Colonel Neall Ellis HC
Birth name	Neall Ellis
Nickname(s)	Nellis, Gunship Ace
Born	(1949-11-24)24 November 1949 Johannesburg, South Africa
Allegiance	Rhodesia  South Africa Executive Outcomes  Sierra Leone
Service/branch	Rhodesian Army South African Air Force
Years of service	?–1971 (Rhodesia) 1971–1992 (South Africa) 1996–2004 (Sierra Leone)
Rank	Colonel
Wars	Rhodesian Bush War South African Border War Angolan Civil War First Congo War Sierra Leone Civil War Yugoslav Wars War in Iraq
Awards

Neall Ellis HC is a South African military aviator and mercenary. Raised in Bulawayo, he joined the South African Air Force after a brief stint in the Rhodesian Army. As a helicopter pilot he was awarded the Honoris Crux decoration in 1983, and later attained field rank. After retiring from the SAAF he contracted for various private military corporations, including Executive Outcomes and Sandline International. During the civil war in Sierra Leone, he and his Mi-24 crew held off Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces almost single-handedly.^[1][2] He also provided fire support for British troops during Operation Barras.

Awards

Pilots Wings
(Qualification)

2500 plus hrs Black on Thatch beige, Embossed National Coat of Arms with large wings enclosed by two black rectangles

• Honoris Crux (1952) (HC) (South Africa)

References

External links

• "British officer advised gunship killers". Independent.co.uk. 6 September 2000.
• "Shadow Company : The Rules of War Have Changed".
• "Foreign Correspondent". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
• "The 5 Craziest Soldiers of Fortune To Ever Cash a Paycheck". 13 October 2011.