{"id":18469854,"date":"2026-08-31T10:42:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/george-beurling-screwball-falcon-of-malta-ace\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T06:45:19","slug":"george-beurling-screwball-falcon-of-malta-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/george-beurling-screwball-falcon-of-malta-ace\/","title":{"rendered":"George Beurling: The &lsquo;Screwball&rsquo; Ace of Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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On Malta in the baking summer of 1942, they swarmed everything, and they swarmed the thin slices of corned beef the fighter pilots of 249 Squadron ate between sorties. One newcomer had a trick. He would set his plate on the floor, wait with his boot poised, and stamp the moment sixty flies had gathered. Then he would count the dead, grin, and mutter his favourite word: the screwballs.<\/p><p>That was George Beurling &mdash; a lonely, intense young Canadian with ice-blue eyes who was, by a wide margin, the deadliest shot in the sky over the most bombed patch of ground on Earth. In a few blistering weeks he shot down 27 Axis aircraft above Malta. He would end the war as Canada&rsquo;s greatest ace, and he never really fit anywhere except a cockpit.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.7\"><strong style=\"font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/strong><br><strong>Name:<\/strong> George Frederick &ldquo;Buzz&rdquo; \/ &ldquo;Screwball&rdquo; Beurling<br><strong>Born:<\/strong> 6 December 1921, Verdun, Quebec<br><strong>Unit:<\/strong> No. 249 Squadron RAF (Malta), later 403 &ldquo;Wolf&rdquo; Squadron RCAF<br><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Supermarine Spitfire<br><strong>Score:<\/strong> About 31 confirmed victories &mdash; 27 of them over Malta in a matter of weeks<br><strong>Honours:<\/strong> DSO, DFC, DFM and Bar<br><strong>Died:<\/strong> 20 May 1948, Rome, aged 26<\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The loner from Verdun<\/h2>\r\n<p>Beurling was born in Verdun, Quebec, in 1921, and he wanted only one thing: to fly. He was obsessive about it, and even more obsessive about shooting &mdash; not the trigger-pulling, but the geometry. Deflection shooting, the art of aiming not where an enemy is but where he will be, is fiendishly hard. Beurling studied it like a science, working out angles and lead in his head until it became instinct.<\/p><p>That single-mindedness made him a superb pilot and a difficult man. He chafed at discipline, bristled at authority, and kept his own counsel. The Royal Air Force did not quite know what to do with him. Malta, as it turned out, did.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NEB9dA33490\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Malta, 1942<\/h2>\r\n<p>In June 1942 Beurling flew his <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/supermarine-spitfire\/\">Spitfire<\/a> off the deck of the carrier HMS Eagle and landed on an island under siege. Malta sat astride Axis supply lines to North Africa, and the Germans and Italians were trying to bomb it into submission. Every day the pilots of 249 Squadron climbed into a sky full of enemy bombers and fighters, badly outnumbered.<\/p><p>Beurling was in his element. On 10 July, four days into the fighting, his tally reached five and he was an ace. The kills kept coming. On 27 July alone he shot down the Italian ace Furio Niclot Doglio and downed his wingman, Faliero Gelli, who survived as a prisoner &mdash; and was credited with two Messerschmitt Bf 109s the same day, one flown by the German ace Karl-Heinz Preu, who was killed. Inside a fortnight of real combat, Beurling had 27 victories over the island.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;He&rsquo;d wait there with his foot poised until there were sixty or more flies on his corned beef. Then he&rsquo;d plant his foot down hard. He seldom got less than about 40 of them. Then he&rsquo;d sit there looking at them and say &lsquo;The screwballs!&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Wing Commander P. B. &ldquo;Laddie&rdquo; Lucas<\/strong> &mdash; Beurling&rsquo;s 249 Squadron commanding officer on Malta, recalling how the nickname was born (Toronto Globe and Mail, 1949)<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/malta-spitfires-249-sqn-ta-kali-1942.jpg\" alt=\"Spitfires of 249 Squadron at Ta Kali, Malta, 1942\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Spitfire Mk Vc fighters of No. 249 Squadron at Ta Kali, Malta, in 1942 &mdash; Beurling&rsquo;s squadron. Photo: Imperial War Museum \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The eyes of a killer<\/h2>\r\n<p>What set Beurling apart was not daring &mdash; plenty of pilots had that &mdash; but precision. His eyesight was freakish; his commanding officer said he could pick out an aircraft in the distance faster than anyone he had ever met. Combined with his mastery of deflection angles, it let him open fire from ranges and angles other pilots would not dare, and hit.<\/p><p>He was also scrupulously honest about it. He never claimed a kill he was not certain of. And for all his lethality, there was a strange gentleness in him: between sorties he would sit outside the little cinema at Ta Qali handing out peanuts to a crowd of Maltese children, grinning.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;They were strange blue eyes. They were a little wild &mdash; the eyes of a killer, in some ways. But Beurling could spot an aircraft from the ground quicker than a Maltese could spot it.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Wing Commander P. B. &ldquo;Laddie&rdquo; Lucas<\/strong> &mdash; on Beurling&rsquo;s extraordinary eyesight (Toronto Globe and Mail, 1949)<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kp86o03poqg\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Fame he could not stand<\/h2>\r\n<p>Malta nearly killed him too. Wounded in the leg and worn down, Beurling was evacuated &mdash; and even that was dramatic: the transport carrying him home crashed at Gibraltar, and he was among the few who walked away. Back in Canada he was a celebrity, paraded through a Victory Loan bond drive, feted at his home arena in Verdun, introduced to Prime Minister Mackenzie King.<\/p><p>He hated it. He was blunt to the point of scandal &mdash; he once cheerfully admitted he enjoyed the killing &mdash; and the polished machinery of wartime fame had no idea what to do with a man who would rather be shooting than smiling. He returned to operations with the RCAF&rsquo;s 403 &ldquo;Wolf&rdquo; Squadron, but the intense magic of Malta never quite returned.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/george-beurling-verdun-1943.jpg\" alt=\"George Beurling welcomed home in Verdun, 1943\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A hero&rsquo;s welcome for Beurling in his hometown of Verdun, Quebec, in 1943. He disliked the fame intensely. Photo: RCAF \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">One last delivery<\/h2>\r\n<p>Peace suited Beurling even less than fame. Restless and adrift, in 1948 he signed on to ferry aircraft to the newly declared state of Israel for its fledgling air force. On 20 May 1948, at Rome&rsquo;s Urbe airfield, the Noorduyn Norseman he was flying caught fire and crashed. Beurling and a companion were killed. He was 26.<\/p><p>He is buried in Israel. His final tally is usually given as about 31 confirmed victories &mdash; a figure built almost entirely in a few savage weeks over one small island. Canada&rsquo;s greatest ace was never comfortable on the ground, among crowds, or under orders. He was only ever at home in the one place that eventually took his life: the air.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1hTw_oAfOQg\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px\">Sources: Royal Canadian Air Force \/ Vintage Wings of Canada (Dave O&rsquo;Malley); Toronto Globe and Mail (1949); Canada&rsquo;s Aviation Hall of Fame; George Beurling, &ldquo;Malta Spitfire&rdquo; (1943).<\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Who was George Beurling?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A Canadian fighter pilot, born in Verdun, Quebec in 1921, who became Canada&rsquo;s greatest ace of the Second World War with about 31 confirmed victories &mdash; 27 of them over Malta in a matter of weeks in 1942.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was Beurling called Screwball?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">It was his own favourite word, which he applied to almost everything and everyone. On Malta he was known for setting his plate of corned beef on the floor, waiting until sixty flies had gathered, stamping on them and counting the dead.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What made Beurling such a good shot?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Deflection shooting &mdash; the art of aiming not where an enemy is but where he will be. Beurling studied the geometry of it obsessively, working out angles and lead in his head until it became instinct. It is fiendishly difficult and he was, by a wide margin, the best at it.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What did Beurling fly?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Supermarine Spitfire, with No. 249 Squadron RAF over Malta and later 403 \"Wolf\" Squadron RCAF.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to Beurling after the war?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">He never really fitted anywhere outside a cockpit. He was killed on 20 May 1948 in Rome, aged 26, while ferrying an aircraft.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was George Beurling?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A Canadian fighter pilot, born in Verdun, Quebec in 1921, who became Canada\u2019s greatest ace of the Second World War with about 31 confirmed victories \u2014 27 of them over Malta in a matter of weeks in 1942.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was Beurling called Screwball?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"It was his own favourite word, which he applied to almost everything and everyone. On Malta he was known for setting his plate of corned beef on the floor, waiting until sixty flies had gathered, stamping on them and counting the dead.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What made Beurling such a good shot?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Deflection shooting \u2014 the art of aiming not where an enemy is but where he will be. Beurling studied the geometry of it obsessively, working out angles and lead in his head until it became instinct. It is fiendishly difficult and he was, by a wide margin, the best at it.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What did Beurling fly?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Supermarine Spitfire, with No. 249 Squadron RAF over Malta and later 403 \\\"Wolf\\\" Squadron RCAF.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to Beurling after the war?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"He never really fitted anywhere outside a cockpit. He was killed on 20 May 1948 in Rome, aged 26, while ferrying an aircraft.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/faith-hope-charity-malta-gladiators-1940\/\">Faith, Hope and Charity: The Gladiators of Malta<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/douglas-bader-legless-ace-battle-of-britain\/\">Douglas Bader: The Legless Ace<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story The flies came first. On Malta in the baking summer of 1942, they swarmed everything, and they swarmed the thin slices of corned beef the fighter pilots of 249 Squadron ate between sorties. One newcomer had a trick. He would set his plate on the floor, wait with his boot poised, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18468896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18469854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>George Beurling: The &lsquo;Screwball&rsquo; Ace of Malta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"George &ldquo;Screwball&rdquo; Beurling was Canada&rsquo;s greatest WWII ace, downing 27 aircraft over Malta in weeks. 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