Donald Charles Stirling "Don" Macdonald

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Stan Wilson (RAF, Don's Nav.), Macdonald & Johnny Caine

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Wings Are Presented To 41 Pilots at Borden

(By BILL ROCHE, Staff Writer, The Globe and Mail) Camp Borden, Sept. 6, 1940 — Climaxing the annual sports day of No. 1 Service Flying Training School, Royal Canadian Air Force, forty-one graduates of the intermediate training squadron late this afternoon received their wings from Group Captain A.T.N. Cowley, officer commanding the school.
Happy pilot officers receiving the coveted wings were representative of communities from Charlottetown to Vancouver and most of them came here from the elementary ground instructional school at the former Eglinton Hunt Club, Toronto.
Captain Cowley, addressing the graduates, reminded them they were the sixth and last class to come in as pilot officers for training. From now on, all pupil pilots will come into the service as aircraftmen under the joint air training plan, formerly known as the Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
"We knew you would be the last class, and so you were hand picked," Captain Cowley said. "You are our choice, and anything you do will reflect to the credit or otherwise of the Royal Canadian Air Force."

Air Vice-Marshal Absent
Air Vice-Marshal L.S. Breadner, D.S.C., had hoped to attend the wings parade, but could not come from Ottawa because of pressing duties.
Those receiving their wings were: Pilot Officers D.A. Weir, Montreal; P.W. Langford, Field, B.C.; W.B. Wood, Toronto; H.C. Stewart, Calgary; C.L.T. Sawle, Edmonton; F.W. Macdonell, Halifax; G.A. Tambling, London; R.J.W. Askwith, Ottawa; E.L. Neal, Cornwall; E.D. Porter, Belleville; J.H. Ross, Edmonton; W.D.W. Hilton. St. Catharines; R.H. Hyndman, Ottawa; R.M. Stayner, Saskatoon; J.R. Bryan, Port Arthur; J.S. Cardell, Edmonton; H.C. Trainor, Charlottetown; D.C.S. Macdonald, Vancouver; G.R.M. Hunt, Edmonton; D.T. French, Edmonton; R.P. Quigley, Bartonville; J.G. Weir, Toronto; C. Chetwynd, Vancouver; R.A. McLernon, Montreal; J.W. Weis, Oakville; W.G.M. Hume, Sherbrooke; H.E. Mitchell, Brampton; E.W.R. Fortt, Esquimalt; E.A. Bland, Peterborough; D.G.C. Chown, Winnipeg; N.C. Brown, Saint John; R.J. Richards, Montreal; A.G. Byers, Montreal; H.E. Fling, Weyburn; L. Savard, Quebec; C.W. Scully, Ottawa; J.V.S.L. Saint-Pierre, Montreal; W.F. Napier, Fredericton; P.J. Phelan, Toronto; E.B. Gale, Quebec and C.J. Fallis, Toronto.

Silence Observed
The parade was called to attention and a short silence was observed when the name of M.L. Stephen of Moncton, N.B., was called. This member of the class died in an airplane crash last Monday after having qualified to receive his wings.
The wings ceremony took place in a hollow square formed by comrade units of airmen on three sides, and more than 2,000 relatives and friends on the other. The event was held on the tarmac in front of the control tower.
Among distinguished guests present were Wing Commander W.I. Riddell, Officer Commanding Rockcliffe Air Station, Ottawa; Wing Commander F.S. McGill, O.C. of the new No. 2 Service Flying Training School at Uplands, Ottawa and Squadron Leader J.G. Kerr of No. 2 S.F.T.S., Ottawa.

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Four Canadian Mosquitos Bag 7 Nazis in 8 Minutes

An R.C.A.F. Fighter Station Somewhere in England, Jan. 27, 1944 - (CP) - Raiding more than 100 miles inside France, four of the R.C.A.F.’s swift Mosquito intruder planes, led by W/C Don Macdonald of Vancouver, today destroyed seven German aircraft in an action lasting only eight minutes.
Four R.A.F. Typhoons on a similar offensive sweep over Belgium at the same time shot down three other enemy planes. The bag of 10 was obtained without a single loss.
Macdonald himself set the pace for his fliers, shooting down a Heinkel 111 and a Heinkel 177 after leading 26 missions without seeing one enemy aircraft.
"Just think, after 26 trips without seeing a thing and then bingo, we get two," said Macdonald's observer, P/O Stan Wilson, an Englishman.
F/L Johnny Johnson of Omemee, Ont., with F/O Jimmy Gibbons of Vancouver as observer, and F/O Johnny Caine of Calgary, with F/S Earl Boal of Regina as observer, shared in the destruction of four Junkers. (Charlie Scherf [RAAF] and his Navigator) F/O Al Brown of Winnipeg, shot down the seventh enemy plane, a Focke-Wulf, to give Canadian fighters their best day since Dec. 20, when Spitfires destroyed eight German planes.
Johnson's pair brought his total of victims to four and Caine, a comparative newcomer to the squadron, raised his to three.
"There is no question about them being definitely destroyed." Macdonald said. “They went down and poofed. We saw three of them explode and go up in smoke.”
Brown thought the "most interesting part of the whole show was the way those Jerries blew in pieces when they hit the deck."
"It is a sight I'll always remember — just like lighting fires at home.”

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SPEEDY DEATH GIVEN GERMANS BY OUR PILOTS

An R.C.A.F. Fighter Base, Somewhere in England, Jan. 28, 1944 - (CP) - Four members of the R.C.A.F. Mustang Squadron commanded by S/L C. H. (Smokey) Stover of Sarnia, today destroyed four enemy planes over the old French Cathedral City of Charters, 45 miles southwest of Paris with such speed and thoroughness that the Nazis didn't fire a single shot in reply.
This bag brought to 11 the number of German planes destroyed by Canadian airmen in two daylight sweeps. A Mosquito squadron led by W/C Don Macdonald of Vancouver shot down seven on Thursday.
Today's kills were shared by F/Ls. Gordon Wonnacott, Edmonton; George W. Burroughs, 92 Bowie Ave., Toronto; J. T. Seamen, Lewisville, N.B., and F/O R. O. Brown of Daysland, Alta.

Came On in Pairs
The Canadians came on the Germans in pairs. Brown, a former intercollegiate light-heavyweight boxing champion when at McGill University, got the first, and the other three Canadians had a hand in destroying the second plane, raking it with machine-gun and cannon fire.
"No sooner had we knocked down the first two," Burroughs said, "than two Messerschmitt 109’s appeared. It all happened so quickly that it is pretty hard to reconstruct, but I know I shot down the first of this pair and seconds later could see Wonnacott's victim heading for the dirt."
This "show" lasted less than four minutes.
It was the first time the squadron had found any Germans within firing range since early in December when it bagged four in two days.

Use Strange Mixture
Wonnacott said when the Canadians finally caught up with the Germans today they didn't seem anxious to fight, but wanted to get away in a hurry "and we had to turn on a bit of juice to catch them."
The Mosquito success Thursday is believed to have tripped a projected nuisance raid on Britain. The Canadians destroyed a Focke-Wulf 200, a four-engined bomber; a Heinkel 177, also a four-engined plane; a Heinkel 111 bomber and four Junkers bombers. Because of the type of planes knocked down it seemed the Nazis were preparing another large-scale raid. In last Friday's attack on London, the Germans are known to have used an extraordinary mixture of aircraft.

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R.C.A.F. CARRIES HEAVY BOMB LOADS TO HUN

Ottawa, Feb. 4, 1944 - (CP) - R.C.A.F. bombers participating in the three hammer-blow raids on Berlin during the past week carried a bomb weight far heavier than the whole German Air Force ever dropped on Britain in a single night, the R.C.A.F. reported today in its weekly summary of overseas operations.
On the first of the three raids, F/S S. E. Campbell of Drumheller, Alta., rear gunner in the "Goose" bomber squadron, shot down a rocket-firing Messerschmitt 110 night fighter.
We were just on the rim of the target area when the fighter started to attack us," said Campbell. "He was 440 yards away and silhouetted against the red glow of the flames below coming through the clouds. I told the skipper to bank to starboard and as the fighter followed us on the curve of pursuit, I gave him a long burst, scoring a hit on the starboard rocket.
"The enemy nightfighter broke off the combat, but attacked again coming up underneath and, as Campbell fired again, he saw it flip over on its back in flames and a few seconds later explode on the ground below.
An R.C.A.F. Mosquito squadron "went to town" one day of the week when four of its pilots knocked down seven enemy aircraft within eight minutes.
W/C D. C. S. Macdonald of Vancouver, commanding officer of the squadron, accounted for a Heinkel 111 and a Heinkel 177 and F/L C. Scherf, an Australian pilot in the squadron whose navigator is F/O L. (Al) Brown of Winnipeg, got a Focke-Wulf 200. F/L J. Johnson of Omemee and F/O J. Caine of Edmonton reported four Junkers destroyed.

Mustangs Score Again
After six weeks of silence the R.C.A.F. Mustang squadron under S/L C. H. (Smokey) Stover of Sarnia, also bounced back into the news by shooting down four enemy aircraft in one day. The kills were shared by F/L J. T. Seaman, Lewisville, N.B., and F/O R. O. Brown of Daysland, Alta.; F/L Gordon Wonnacott of South Edmonton and F/L George Burroughs of Toronto.
Their first two victims were unidentified, but the second pair, bagged by Burroughs and Wonnacott were Messerschmitt 109's. One of the unidentified aircraft "just blew up in mid-air," said Burroughs, the successful pilot. Meanwhile, the other three Canadian pilots attacked a second Nazi aircraft and aided in its destruction
In Coastal Command a heavily-armed minesweeper was sunk off the Norwegian coast by R.C.A.F. Beaufighters led by W/C C. A. Willis of Vancouver. A medium-sized merchant ship was also left on fire and an escort vessel raked with cannon fire. The Canadians saw the minesweeper blow up after their attack.
From Italy came the news that the mounting score of the City of Windsor Spitfire Squadron went up another notch when it destroyed a Focke-Wulf and damaged another while protecting British invasion craft off the Nettuno beachhead.
The City of Windsor unit has bagged more Huns than any other squadron in the desert air force over the beachhead. In seven days, since the landing began, it has destroyed four enemy machines with two more probably destroyed and four damaged. It has lost one pilot, although some have made several forced landings.

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MACDONALD, W/C Donald Charles Stirling (C1634) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.418 Squadron
Award effective 26 February 1944 as per London Gazette dated 10 March 1944 and
AFRO 766/44 dated 6 April 1944.

This officer has participated in a large number of sorties and throughout has displayed great skill, determination and devotion to duty. On a recent occasion Wing Commander Macdonald led a small formation of aircraft on a sortie during which seven enemy aircraft were shot down, two of which were destroyed by Wing Commander Macdonald. The success achieved on this brilliantly executed operation reflects the greatest credit on the efforts of this officer.

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MacDONALD, S/L Donald Charles Stirling, DFC (C1634) - Croix de Guerre with Gold Star (France)
AFRO 485/47 dated 12 September 1947

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Victories Include :

2 / 0 / 0

Both with Stan Wilson (RAF) as Navigator

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