John Mitchner

John Davidson Mitchner, (3 July 1914 – 8 December 1964) was a Canadian flying ace who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War. During his service with the RCAF, he was credited with at least ten aerial victories.

Born in Saskatoon, Mitchner joined the RCAF in 1940. Completing his flying training the following year, he was sent to the United Kingdom to serve with the Royal Air Force. He was posted to No. 263 Squadron, which operated the Westland Whirlwind heavy fighter and served with this unit until June 1942, at which time he took up an instructing position before periods of service with other fighter squadrons. In November 1942, he was posted to the Canadian No. 402 Squadron where he remained for over a year, achieving a number of aerial victories. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross towards the end of 1943, he spent several months of the following year in Canada before returning to operations with No. 421 Squadron. More aerial victories were scored while flying in operations in support of Operation Market Garden and he was then transferred to No. 416 Squadron. By the end of the year he was commanding the squadron, remaining in this post until early 1946. He continued to serve in the RCAF in the postwar period, until 1960 when he retired for health reasons. He died four years later, aged 50.