ΗΕLLENES
OF
ZIMBABWE
John Agorastos Plagis
John Agorastos Plagis was born in Hartley, Southern Rhodesia, on the 10th of March 1919. At the outbreak of World War 2 he tried to join the Rhodesian Air Force but was rejected since, because his parents were Greek, officially he was under Greek citizenship. The RAF at the time, desperately in need of pilots, could not be bothered with such minor details. He was accepted as a Greek citizen in 1940. He completed his training in January 1942 and transferred to No 249 Squadron, stationed on the besieged island of Malta.
His Spitfire MkVb “GN-K” AB346, which left the deck of the aircraft carrier 'Eagle' on March 6th 1942 - four days before Plagis's 23rd birthday - was one of the first 15 aircraft of that type delivered to the island. During the next two months he would score the bulk of his victories in the savage dogfights raging over Malta.
He was awarded the DFC, following a transfer to another Malta Squadron, No 185. He only had enough time to score one more victory before being evacuated to England for rest and recuperation due to a total mental and physical breakdown.
He resumed operational duties in September 1943, leading a flight in No 64 Squadron, this time in Coltishall, S. England. Escorting bombers and flying armed recon patrols over occupied Europe he succeeded in shooting down an Me-109 and a FW-190 from the cockpit of his Spitfire V “SH-B” BL734. In July 1944 he commanded No 126 Squadron in his Spitfire IX “5J-K” ML214, with which he scored four more victories during July and August. In September, during the ill-fated Operation “Market-Garden” he was shot down by flak over Arnhem. He crashed his Spitfire at high speed, but survived with only minor injuries.In 1944, No 126 Squadron was equipped with Mustang III’s. He flew these until the end of the war, performing bomber-escort.He continued to serve in the RAF and after a long period of rest in mid-April, he was posted to his home country, Rhodesia, taking command of a squadron until October of that year. Returning to England he commanded two jet-equipped units, flying Gloster Meteors and other relevant types of the jet-era, until his retirement in May 1948. He then returned to Hartley, this time as a Rhodesian citizen, running a company of his own in Salisbury. There he built a house on a street that would come to bare his name, “John Plagis Avenue”.Tragically, a few years later, John Plagis, the Greek / Rhodesian Ace who flew at least four different types of aircraft in combat, served in two theaters of operation with distinction, and earned the respect and admiration of his men, committed suicide. Another sad ending to a man no longer able to bear the bourdon of a war decided.
John Mansolas & Angelos Dalassenos are writers for the Greek magazines'Military History' 'Aviation History' & 'History Subjects'
