Georgios Tagalakis joined the Air Force (then Royal Hellenic Air Force – EBA) as a non-commissioned officer in 1940. In 1942 he received his pilot's license in Rhodesia.
He returned to Greece after the liberation and as a second lieutenant, participated in operations against his rebels, later the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), flying a Spitfire V aircraft. On one such mission, flying close to the border, Yugoslav anti-aircraft opened fire, in violation of any concept of international law, against the Greek aircraft.
Tagalakis' aircraft was badly damaged and the lieutenant commander had no choice but to make an emergency landing on the only smooth ground he could find, inside Yugoslavia. Fortunately, Tagalakis was saved. But the Yugoslavs kept him a prisoner for a month, and only after serious pressure did they release him.
And yet Tagalakis was not the first time he was shot down. It had been brought down again over Yugoslavia, hitting the German occupiers, supporting those same Tito men who now brought him down. From that downing, Tagalakis had a permanent "souvenir" of a German fragment in his liver...
Although he could have retired, he insisted on flying in defense of the country. He was finally killed on June 23, 1947 in a tactical reconnaissance war mission in the Kaimaktsalan area with a Harvard aircraft. This was the "fascist", as the DSE called the aviators, Tagalakis.
