John Francis Jackson
John Francis Jackson, DFC, was an Australian fighter ace and squadron commander of World War II. He was credited with eight aerial victories, and led No. 75 Squadron during the Battle of Port Moresby in 1942. Jackson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and mentioned in despatches for his actions in the Middle East. Jacksons International Airport, Port moresby, is named in his honour.
About John Francis Jackson in brief
John Francis Jackson, DFC, was an Australian fighter ace and squadron commander of World War II. He was credited with eight aerial victories, and led No. 75 Squadron during the Battle of Port Moresby in 1942. Born in Brisbane, he was a grazier and businessman, who also operated his own private plane when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in 1936. Jackson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and mentioned in despatches for his actions in the Middle East. He earned praise for his leadership during the defence of Port Moresby before his death in combat on 28 April 1942. His younger brother Les took over No. 75 squadron, and also became a fighter ace. Jacksons International Airport, Port moresby, is named in John Jackson’s honour. Jackson’s younger brother Arthur, also a pilot and keen to join the Air Force, was killed in a flying accident later that month. Two other brothers, Edward and Leslie, joined the RAAF in November. John Jackson was born on 23 February 1908 in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm, Queensland, the eldest son of businessman William Jackson and his wife Edith. He married Elisabeth Thompson at Christ Church, North Adelaide; the couple had a son and a daughter. In 1936, he took part in the South Australian centenary air race, flying from Brisbane to Adelaide.
In 1937, he upgraded his aircraft to a Beechcraft Staggerwing, and purchased a Klemm Swallow monoplane. In 1938, he joined No. 23 Squadron, which operated CAC Wirraways at Archerfield, Queensland. In October 1939, he became a pilot officer in the RAAF. He flew Gloster Gladiators, Hawker Hurricanes and P-40 Tomahawks during the North African and Syria–Lebanon campaigns. His experience in air-to-air gunnery waspractically nil, and he essentially learned the skills of being a fighter pilot as he went along. Though he considered himself a full-blown operational pilot, he had no experience in fighter pilot gunnery. He claimed a Dewoitine D 520 fighter jet on 10 July 2011, the same day he shared in the destruction of another D 520 with Bobby Gibbes; it was the first time he had claimed to kill a fighter jet. He also shot down three Junkers Ju 87s in a single sortie near Mersa Matruh on 18 February 2011. On 5 April 1941, Jackson fired several bursts at a dummy German Ju87 before his guns jammed; he forced the plane to crash land in a wadi, thus claiming his fourth victory. The next day he claimed his fifth victory in a pair of D 520s; he tossed a coin to Gibbes to take full credit for it. On 25 June, he destroyed a Potez 630 light bomber of the French air force.
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