to me if they are doing a job.”

Obviously, when Beurling acted in an undisciplined manner towards an officer maybe that was his method of showing his displeasure? I realize there are better methods to deal with incompetent people who hold authority but all that Beurling wanted to do was fly, hence his reluctance at becoming an officer. The infamous spat between W/C Hugh Godefroy and Beurling is well known and documented but from those who knew Godefroy, one gets a sense that he was self-centred and had an inflated ego. So, I can see why this all came about. Did Laddie Lucas have any trouble with Beurling? Not that I am aware of.

As far as I can tell George F. Beurling was a professional who understood his occupation and took it very seriously. I guess spending time studying and practicing the art of deflection shooting made him the odd man out because everyone else was either busy in the pubs or nursing a hangover. Then again, maybe that’s why he was so successful in shooting aircraft down while the others couldn’t hit a bull in the arse with a shovel.

Oh yes, Beurling was known on occassion to wear his battle dress void of ribbons. I guess that’s another trait of being self-centred?

Stephen

[Graham Boak]

Martin: I didn't intend to seem critical, I just wanted to know more about your thinking. To me, they seem to have had very different personalities.

Stephen: re pot calling kettle black - I suppose your "others couldn’t hit a bull in the arse with a shovel." counts as a measured response? Consider Beurling's behaviour on return from Malta, his refusal to fit into the operational pattern of squadron life in the UK, his keeping himself to himself, refusing responsibility - does this fit the pattern of an outgoing personality?

[mhuxt]

Dave McIntosh describes a couple of encounters with Beurling in "Terror in the Starboard Seat" - he too make reference to Beurling's eyes.

Oh, in case I've not said it here before, *everyone* should read Terror in the Starboard Seat.