Euan Rabagliati
| Euan Rabagliati | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cuthbert Euan Charles Rabagliati |
| Nickname(s) | The Rabbi |
| Born |
1 January 1892 Manningham, Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 6 January 1978 (aged 86) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1912–1948 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Unit | |
| Commands held | No. 24 Squadron RFC |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front World War II |
| Awards | |
| Relations |
|
| Other work | Racing driver, insurance broker, MI6 officer |
Lieutenant Colonel Cuthbert Euan Charles Rabagliati MC, AFC, (1 January 1892 – 6 January 1978) was a British soldier, pilot, race car driver and intelligence officer. He served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and is credited as being the first RFC pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. As a racing driver at Brooklands in the 1930s, his crash was followed by the banning of mechanics racing alongside their drivers. During World War II he served as head of MI6's Dutch section.
Rabagliati, who preferred to use his second name Euan, was born in Manningham, Bradford, Yorkshire, the fourth son of Dr. Andrea Rabagliati and Helen Priscilla McLaren. His father, the son of an Italian political refugee who had settled in Edinburgh, worked as a surgeon at Bradford Infirmary. Euan was educated at the Loretto School in Edinburgh and Bradford Grammar School. He then attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst as a gentlemen cadet, and after passing out was commissioned as a second lieutenant in The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) on 14 February 1912. Rabagliati became interested in flying, and was awarded Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 779 after soloing a Bristol biplane at the Bristol Flying School at Brooklands on 11 May 1914. He was then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, being appointed a flying officer on 30 June, and was promoted to lieutenant on 12 August.
Rabagliati was posted to No. 5 Squadron RFC, which moved to France on 14 August, ten days after Britain's declaration of war on Germany. While selected pilots flew the squadron's twelve aircraft across the channel, Rabagliati and the rest of the squadron's personnel travelled by ship. On 21 August Second Lieutenant C. W. Wilson, with Rabagliati as his observer, flew the squadron's first reconnaissance mission, locating German cavalry ten miles from Namur. On 25 August the squadron was based at La Cateau when a Taube reconnaissance aircraft was seen approaching from the south. The squadron's commanding officer Major John Higgins ordered Wilson to drive him off, and Rabagliati jumped into the observer's seat of their Avro 504 carrying a Lee–Enfield .303 rifle and ammunition. Rabagliati steered Wilson to a position ahead and below the Taube, then opened fire with his rifle. Rabagliati fired around 100 rounds before the Taube pilot slumped forward into his seat and the aircraft descended to the ground and landed. Wilson considered landing to capture the aircraft, but observed what he assumed was a German column of troops approaching. Only after landing did he learn that they were British. Wilson and Rabagliati were credited with the first German aircraft shot down by the RFC, and on 8 October Rabagliati received a mention in despatches from Field-Marshal John French, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in France.
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