British air force's most decorated gunner in World War II dead at 87

Wallace McIntosh died Monday, June 4, at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary of lung cancer. McIntosh, born in 1920 at Tarves, Aberdeenshire, flew in the Royal Air Force from February 1943 to June 1944. Initially turned down by the RAF, McIntosh joined the air force in a junior capacity and trained as an air gunner. The Scotsman flew 55 sorties as a rear gunner and is believed to hold the record for most enemy kills (eight confirmed and one "probable"). On June 7, 1944, McIntosh was credited with downing three German fighter planes in his Lancaster bomber during a single D-Day advance mission. For his achievement, McIntosh received one of only three congratulatory telegrams ever sent by Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris. McIntosh was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal after 32 missions and twice received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the RAF's most vaunted medal for bravery. He was 87.

Sources: Yahoo! News, news.scotsman.com