Post by Dave Homewood on May 16, 2023 16:40:49 GMT 12
This obituary for wartime RNZAF pilot Max Scannell appeared in The Press on the 2nd of December 1985. He was an interesting chap.
Air Commodore Scannell
The only New Zealand pilot to fly jet fighters in the Korean war, Air Commodore Maxwell Scannell, has died in Christchurch. He was 61.
Air Commodore Scannell was born in Wanganui and educated at Christ’s College. He served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific during World War II and later joined the Royal Air Force.
He was a member of an R.A.F. aerobatic team which visited several countries. In 1949 he was awarded the Air Force Cross, and in 1952 was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery while flyinig for the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea.
Air Commodore Scannell was awarded the O.B.E. in 1965 when he was commanding the R.A.F. station at Gan, in the Maldive Islands. After Gan he served at R.A.F. bases in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later trained young pilots in Britain.
Air Commodore Scannell retired in 1978 after three years as second in command of the British representation at the Central Treaty Organisation headquarters in Ankara.
Air Commodore Scannell
The only New Zealand pilot to fly jet fighters in the Korean war, Air Commodore Maxwell Scannell, has died in Christchurch. He was 61.
Air Commodore Scannell was born in Wanganui and educated at Christ’s College. He served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific during World War II and later joined the Royal Air Force.
He was a member of an R.A.F. aerobatic team which visited several countries. In 1949 he was awarded the Air Force Cross, and in 1952 was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery while flyinig for the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea.
Air Commodore Scannell was awarded the O.B.E. in 1965 when he was commanding the R.A.F. station at Gan, in the Maldive Islands. After Gan he served at R.A.F. bases in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later trained young pilots in Britain.
Air Commodore Scannell retired in 1978 after three years as second in command of the British representation at the Central Treaty Organisation headquarters in Ankara.
