Seven Italian aircraft, Savioa-Marchetti S.73s belonging to the Belgian Societé Anonyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne (SABENA) were flown to Britain in May 1940 and pressed into service for the RAF.
On 23 May 1940, RAF 271 Squadron Pilot Officer John Robertson McLaren RAFVR (78975) took off in an S.73 from Merville Airfield in Northern France near the Belgium border. The airfield had been strafed by a formation of Messerschmitt Bf 109s which destroyed an Armstrong Whitworth Ensign and damaged another Savioa-Marchetti S.73. It was clear that this part of France was about to fall to the Germans, all remaining serviceable aircraft took off and flew to Britain.
During operations in Northern France, McLaren’s aeroplane was shot down and he died of wounds at St Pol, Pas-de-Calais. His Savioa-Marchetti S.73, registration OO-AGS, was attacked and shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109s near Calais. The Belgian flight engineer Armand Peeters (Sabena) jumped from the plane seconds before it crashed and survived. Belgian airline pilot Victor Moreau (Sabena) and McLaren, age 26, were killed.
McLaren was a former flight commander of the Perth Squadron, Defence Cadet Corps, having taken an active part in the formation of the squadron. His father, Mr Donald McLaren, a former timekeeper in Messrs J Pullar’s Works, is now steward at the Corporation golf pavilion on the North Inch.
McLaren is buried at St Pol War Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, and commemorated on the Aviva Roll of Honour. He was the elder son of Donald and Agnes K McLaren, 2 Castle Terrace, Needless Road, Perth. He worked in the Motor Claims Department of the General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation Ltd. He enlisted in 1939 and was attached for a short time to Coastal Command.
McLaren was detailed in the Perthshire Advertiser as Iain R. or Ian, McLaren or MacLaren. The Commonwealth Graves Commission record lists him as John.
The national Belgium airline since 1923, SABENA, went bankrupt in 2001.
John Robertson McLaren, Perthshire Advertiser 30 November 1940
Perthshire Advertiser 1 December 1938
Savoia Marchetti S.73
The country of origin of this photograph is Italy. It is in the public domain there because its copyright term has expired. Source Wikimedia Commons.
Savoia Marchetti S.73
The country of origin of this photograph is Italy. It is in the public domain there because its copyright term has expired. Source Wikimedia Commons.
Savoia Marchetti S.73
The country of origin of this photograph is Italy. It is in the public domain there because its copyright term has expired. Source Wikimedia Commons.