Vasilios Vasiliadis Greek pilot of World War II Date of Birth: 01.01.1920 Country: Greece

1. Early Life and Education
2. World War II and RAF Career
3. Return to the RAF and Final Battle
4. Legacy and Honors

Early Life and Education

Ioannis Vasiliadis was born in Rouen, France, in his mother's home, but from infancy lived on the island of Chios, Greece, with his parents, Michail and Augustina Vasiliadis-Brakaig. The family was wealthy, with Michail being a shipowner.

After elementary school on Chios, Vasiliadis pursued his education at the Maritime Academy on the island of Hydra, intending to follow in his family's maritime tradition.

World War II and RAF Career

With the outbreak of World War II, Vasiliadis was on a training voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. Upon his return, his father sent him to England for further education. In the midst of the conflict, on October 13, 1942, Vasiliadis volunteered for the Royal Air Force.

He trained on Spitfire Mk.V and Mk.IX aircraft and in 1942 was assigned to RAF 19 Squadron, which had begun to receive Mustang Mk.III planes. Their primary missions involved attacks on German bases in Normandy and Brittany, France.

After achieving 6 and 1/2 kills, Vasiliadis received his first Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on July 26, 1944, and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant, flying in aircraft QV-D, serial number FB201.

In 1944, his squadron supported the Allied landings in Normandy (D-Day). Subsequently, during a raid on bridges over the Seine River south of Rouen, aiming to cut German retreat from Normandy to Paris, Vasiliadis' Mustang QV-V, FB116, was shot down over the forest of Saint Pier Les Elbeufs.

Return to the RAF and Final Battle

Vasiliadis found refuge with members of the French Resistance and even managed to visit his grandmother in still-occupied Rouen. American troops soon arrived in the area where Vasiliadis was hiding, and he returned to the RAF in 3 Squadron. There, he served under Wing Commander Pierre Henri Clostermann, a French volunteer, through whose book, "The Big Show," Vasiliadis' name became widely known.

Before Christmas 1944, Vasiliadis' squadron was transferred to liberated Holland, based in Volkel, and began receiving new Hawker Tempests for attacks on enemy communication lines and countering German Focke-Wulf Fw.190s and Messerschmitt Me.262s. During this period, Vasiliadis scored another 5 kills, earning his second DFC and promotion to Squadron Leader.

On March 25, 1945, Vasiliadis led his squadron over Bocholt, east of Münster, on a raid against a convoy of trucks. Anti-aircraft fire was intense, causing the pilots to hesitate, so Vasiliadis decided to inspire them by personal example. He made one pass through the barrage unscathed, but seeing the hesitation of his pilots, he made a second run in his Tempest, JF-A, EJ755. This time, his aircraft exploded in mid-air.

Legacy and Honors

It was only after Greece's liberation in February 1945 that Vasiliadis' father received news of his son, initially joyous tidings of his RAF service but followed soon after by the news of his death. As his body was never recovered, his name was inscribed on the Commonwealth Memorial at Runnymede, near Windsor.

Vasiliadis is the Greek pilot with the highest number of kills whose name is inscribed on a non-Greek memorial. His father, the shipowner, named one of his Liberty ships "Squadron Leader Vasiliadis."