Cornelius James Sheddan, DFC (3 March 1918 – 9 December 2010) was a flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War.

At the time he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), in April 1941, he gave his occupation as a tractor driver.

[1][2] After completion of his flight training, Sheddan was posted to the United Kingdom to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

[3] Sheddan was prone to ill-discipline and excessive drinking and he was only present for a short period of time at the squadron before he ran afoul of its commander.

[3] At the time it was engaged in attacks on German shipping, raids on Luftwaffe airfields in France, night-fighting duties, and spotting for air-sea rescue missions.

[4] Forced to ditch his Typhoon in the North Sea off the coast of France, he received a number of facial injuries as a result.

[6] After spending 19 hours in an inflatable dinghy, he was picked up by a Supermarine Walrus seaplane which had spotted him drifting off the French coast.

Sheddan and one of the Walrus's crew had to go onto the starboard wing to act as a counterweight to compensate for the missing float as the aircraft began to taxi along the sea's surface towards England.

486 Squadron began converting to the Hawker Tempest fighter and started flying operations to France in preparation for the forthcoming landings at Normandy.

As the Tempest was the fastest RAF fighter then in service, when the Germans began launching V-1 flying bombs at the United Kingdom in June 1944, No.

[3][12] He shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 217 medium bomber with two other pilots, as it was attempting to land at the Luftwaffe base at Paderborn on 2 February.

[3][13] The squadron flew in support of the crossing of the Rhine on 23 March, dealing with anti-aircraft guns that were firing upon the Allied gliders involved in the operation.

On another sortie later in the day, he led two flights in strafing an airfield near Parchim; he shared in the destruction of three Junkers Ju 88 bombers that he and his wingman caught on the ground.

[3][Note 1] In June 1945, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; the citation published in The London Gazette read: This officer has displayed the highest standard of devotion to duty.

He has participated in a very large number of varied sorties during which much damage has been inflicted on such enemy targets as locomotives, barges, industrial buildings and mechanical transport.

486 Squadron, with Sheddan still in command, was transferred to Copenhagen in Denmark, remaining there until July when it went back to Germany, stationed at Lübeck as part of the British Occupation Force.