One of the last remaining Spitfire fighter pilots to patrol the Maltese skies at the height of World War II bombing, has died aged 99. 

Squadron Leader Allan Scott, who flew for the Royal Air Force, is best remembered in Malta for defending Operation Pedestal, also known as Il-Konvoj ta' Santa Marija, as ships with vital supplies struggled to make port amidst the heavy bombardment by the Axis Powers. 

Fascinated about flying since childhood, Scott skipped his studies to join the 124 squadron at London’s Biggin Hill airfield. 

While just nineteen years old, he shot down his first German bomber during the Battle of Britain in 1941. 

His second tour was in Malta a year later, where he ultimately won a Distinguished Flying Medal after shooting down five enemy aircraft during the siege of Malta. 

He has spoken of the hardships of the campaign where starving fighter pilots faced stark odds.

"Life was quite hectic in Malta because there was no food but you flew, whether you were starving or otherwise," he said.

"Life of a fighter pilot in Malta was given as 15 minutes. At the height of the war, we were scrambled four times a day. They pushed everything into that theatre to try to finish us: we were a real thorn in their side."

On his last visit to Malta in 2017, Scott spoke of the horrors he witnessed during the siege of Malta, where the island experienced 154 days of continuous bombing. 

Scott, along with the Prince of Wales, was in Malta at the time marking the 75th anniversary of King George VI awarding the Maltese the gallantry honour for enduring the siege.

“Malta was the most bombed place on earth,” Scott had said. 

“They had a target the size of the Isle of Wight and they flattened it."

Allan Scott was posted to Malta in World War II. Photo: Allan Scott/RAF Benevolent Fund

Despite his age, he was still flying well into retirement from the small airfield next to his home in Shropshire. He had planned to fly his final flight on his 100th birthday next year. 

At the age of 96, Scott flew a spitfire once again in 2018 as part of a formation of Spitfires and Hurricanes in a celebration to mark a century since the founding of the RAF.