John Kent
ohn Alexander "Johnny" Kent, DFC & Bar, AFC (23 June 1914 – 7 October 1985), nicknamed "Kentski" (sometimes given as "Kentowski") by his Polish comrades, was a Canadian fighter ace flying in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Consider
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ohn Alexander "Johnny" Kent, DFC & Bar, AFC (23 June 1914 – 7 October 1985), nicknamed "Kentski" (sometimes given as "Kentowski") by his Polish comrades, was a Canadian fighter ace flying in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Considered one of the best young squadron leaders of the war, he went on to a distinguished postwar career before entering the aviation industry.John Alexander Kent was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where he learned to fly and obtained his licence in 1931.[2][3] He obtained a commercial licence in 1933 after working for the Northwest Aero Marine Company and became the youngest to achieve this in Canada.
In 1935, Kent joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was posted to No. 5 Flying Training School on 15 March. He joined No. 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford in February 1936, where he remained until October 1937 when he moved to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. For his research work, during which he deliberately made over 300 airborne collisions with various types of barrage balloon, Kent was awarded the Air Force Cross on 1 February 1939.
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