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Anton "The Baron" Wilkins was a pilot in the Queen's German Legion (QGL) during the '91 Disaster. He would

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"The Baron" during a visit to RNAS Yeovilton in 1993

prove to be the New Commonwealth's highest scoring fighter pilot of the '91 War flying Hawker Hunter FG.16s with No.631 (QGL) Squadron.

Early Career[]

Training[]

Anton joined the Queen's German Legion (QGL) at 19 with goals of becoming a pilot. He was successful in his entry exams and qualified for pilot training. Somewhat amusingly, given the benefit of hindsight, his flight instructors repeatedly referred to his performance as "average". He had hoped to fly the QGL's Harriers but his performance in advanced training was deemed not good enough to safely fly the tricky aircraft and so he found himself posted to No.631 (QGL) Squadron at Gutersloh. Unusually he would remain in this squadron for almost ten years eventually becoming Squadron Leader by 1991.

The Namibian Bush War[]

Von Wilkins missed out on fighting in the Falklands Continuation War but found himself in Namibia as the conflict there began to widen to involve New Commonwealth forces. By this time he was a Flying Officer and qualified section leader. No.631 (QGL) Squadron was deployed to Namibia in April 1983 flying CAPs from

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MiG-21 downed by "The Baron" over Namibia

Malan air base to prevent Angolan and Cuban aircraft from assisting the Communist insurgents. On the 13th May 1983 Von Wilkins would core his first aerial victory when during the Battle of Kavango he engaged an Angolan MiG-21. The aircraft was part of a two aircraft section that had got seperated. He and another pilot, Pilot Officer Hans Reiner, attacked the MiG-21 from above and behind. Von Wilkins dispatched the aircraft with a Blue Vesta infra-red missile. This was the second MiG-21 claimed by the

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Wreckage from SU-20 downed by The Baron

squadron that day.

Von Wilkin and No.631 (QGL) Squadron spent much of the conflict either flying CAP or carrying out light attack missions against insrugents. However Von Wikins would score again on August 8th 1983 when he and Reiner engaged two SU-20 attack aircraft crossing the border from Angola. Von Wilkins shot one down while Reiner got the other.

Family[]

Anton Wilkins was the son of a German woman and a serving RAF officer who was on exchange to the Queen's German Legion (QGL). His uncle is Cyril Wilkins, founder of Wilkins Heavy Industries and chief designer on several New Commonwealth aircraft such as the Hawker Harlot.

In 1986 he married Katya Dietze and three years later she gave birth to their daughter, Dannika. Except for Dannika and a few other relations scattered between Britain and Hannover nearly all the Wilkins family were wiped out by the nuclear exchange during The '91 War.

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