Dick Cresswell
Richard (Dick) Cresswell, DFC (27 July 1920 – 12 December 2006) was an officer and pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He held command of No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron twice during World War II, and again during the Korean War. In this capacity, he was credited with being the first RAAF pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft at night over Australian soil, the only man to serve as commanding officer of an RAAF squadron on three occasions during wartime, and the first officer to lead a jet-equipped Australian squadron in combat. His performance in Korea earned him both the Commonwealth and the US Distinguished Flying Crosses.
primaryTopic
Dick Cresswell
Richard (Dick) Cresswell, DFC (27 July 1920 – 12 December 2006) was an officer and pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He held command of No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron twice during World War II, and again during the Korean War. In this capacity, he was credited with being the first RAAF pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft at night over Australian soil, the only man to serve as commanding officer of an RAAF squadron on three occasions during wartime, and the first officer to lead a jet-equipped Australian squadron in combat. His performance in Korea earned him both the Commonwealth and the US Distinguished Flying Crosses.
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Richard (Dick) Cresswell, DFC ...... ecember 2006, aged eighty-six.
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allegiance
battle
birth date
death date
2006-12-12
military branch
military command
No. 2 Operational Training Unit(1953–56)
No. 21 Squadron(1950)
No. 77 Squadron(1942–43, 1944, 1950–51)
No. 78 Wing(1947–48)
military unit
service start year
Link from a Wikipage to an external page
Wikipage page ID
51,547,473
Wikipage revision ID
742,881,258
Alt
Informal head-and-shoulders portrait of grinning man with moustache
birth date
1920-07-27
birth place
Launceston, Tasmania
Caption
, Darwin, December 1942
No. 77 Squadron
Squadron Leader Cresswell as commanding officer of
death date
2006-12-12
death place
laterwork
Commercial pilot, salesman
subject
comment
Richard (Dick) Cresswell, DFC ...... Distinguished Flying Crosses.
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label
Dick Cresswell
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wasDerivedFrom
gender
male
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name
Dick Cresswell
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nick
"Mr Double Seven"
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