Keith Truscott

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Keith Truscott in 1941.

Keith William "Bluey" Truscott, DFC and Bar, (17 May 1916 – 28 March 1943) was a World War II ace fighter pilot and Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club.

Born in Prahran, Victoria, he played 44 games (and kicked 31 goals) of VFL football as a half-forward flanker from 1937-1940 including Melbourne's 1939 and 1940 premierships.

Truscott joined the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1940, a move that attracted much publicity. He almost failed pilot training; among other problems it was ascertained that he had a poor ability to judge heights. In the words of the Australian Dictionary of Biography: "[Truscott] never fully came to terms with landing and persistently levelled out about 20 ft (6 m) too high."[1] This problem would come to have a grim significance. However, Truscott completed flight training in Canada and joined No. 452 Squadron RAAF, flying Spitfires in England on 5 May, 1941. He destroyed at least 14 Luftwaffe aircraft, was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was made flight commander. Truscott was later made acting Squadron Leader.

In 1942, he was then posted back to Australia with 76 Squadron, flying Kittyhawks. By this stage Truscott was, along with Clive Caldwell, one of the most famous RAAF pilots.

76 Squadron was then posted to Milne Bay, Papua and played a significant role in the Battle of Milne Bay. It was later transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory for a time, then Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia.

Truscott was killed in an accident in Exmouth Gulf on March 28, 1943. His Kittyhawk hit the sea at high speed, after he made a mock diving attack against a low-flying Catalina. The surface of the sea was unusually smooth that day, and it is believed that Truscott misjudged its proximity.

The RAAF later named a base on the northern coast of the Kimberley region as Truscott Airfield.

The Melbourne Football Club's award for the Best and Fairest player is named in his honour, the "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy.