Richard Trousdale

Trousdale returned to New Zealand in January 1946 with his wife, who he had married in 1941, and their two children. He had an extensive period of leave and then formally commenced his service with the RNZAF in late April 1947 with the rank of squadron leader.

At the start of 1945, having completed the five-year term of his short service commission in the RAF, Trousdale transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). He remained in the United Kingdom, serving at the Telecommunications Flying Unit based at Defford and gaining flight experience with a variety of multi-engined aircraft. He ended the war credited with having destroyed six enemy aircraft, possibly seven, with a share in another destroyed as well as two or three probably destroyed and one damaged. Military aviation historians Christopher Shores and Clive Williams consider that it is possible that one of the probables was actually confirmed.

Ranger missions, nighttime flights to occupied Europe that targeted German transportation infrastructure, began to be flown in February 1943. On one of these, mounted on 15 February, Trousdale damaged a train at Courtrai and two barges. Later in the month, he was posted to the headquarters of No. 13 Group in a training capacity for the next several months. In March 1944, he was attached to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down; here he gained experience with a variety of aircraft, including the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. He also attended a course for test pilots.

The squadron's pace of operations increased in the following weeks and on the night of 9 May, Trousdale and Chunn combined to shoot down two He 111s that were raiding Hull. The squadron was responsible for shooting down six bombers that night. Trousdale was taken off operations in July to serve in a staff role at the headquarters of No. 12 Group. His work was in relation to night fighting duties and came with a promotion to acting squadron leader. On 1 October, he was posted to No. 409 Squadron as a flight commander, still holding his acting rank. His new unit was Canadian and working up to operational status with Bristol Beaufighters for night fighting duty. Later in the month he damaged a Dornier Do 17 bomber. By November the squadron was regularly flying night patrols but a quiet spell followed and it was not until the night of 8 March 1942 that Trousdale achieved another aerial victory, when he and his radar operator, Sergeant Affleck, destroyed a He 111 over Hull. He shot down a Do 217 on the night of 7 April; the aircraft was seen to crash into the sea off the Lincolnshire coast. He was awarded a bar to his DFC in May, the published citation reading:

In mid-November, Trousdale, promoted to acting flight lieutenant, was transferred to No. 255 Squadron. At the time, it was being reformed to help with the aerial defence of the Midlands. Based at Kirton-in-Lindsey it was equipped with Boulton Paul Defiant night fighters. Trousdale was to be one of the unit's flight commanders while it was working up to operational status, which was achieved in January 1941. It began coming into contact with bombers of the Luftwaffe the next month, with Trousdale and his gunner, Sergeant Chunn, credited with the probable shooting down of a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber off Spurn Head on 10 February. Trousdale was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in early March; the citation, published in The London Gazette, read:

At the time of Trousdale's posting, No. 266 Squadron was being equipped with Fairey Battle light bombers. However, within a matter of weeks, these were replaced by Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft, Trousdale flying one of these for the first time in February 1940. By April, the squadron was operational. Flying from Martlesham Heath, it carried out convoy patrols along the southeast coastline of England. The following month, it moved to Wittering. It was involved in Operation Dynamo, flying patrols over the beaches at Dunkirk from which the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was being evacuated from late May to early June. On 2 June, Trousdale and his flight engaged seven Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and he subsequently claimed one of these as probably destroyed. The same day he also claimed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, but this was not confirmed. Once the BEF's evacuation had been completed, the squadron resumed training and convoy patrols.

Born in Waimate North, New Zealand, but raised in Auckland, Trousdale joined the RAF in 1939. After completing flight training, he was posted to No. 266 Squadron. He flew Supermarine Spitfires during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and during the subsequent Battle of Britain. He later flew with No. 255 and No. 409 Squadrons and achieved a number of aerial victories, many while flying Boulton Paul Defiants and Bristol Beaufighters on night fighting duties. In July 1942, he reformed No. 488 (NZ) Squadron and led it for several months. For much of the remainder of the war, he performed staff and training duties but transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force in January 1945. He was killed in a flying accident when his de Havilland Mosquito crashed near Pershore in England.

In the same draft as fellow New Zealander and future flying ace Victor Verity, Trousdale commenced his flight training at No. 11 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at the RAF station at Scone, near Perth, on 16 March, flying de Havilland Tiger Moths. He successfully completed the course and proceeded to a two-week induction into the RAF at Uxbridge. In late May, he began intermediate training at No. 9 Flying Training School at Hullavington as an acting pilot officer. He gained his wings at the end of August. He sought to be a bomber pilot and applied for training in this role. He was assessed as an exceptional student, having completed a month-long bombing and air firing course at Warmwell. In November 1939, he was posted to No. 266 Squadron, newly re-activated following the outbreak of the Second World War.

Richard Macklow Trousdale DFC & Bar (23 January 1921 – 16 June 1947) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with at least six, possibly seven, aerial victories.

Born on 23 January 1921 at Waimate North, in the Far North region of New Zealand, Richard Macklow Trousdale was the son of A. C. Trousdale, a farmer in the area. The Trousdale family later moved south to Helensville and then to Howick, in Auckland. Trousdale was educated at Howick District High School. He applied for a short service commission in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in February 1938 and was accepted on a provisional basis at the end of the year. He left for the United Kingdom in February 1939, travelling on the RMS Tainui.