Alan Charles Rawlinson, OBE, DFC & Bar, AFC (31 July 1918 – 27 August 2007) was an Australian airman who became a fighter ace in World War II.

Twice credited with shooting down three enemy aircraft in a single sortie, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in October 1941 and took command of No.

Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in June 1958, he commanded RAF Buchan in 1960–61 before retiring from the military to live in South Australia.

[2][4] Before leaving high school with his Intermediate Certificate, he joined the East Melbourne Harriers' Club, becoming its 1935–36 season champion.

[4][5] Rawlinson was living in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe and had been working as a clerk for two-and-a-half years when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 19 July 1938.

1 Flying Training School, Point Cook, and was granted a short-service commission as a pilot officer on probation from 22 June 1939.

3 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, which operated Hawker Demon biplane fighters out of RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales.

Flying a Gladiator, he was one of three pilots escorting Flight Lieutenant Blake Pelly on a reconnaissance mission when they were engaged by eighteen Italian Fiat CR.42 biplanes near Rabia in western Egypt.

[18] According to his biographer Lex McAulay, Rawlinson believed he destroyed a CR.42 in a head-on attack but did not see it crash, so his claim was downgraded to "damaged".

[22][23] On 22 January 1941, Rawlinson and Flying Officer Wilfred Arthur were despatched in Gladiators to attack an Italian schooner off Tobruk; they machine-gunned the vessel, setting it on fire.

[24][25] Three days later, Rawlinson claimed two Fiat G.50 fighters damaged after five of the Italian monoplanes attacked five Gladiators patrolling near Mechili.

[31][32] The same day, Rawlinson was credited with shooting down three German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers, and damaging another, during a single sortie in his Hurricane.

On 28 June, he was leading a patrol of nine Tomahawks near Palmyra that came upon six French Martin 167 bombers, and shot down all six; Rawlinson was credited with three victories, raising his total to six.

[37] On 22 August, Rawlinson was practising aerobatics in Sweet FA when the right tailplane detached, damaging the tailfin in the process; he could only control the aircraft by flying at 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) but was able to bring it in for a landing, without flaps, at the higher-than-normal speed.

[39] On 10 October, Rawlinson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for leading his flight with "determination and daring, pressing home attacks at close range"; the citation noted his six confirmed aerial victories in 121 sorties.

[43][44] German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters shot down three Tomahawks for the loss of two of their own in the first action, Rawlinson claiming a 109 damaged.

In the second action, a drawn-out battle for air superiority, the squadron lost six Tomahawks against three 109s destroyed, one of which was claimed by Rawlinson along with one probable and two damaged.

After the war it was established that Rawlinson's bullets had damaged the 109 and wounded its pilot, Ernst Düllberg, who made a forced landing back at base.

[51][52] Arriving in Melbourne on 28 March 1942, Rawlinson was re-raised to temporary squadron leader on 1 April and took charge of the newly formed No.

[55] Rawlinson and Jeffrey had been dissatisfied with the flying standards of replacement pilots in the Middle East, and all the veterans were eager to get trainees "operational" before they posted to frontline units.

[57] Rawlinson married Thora Doreen Buckland, a Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force officer, on 3 April 1943.

[63] After a quiet spell at Goodenough, in August the squadron moved to Kiriwina, the closest Allied airfield to the major Japanese base at Rabaul.

This promised enemy raids but none occurred during the first weeks of the squadron's deployment, and the pilots saw no combat while patrolling in support of USAAF attacks on Rabaul; Rawlinson commented that it was "a disappointment to us.

[67] After a brief posting as Director of Air Staff Policy at RAAF Headquarters, Rawlinson succeeded Wilf Arthur as commander of No.

[72][73] In June and July, the wing took part in the assaults on Labuan and Balikpapan, undertaking convoy escort in the former and, joined by Spitfires of No.

[82][83] Recalling training for Cold War operations, he said: "The introduction of jet fighters meant, roughly, that speeds were doubled and endurances halved.

[81] On 26 May 1951, Rawlinson led the Odiham Wing and three formations of Gloster Meteors in a flypast over Hyde Park, London, to mark the presentation of the King's Colour to the RAF.

[84][85] Rawlinson's next command posting was RAF Filton in Bristol, where he controlled a Vampire wing consisting of two Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons, No.

[18][86] In late 1953 he became the inaugural commanding officer of the RAF Guided Weapons Trials Unit, responsible for testing beam-riding missiles for the Meteor NF.11; his duties took him from Wales to Woomera in South Australia, where he flew test aircraft in attacks against target drones including unmanned Fairey Fireflies and the GAF Jindivik.

[89] On 22 February 1960, he was raised to acting group captain and placed in charge of RAF Buchan, a Fighter Command sector station in Scotland.