Roland Anthony Lee Knight, DFC (1917 – 27 September 1941) was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, credited with six "kills".
Early life Knight was born in 1917 in Fareham and educated at Bedford Modern School.ancestry.co.uk
RAF career Knight joined the Royal Air Force in 1936,The London Gazette, 5 May 1936, Issue 34281, p. 2899 and was commissioned as pilot officer on 17 February 1937.The London Gazette, 23 February 1937, Issue 34374, p. 1260 He was promoted to flying officer on 17 November 1938 and to flight lieutenant on 3 September 1940.The London Gazette, 29 October 1940, Issue 34982, p. 6255
Knight was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941 with the following citation:
On 21 August 1941 he was promoted to squadron leader and made Commanding Officer of the newly formed No. 403 Squadron at RAF Hornchurch. Shortly thereafter he was shot down on active service over Dunkirk, France on 27 September 1941.
Knight's combat record reads: six kills, three probable kills, three damaged and one destroyed on the ground.
References