Death of last RAAF ‘Ace’
Ron Cundy DFC DCM
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Australian Ace, Ron Cundy DFC DCM.
(VIA AUTHOR)Flt Lt Archie McInnes 1919 -
Flt Lt McInnes pictured during his RAF
service. (COURTESY OF THE MCINNES
FAMILY COLLECTION)AUSTRALIA’S LAST fighter ace,
Ron Cundy, has died aged 97,
Andrew Thomas reports.
Born in 1922 as William
Ronald Cundy, the DFC and
DFM decorated pilot, who was
also Mentioned in Despatches,
operated in the Western Desert
and then over Darwin in the
defence of Australia. Cundy grew
up at Moonan Flat, 37 miles
northeast of Scone, New South
Wales. According to the Spitfire
Association, Cundy watched an
aircraft land on the flats when
he was just six and strived to
become a pilot from then. At
the age of 18, he “attempted to
persuade his parents [that he
should] join the RAAF.
"It was only after some months
they accepted, and he was then
allowed to enlist on October 19,
1940 as an aircrew trainee under
the Empire Air Training Scheme”,
the association’s website states.
He trained on Tiger Moths at
Narrandera, NSW, and went to
Canada to train on Harvards.
There he was ‘awarded his wings’and became a sergeant pilot
before being sent to England for
operational training on Hurricanes.
He was first posted to No.
Squadron, stationed at Honiley,
near Coventry.
In the Western Desert, he flew
with 260 Squadron RAF, flying
Hurricanes and then the P-40.
At the same time, his father, a
Gallipoli veteran, had re-enlisted
and was serving in the desert
as a captain in the 9th Infantry
Division. In 1943, Cundy earned
the DFC and the DFM for gallantry
when flying fighter-bomber sorties
over Tobruk. His DFM citation
reads: “In the course of numerous
operational sorties over enemy
territory, Flt Lt Cundy has shown
fine qualities of leadership,
keenness and determination.”
He then served with 452
Squadron RAAF and, from 1943,
participated in the defence of
Darwin. The squadron operated
Spitfires for the entire conflict,
first over Britain and then
transferring to Australia to help
defend the nation’s northerntowns from vicious Japanese air
attacks. As the Allies pushed
back the Japanese, the squadron
also sortied over the Dutch East
Indies.
By the end of the war, Ron
Cundy was credited with five-and-a-
half aircraft shot down, qualifying
him as an ace. In addition to
Spitfires, Hurricanes, and P-40s
(Tomahawks and Kittyhawks), he
also piloted captured German
aircraft, including a Bf 109 and
He 111s.
He met Gwen Walsh, from
Coogee, NSW, in early 1942 and
they married in September 1944.
They had three children, Pam,
Diane and Karen. After the war, he
worked at the Register General’s
Department and eventually as
State Electoral Commissioner
for New South Wales, retiring in- He was a member of both
the Spitfire Association and the
sub-branch of the returned sailor,
soldier and airmen’s organisation
Cronulla RSL.
A long-time resident of Cronulla,
Ron Cundy was recently living in
care at Wesley Village, Sylvania.
He died on July 22, three months
after his wife on April 21. The pair
are survived by their daughters,
nine grandchildren and 16 great-
grandchildren. ∎WE ARE sad to report one of
the last six of Churchill’s gallant
‘Few’ who faced the might of
the Luftwaffe during the Battle
of Britain has died, writes Melody
Foreman. Flight Lieutenant Archie
McInnes of 238 Squadron had
been celebrating his 100th
birthday with family and friends
just hours before his death on
July 31.
His memoir Against Adversity,
compiled by his friend Jonny
Cracknell, was published in June
this year and led to Hurricane
pilot hero Archie being invited
as guest of honour at several
vintage aviation events and
as a VIP at former RAF Fighter
Command headquarters –
now Bentley Priory Museum.
Having joined the RAFVR in
1938 he completed his trainingon August 30, 1940 and was
posted to 601 Squadron. Then
by October 8 he had joined 238
Squadron based at Chilbolton in
Hampshire. His encounters with
the Luftwaffe during the following
months were numerous and he
recalled the times bullets from
Bf 109s would often crack past
him during dangerous patrol
duties of the southern skies.
In 1941 the young pilot was
aboard the aircraft carrier HMS
Victorious during the hunt for
the Bismarck and he also flew a
Hurricane from the carrier’s deck
on a delivery flight to Egypt.
He flew many missions in the
skies of North Africa but in
November was shot down by
a Bf 109 and suffered serious
injuries resulting in the loss of
his left arm.It was Archie’s determination
and noble spirit that made him
determined to fly Hurricanes
in the RAF again and after
recovering he joined 691
Squadron at Roborough, Devon.
He later flew target tugs at
Tangmere, West Sussex, and
West Raynham, Norfolk. After
he was released from the
RAF in 1946 Archie and his
wife Helen settled in
Cambridgeshire where he
worked for a local company.
ACM Mike Wigston CBE, the
Chief of the Air Staff, said:
“Flt Lt Archie McInnes was
part of an extraordinary band
of selfless aviators to whom
we owe the freedom we enjoy
today. The bravery and sacrifice
of Archie should never be
forgotten.” ∎7 NEWS BAW SEPT2019.indd 7 8/15/2019 9:36:59 AM