George Frederick "Buzz" Beurling, (6 December 1921 – 20 May 1948) was the most successful Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Beurling was recognised as "Canada's most famous hero of the Second World War", as "The Falcon of Malta" and the "Knight of Malta", having been credited with shooting down 27 Axis aircraft in just 14 days over the besieged Mediterranean island. Before the war ended his official total climbed to either 31 or 31. Beurling's wartime service was terminated prior to war's end, for repeated stunting and his lack of teamwork. Having found a way to potentially continue combat flying in the postwar era, Beurling was killed in a crash while attempting to deliver an aircraft to Israel.<ref>"George Frederick "Screwball" Beurling." acesofww2.com'. Retrieved: 3 August 2009.</ref> Early life George Beurling was born in 1921 in Verdun (now part of Montreal), Quebec into a religious family and was the third of five children in the family. His father, Frederick Gustav Beurling, was Swedish and a commercial artist working for the Claude Neon Company. His mother, Hetty Florence Gibbs, is of English descent and was born in the Montreal suburb of Pointe-Saint-Charles. George Beurling began to develop an interest in flying at the age of 6 when his father built him a model aircraft. His parents wanted him to study in McGill University and become a successful commercial artist like his father. At the age of 15, George quit school and took up a job to increase his income. One year later, he had logged 150 flying hours and passed all examinations for a commercial pilot licence. Wanting to increase his flying experience, he went to China, hoping to join the Chinese Nationalist Air Force by crossing the US border. He was intending to head to San Francisco and work for some while in China and later sign up for the job. Eventually, he was arrested as an immigrant at the border and was repatriated back home. He first took the controls of an aircraft in 1933, and was flying solo by 1938. He left school to work for an air freight company in Gravenhurst, Ontario, and soon gained a commercial licence. Beurling joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in September 1940. Second World War With the outbreak of war, Beurling tried to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), but his lack of academic qualifications