Family and friends fired this Saturday to Ronald David Scottthe Argentine pilot who fought against Nazism in the second world war. The hero was buried at 11 am in the British cemetery of the City of Buenos Aires.
“Ronnie” died on April 17 at 107: it was the longest aviator that served during the waraccording to British naval aviation.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1917, he was the son of an English nurse and a Scotsman who had fought in the Boers War in South Africa, who settled in Buenos Aires to perform as a rugby and fisherman judge.
Scott, meanwhile, was a pilot of the Spitfires, the hunting plane used by the Royal Air Force.
At age 14, Ronald had the opportunity to meet the Prince of Wales, who would later be King Eduardo VIII, during his second visit to Argentina. They took him to the Hurlingham club to play pole and, there, accompanied by his aunt, had an encounter with Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. This, approaching with his horse, asked: “Would you be so kind to get me a tonic water?”
“I was a kid and I told him ‘How not sir’. I went to look for the water and wondered if I would like lemon, and I asked to put him lemon. And when I return, he comes again to the gallop, very nice, and I say: ‘Lord, here he has it with lemon, I hope he likes it.’ And he told me: ‘Thank you very much, I prefer lemon. Infobae In 2018.
After that conversation he was invited to know the HMS Eagle (the first aircraft carrier that tied in Buenos Aires) at the Embassy of that country. Eleven years later, he enlisted in the British Navy to fight against Nazi troops of Adolf Hitler.
And it is that Ronnie was one of the 5,000 Argentines who participated in the actions during the war: “He did not have a real connection with England or Scotland. He had always had the idea of traveling there. You accepted to England and Scotland as something you wanted to be part,” he said during the documentary good Wave: The Tale of Ronny Scott.
“I went to the embassy and said ‘Here they have another volunteer, but I have a condition: I don’t want to go to the Royal Air Force, everyone wants to go there.’ I wanted to be a naval pilot, with the experience I had. I liked the atmosphere on board,” he said about it.
Until then, Ronald played as a scrum medium in the GEBA rugby team. Despite the delicate health of his mother, who was under the care of his sister, decided to travel to the other side of the world to fight Nazi horror.
He arrived in Liverpool on April 19, 1943: “Then I left for London alone. Initial training at Royal Navy came to an end and selected me as a pilot candidate in the 53rd course number 53 of naval aviators. I graduated with the degree of sub -lieutenant on June 16, 1944. The degree was above the Guardiamarina and was equivalent to the one of Corveta’s lieutenant,” he said.
He spent six months in Canada before returning to Europe as Navy officer, where he joined the 794 squad to face the Luftwaffe, the Nazi Air Force. He participated in Missions of Recognition, Training and Tire Practices, piloting planes such as the Tiger Moth, Blackburn Sea Skua, Miles Master and Supermarine Spitfire.
On November 17, 1944 he graduated in Spitfire pilot. “It was fifty -five unforgettable minutes. I took off with an open hood, I accelerated taking into account the sides, because until the Spitfire nose was not gained speed, it occupied the front of the cabin and nothing was seen forward. When accelerating, the nose went down and one saw a perfect forward. Move the cane back with delicacy and move away from the ground, the motor noise … Adrenaline seized my body. Flying a Spitfire was touching the sky with his hands, it was the most exciting plane that could have fly until that moment. I rehearsed a closed turn and surprised me. My God! This was something else, the body crushed against the seat and the command took you where you would like. Impressed. He was bestial, unmatched, ”said author Claudio Meunier in his book Wings for victoryin an article published in The nation.
“I spent three months controlling an area slightly south of the Thames, five kilometers wide, and the coastal battery spoke to me and notified me about the aircraft that came. I had a rectangular map with magnetic chips, I was marking and if they entered my sector I had to warn the police, hospitals, home guard, and for three months I did not touch anything. Seven above.
During most of his service, he did not participate in combat actions, but dedicated himself to flying recognition missions and training pilots. On one occasion, he was about to die during a practice: “I was flying in an air-Aire shooting training five kilometers from the coast, on the sea, and the engines were planted, so the plane began to fall freely.” However, being on the verge of death “is good as an experience,” he said.
In England he only lived four years, since on December 25, 1946 he returned to Argentina without interest to continue developing a military career.
“I always thought I was going to return to Argentina. Japan was missing, so the war continued until September. Analyzing my years I do not think that in that period of 40, with me at 25, we had a society that we did not know inmates. It was nice We had a community of good people. Not necessarily rich, but people of good level, educated, what else do you want? ”He graphic.
He worked as a manager in a textile company for two years before leaving his post to become a commercial pilot of Argentina Aeroposta. With the Foundation of Aerolineas Argentinas, he flew as commander in different aircraft: the Douglas DC-4, Comet 4 and Boeing 737. By then, he had already met Marian at a party, they had married in 1950 and had had his two children, Rogelio and Davis.
At sixty, he retired, with 23 thousand hours of flight as a commercial pilot and having founded the APA union (Association of Air Line Pilots).
He had reached the rank of naval aviator corvette and, due to his age, he was considered the dean of Argentine aviators. He lived in San Isidro until 2021, the year he moved to the British and North American Charity Association of Villa Devoto to begin his retirement.
