Thomas Daniel Calnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1915-12-16)16 December 1915 |
| Died | 13 September 1981(1981-09-13) (aged 65) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1959 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Thomas Daniel Calnan (16 December 1915 – 13 September 1981) was an English pilot andprisoner-of-war ofWorld War II, who wrote a memoir of his time in German captivity entitledFree As A Running Fox.
Calnan was commissioned in the RAF on 19 December 1936.[1]
Calnan was shot down while flying aSpitfire on a photo-reconnaissance mission over France in December 1941. He gives some brief background about himself and his flying career with the RAF'sNo. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, but devotes most of the book to his escape attempts while a prisoner of the Germans. He was incarcerated atStalag Luft III during the period of the "Great Escape."[2]
He was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander on 1 January 1949, and retired on 14 February 1959.[1] Calnan latterly lived inZinal,Switzerland,[3] where he died in September 1981 at the age of 65.[4]
