Bio / Text:
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After pilot training in Southern Rhodesia, followed by a year as an instructor, Coulthard joined his first fighter squadron, No 65, flying the Spitfire. At the beginning of 1943 he went to Malta to join No 242 Squadron and took part in the invasion of Sicily, flying bomber escort sorties.
In July 1943 the squadron started flying from airstrips on the island in support of the invasion of the Italian mainland, before moving in September to one of the Salerno beachhead airfields. The squadron operated in support of the forward troops, although the airfield was constantly under shellfire. More effective as a hindrance was the rain and mud, which virtually grounded the squadron for the next two months.
For 15 months Coulthard flew intensive operations, employed almost entirely on ground attack missions. He took part in the re-occupation of Corsica before flying in support of the invasion of southern France in June 1944. He was mentioned in dispatches.
Coulthard returned to England at the end of 1944 to join No 504 Squadron - which was later re-numbered No 245 - the second RAF squadron to operate the Meteor jet fighter, which he continued to fly for the next three years.
