{{Short description|Greek aviator and Hellenic Air Force officer}} {{Infobox military person |name= Ioannis Kellas |birth_date= 1908 |death_date= 1966 |birth_place=[[Trikala]], [[Greece]] |death_place= |boyhood home= |burial_place= |burial_label= |image= 335 Greek Sqr celebration 11-28-1940.jpg |caption= Ioannis Kellas (wearing side cap) with other members of the 335th Sqdr celebrating the successful bombing of the Italian XX Corps HQ, Oct. 28, 1942 |nickname= Eagle of Trikala<ref name=Zabikos/> |allegiance= {{flag|Greece|royal}} |branch= [[File:Roundel of Greece.svg|22px]] [[Hellenic Air Force]] |service_years= 1930–1948 |rank= [[File:Hellenic Air Force OF-5.svg|20px]] [[Group Captain|Sminarchos]] |commands=21st Pursuit Squadron (1940–1941)<br>[[335th Squadron (HAF)|335th Squadron]] (1942) |battles= |awards= |other_work= }} '''Ioannis Kellas''' ({{langx|el|Ιωάννης Κέλλας}}, 1908-1966) was a [[Greeks|Greek]] aviator and [[Hellenic Air Force]] officer during [[World War II]].
==Career== Kellas was born in [[Trikala]],<ref name=Zabikos>{{cite web|last=Ζαμπίκος|first=Βασ.|title=Σμηναγός Ιωάννης Κέλλας: Ένας ακόμα άσος της Αεροπορίας μας που έδρασε στον Ελληνοϊταλικό πόλεμο|url=http://library.techlink.gr/4t/article.asp?mag=1&issue=123&article=3297|publisher=4 Τροχοί|accessdate=23 July 2011|language=Greek}}</ref> [[Greece]] and graduated the [[Greek Military Academy]] in [[Athens]]. In the following [[Greek-Italian War]] (October 28, 1940 to April 7, 1941), he was positioned as commander of the 21st Pursuit Squadron, initially based on the airfield of Thessaloniki, but then moved to Vasiliki, near [[Kalabaka]], central Greece.<ref name=Gustavsson>{{cite web|last=Gustavsson|first=Hekan|title=Biplane fighter pilots: Sminagos Ioannis 'John' Kellas|url=http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/greece_kellas.htm|publisher=Hεkans aviation page: Biplane Fighter Aces from the Second World War|accessdate=23 July 2011}}</ref>
At the outbreak of the war his squadron comprised 12 [[PZL P.24]] fighters. Kellas got involved in several dogfights with the Italian ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' aircraft. At November 20, he had his first success by hitting a bomber over lake [[Prespa]]. During December 1940, while Italian pressure was continuous, the 21st Pursuit Squadron was equipped with [[Gloster Gladiator]] aircraft from the [[Royal Air Force]]. In February 1941, during a patrol mission over the Permet-Kelcyre sector, southern Albania, Kellas shot down two enemy fighters.<ref name=Gustavsson/>
At April 15, during the [[Battle of Greece|German invasion]], Kellas was hit by a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' and made an emergency landing. He managed to escape to North Africa where he served as commander of the [[335th Squadron (HAF)|335th Greek Squadron]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Andrew|title=Gloster Gladiator aces.|year=2002|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-84176-289-0|pages=62, 65, 69|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfVs5P40DZcC&dq=kellas&pg=PA62|edition=null}}</ref> In one occasion on October 28, 1942, 12 [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]]s of the 335th squadron under Kellas performed a [[strafing]] attack on the Italian [[Italian XX Motorised Corps|XX Corps]] headquarters, an operation that was a huge morale booster for the expatriate Greeks during the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Οι Μοίρες της Ερήμου|year=2004|publisher=Πανελλήνιος Σύνδεσμος Βετεράνων Αεροπορίας|location=Athens|pages=53|url=http://www.haf.gr/el/articles/pdf/desert_squadrons.pdf|language=Greek}}</ref>
After the war Kellas followed a short career with Civil Aviation as a pilot of [[Olympic Airways]].<ref name=Zabikos/>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellas, Ioannis}} [[Category:1908 births]] [[Category:1966 deaths]] [[Category:People from Trikala]] [[Category:Hellenic Air Force officers]] [[Category:Greek military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Olympic Airlines]] [[Category:Date of birth missing]] [[Category:Date of death missing]] [[Category:Place of death missing]]