Frederick Alan Aikman

{{Infobox military person | name = Frederick Alan Aikman | image = Alan Aikman, 1943.jpg | caption = Aikman, 1943 | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|03|5|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1991|03|21|1919|03|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada | death_place = [[St. Catharines]], [[Ontario]], Canada | burial_place = | nickname = Butch | allegiance = [[British Empire]] | branch = [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] | service_years = 1940–1945 | rank = | unit = [[No. 134 Squadron RAF|No. 134 Squadron]]<br/>[[No. 154 Squadron RAF|No. 154 Squadron]] | commands = | battles = [[Second World War]] *[[Circus offensive]] | awards = [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] & [[Medal bar|Bar]] | relations = | other_work = }}

'''Frederick Alan "Butch" Aikman''' [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|DFC]] and [[Medal bar|Bar]] (5 March 1919 – 21 March 1991) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[fighter pilot]] and [[flying ace]] with the [[Royal Air Force]] during the [[Second World War]]. He was credited with the destruction of at least nine aircraft.

==Biography== Born on 5 March 1919 in Toronto, Canada, Aikman was a clerk and ledger keeper and served as a sergeant in [[The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada]] before enlisting in the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] on 6 November 1940. After graduation from flight training school on 13 September 1941, Aikman was posted overseas to serve with the Royal Air Force.

After a brief period of service with No. 134 Squadron, Aikman joined [[No. 154 Squadron RAF|No. 154 Squadron]] in early 1942.{{sfn|Shores|Williams|1994|pp=92–93}} On 15 July, Aikman was flying as wing man to [[Wing Commander]] [[Paddy Finucane]] on a sortie to German-occupied France, when the latter was killed as a result of ditching in the [[English Channel]].{{sfn|Sampson|Franks|2002|p=39}}

No. 154 Squadron moved to North Africa in January 1943, where Aikman achieved the majority of his victories. In February he was awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (DFC).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35919|date=26 February 1943|page=976|supp=y}}</ref> He was hospitalized for malaria on 27 July and repatriated to Canada. He was subsequently awarded a Bar to his DFC, for which the published citation read: {{Blockquote|Flight Lieutenant Aikman is a keen and tenacious fighter. He has destroyed at least 8 enemy aircraft. He has shown a rare zest for battle|''London Gazette'', No. 36215, 19 October 1943<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36215|date=19 October 1943|page=4618|supp=y}}</ref>}}

After recuperation in Canada, Aikman was retrained to fly [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Dakota]]s and reposted overseas on 27 September 1944. Flying with [[No. 436 Squadron RCAF]] from 14 November 1944 to 23 September 1945, Aikman was returned to Canada on 23 November 1945, and released from service the following month.<ref>http://acesofww2.com/can/aces/aikman/ Frederick Alan "Butch" Aikman</ref>

Aikman died in [[St. Catharines]], [[Ontario]], on 21 March 1991 at the age of 72.<ref>http://airforce.ca/awards.php?search=1&keyword=&page=3&mem=&type=rcaf{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Air Force Association</ref>

==Victories== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center" ! Date !! # !! Type !! Location !! Aircraft flown !! Unit assigned !! Notes |- | 12 November 1942 || one || Ju.88 || || || || destroyed |- |13 November 1942 || one || Ju.88 || || || || destroyed |- |16 November 1942 || two || Savoia || || || || half-share in each |- |22 November 1942 || one || Ju.88 || || || || probably destroyed |- |28 November 1942 || two || Do.217 || || || || 1 destroyed 1 damaged |- |13 January 1943 ||one || FW.190 || || || || destroyed |- |5 April 1943 || one || Ju.87 || || || || destroyed |- |5 April 1943 || one || Bf.109G || || || || damaged |- |10 April 1943 ||one || Bf.109G || || || || destroyed |- |13 April 1943 || one || Bf.109G || || || || damaged |- |25 April 1943 || one || Bf.109G || || || || destroyed |- |17 July 1943 || one || Macchi || || || || destroyed (fighter) |}

==Notes== {{reflist|30em}}

==References== *{{Cite book|last1=Sampson|first1=Sammy|last2=Franks|first2=Norman|year=2002|title=Spitfire Offensive|location=London|publisher=Bounty Books|isbn=978-0-7537-1558-1}} *{{cite book|last1=Shores|first1=Christopher|last2=Williams|first2=Clive|year=1994|title=Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII|publisher=Grub Street|location=London|isbn=1-8-9869-7000}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikman, Frederick Alan}} [[Category:1919 births]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:Canadian aviators]] [[Category:Canadian World War II flying aces]] [[Category:Queen's Own Rifles of Canada soldiers]] [[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Military personnel from Toronto]]