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Leonard Fitchett (10 September 1922-20 October 1948) was a Canadian Pilot and a Flying Officer during World War II and 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Early Life
Fitchett was born on the 10th of September,1922, in Moosehorn, Manitoba, grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, and after completing High School studied Economics at University.

Second World War
During World War II, Fitchett was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force serving in Europe. He was shot down while flying a De Havilland Mosquito, but was rescued by the French Resistance, who returned him to his base. As a pilot, he was "awarded a number of Distinguished Service decorations, and Mentions in Dispatches".

= 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict = In 1948, Fitchett enlisted in the Israeli Air Force and lead the beaufighter unit "103 bomber and transport squadron ".During Fitchett's involvement with the squadron, he downed 3 Egyptian spitfires.On the morning of October 19th, Fitchett was sent to assist the Israeli Navy in battles against Egyptian naval vessels when he encountered an Egyptian Hawker Sea Fury flown by Abd Al-Hamid Abu Zayd, commander of Egypt's 2nd squadron. knowing that the Beaufighter stood little chance in a dogfight, Fitchett jettisoned his bomb load and put his bomber into a dive low over the water. Followed by the fury, Fitchett abruptly pulled up, whereas the hurricane crashed into the sea.That same day, during Operation Shmone,Fitchett piloted one of the two Bristol Beaufighters launched in a bombing sortie against the egyptian controlled police fort of Iraq Suwaydan. His plane managed to deposit the bombs while the second plane was unable to jettison them. The two planes were hit with anti aircraft fire and Fitchett's plane was hit and forced to land in an area controlled by Egyptian forces. All 3 crew members of the aircraft were reportedly mutilated and killed by Egyptian forces. Fitchett's body was recovered from the crash and buried in Israel next to 4 other ex-RCAF members.

= bibliography =

Flying for your life- len fitchett. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2020, from https://flyingforyourlife.com/pilots/ww2/f/fitchett/

Operation Shmone. (2020, April 25). Retrieved November 8, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_ShmoneRanter, H. (n.d.).

Incident de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk XIII MM589, 25 Sep 1944. Retrieved November 8, 2020, from https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/165084,

Reis, N. (n.d.). Leonard Fitchett. Retrieved November 8, 2020, from https://machal.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178&Itemid=544&lang=en (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2020, from http://101squadron.com/101real/people/andrews.html