Alan Francis Eckford DFC (6 February 1919 – 6 December 1990) was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.

He went to King Edward VI Grammar School in Birmingham before going on to Loughborough College on an engineering scholarship.

Eckford joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in November 1938 on a short service commission.

[4] When the RAF component in France was withdrawn a few days later, the squadron returned to Biggin Hill and was engaged in patrolling over Kent until the end of the month.

On 8 June, it was sent to Châteaudun in France to provide cover for the British forces retreating to the Atlantic coast.

[2] By this time, the Battle of Britain was well underway, and Eckford and the other pilots of the squadron flew several sorties daily to intercept incoming Luftwaffe bomber raids.

On 18 August, what is now known as The Hardest Day, he destroyed a Junkers Ju 88 and a Dornier Do 17, both bombers and the latter attacking the airfield at Kenley, on separate sorties.

Regular patrolling continued into October, including one at night over London, and he shot down a Bf 109 over Kent on the last day of the month.

253 Squadron was briefly rested at the end of November but was brought back into service in early December, mainly on patrols with many being uneventful.

The citation, published in The London Gazette, read: This officer has displayed great keenness in his attacks against the enemy both in France and in England.

His new unit operated Supermarine Spitfire fighters from Hornchurch on sweeps over France as part of the RAF's Circus offensive.

[12] This unit, another Spitfire squadron, was part of the Hornchurch fighter wing and at the time of Eckford's posting was engaged in sweeps to France and convoy patrols over shipping in the Thames Estuary.

[13] It participated in the Dieppe Raid as cover for the landings of 19 August, during which Eckford engaged and damaged two German aircraft, a Dornier Do 217 bomber and a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter.

On 27 August, while carrying out a search for a pilot downed in the English Channel, he encountered and probably destroyed a Fw 190 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Dover.

From there it provided aerial support for the ground troops engaged in Operation Torch and also protected the shipping in Algiers harbour.

[13] On 12 November, Eckford combined with Group Captain Petrus Hugo to shoot down a Ju 88 in the area over Djidjelli.

[4][14] By early 1943, Eckford had recovered from his wounds and returned to operations, which by that time mainly involved patrols over Allied shipping in the area.

Once the North African campaign concluded in May, the squadron was moved to Malta to prepare for the forthcoming Allied invasion of Sicily.

[4] Little is known of Eckford's civilian life after his military service but in August 1978, he did meet one of the aircrew of the Do 17 he shot down on The Hardest Day, 38 years previously.