When David Charles Fairbanks was growing up in Ithaca during the 1920s, he dreamed of flying.

Those dreams became reality during World War II when he became one of the Allies most decorated fighter pilots.

Last month, Fairbanks was posthumously honored with induction into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, located in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, near Edmonton.

So how did a native of Upstate New York end up being honored in a Canadian Hall of Fame?

David Fairbanks is seen as a fighter pilot during the Second World War, after receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross.Courtesy of the Canadian Aviatio

A lot owed to Fairbanks’ pursuit of his childhood dreams and a lack of patience to see combat.

The son of a Cornell University professor, as a boy, Fairbanks built model airplanes and sought airplane rides wherever he could. He read any book he could get his hands on which described the heroic deeds of the fighter pilots of the First World War.

As another war loomed in 1939, Fairbanks watched the situation overseas with great interest.

In 1940 he graduated from high school and enrolled at Cornell, all the while waiting for the United States to enter the fighting.

In January 1941, almost a year before Pearl Harbor, Fairbanks could wait no longer. Canada had joined the war, so Fairbanks convinced his widowed mother to write him a letter of permission to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, becoming one of over 6,000 Americans who joined the R.C.A.F. by the end of 1941.

In Toronto, Fairbanks was selected for flight training and received his pilot’s wings on Nov. 21, 1941.

With his skill as a pilot, he served first as a flight instructor in Ontario and Quebec, before being promoted to Flight Lieutenant and being sent to England.

He was posted to the 501 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. He flew a Spitfire and quickly showcased his skill.

On June 9, 1944 he destroyed a German Messerschmitt and damaged another one.

In July, he was flying in the RAF’s latest fighter plane, the Hawker Tempest V, the heaviest single-engine fighter in British service. It could reach a top speed of 435 miles per hour, was armed with four 20mm cannon and could carry a ton’s worth of bombs and rockets.

On Nov. 19, 1944, Fairbanks escaped death when his Tempest was badly damaged when shot by ground fire in the leading edge of the port wing during combat. The fuel tank was set on fire and the flames burned the fuselage and the tail surfaces. He was able to return to base and land safely, after which he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross. After repairs, the aircraft was flown by Fairbanks just once more, on December 17. He claimed two enemy Messerschmitt BF109s that day and damaged another.Courtesy of the Canadian Aviatio

Fairbanks once described the chaos of one of his dogfights, including a rude gesture he gave to a German pilot:

“The enemy aircraft continued straight and level just at the base of a cloud. I quickly closed the range from below to approximately 150 yards. I fired but only my port cannons worked. After a few bursts I saw strikes on the enemy’s starboard wing. He did only a very slight turn to starboard and continued on. I rolled onto him again and fired until my ammo ran out. I overhauled the enemy aircraft and came right under his wing for a few seconds – the pilot was looking out the opposite side and did not seem to have a clue! He finally saw me, and I pulled over the top of him, gave the finger side, and came home.”

He earned a reputation for his bravery and some called him the “Terror of the Rheine.”

By 1945, he was promoted to Squadron Leader. He was just 22 years old.

He was shot down on Feb. 28, 1945 and spent weeks in a prisoner of war camp until April when he was liberated by Allied troops.

He achieved 15 victories in the air, including six within a two-week period, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times.

David Fairbanks is seen standing at far left in 1945, holding the rank of squadron leader and now commander of 274 RAF Squadron, whose motto was Supero – “I Overcome.”Courtesy of the Canadian Aviatio

“By the excellent example he has set, his initiative and fine leadership,” the citation said when he was awarded for the third time, “this officer has inspired the other members of his squadron and all pilots with whom he has come in contact.”

After the war, he returned to Ithaca and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1950 from Cornell.

He worked as an engineer for the Dominion Bridge Company in Montreal before joining de Havilland Aircraft of Canada as a test pilot.

He died on Feb. 20, 1975 at the age 52.

A year later he was posthumously awarded the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy, Canada’s oldest and most prestigious aviation honor.

“As a pilot, Dave was an artist, the airplane was his brush and the sky his canvas,” said Tom Appleton, former chairman of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame said of Fairbanks. “He had a deft touch with hands and feet and the ability to place an aircraft in front of an audience at the best angle, showing it off to advantage to draw attention without abusing its limits.”