After completing a tour of duty as a Wellington pilot in the Middle East, Tom Long volunteered for the Pathfinder Force. He flew Mosquitoes with the Light Night Striking Force and raided Berlin twenty-five times in the latter stages of World War 2. He was twice awarded the DFC.
For the full obituary read HERE
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The Spotlight feature in the February 2017 edition of the magazine focuses on the Bristol Beaufort. It operated from UK bases attacking enemy shipping with bombs and torpedoes, a role it also fulfilled in the Mediterranean where it saw a great deal of action, despite heavy losses. The RAAF operated the aircraft in the anti-shipping and bombing roles in the southwest Pacific. My article looks at the careers of three men;
Peter Latham was a very experienced Cold War fighter pilot who was the leader of the Black Arrows formation aerobatic team, one of the predecessors of the Red Arrows. The displays at the Farnborough Air Show with formations up to sixteen Hunter aircraft captured the imagination of the public. He went on to command the Akrotiri Strike Wing and then RAF Tengah in Singapore. His final appointment was as AOC No. 11 (Fighter) Group.
For full obituary click HERE
This months edition of Flypast includes a special tribute to Bomber Command with seven articles on different aspects of the Command’s prodigious endeavours and achievements during World War Two. I was asked to contribute and wrote about ‘Tiger Force’, Bomber Command’s considerable contribution to the war against Japan and assembled as the war in Europe was coming to an end. In the event, with the dropping of the two atom bombs, it became the force that never was.
This morning I visited the marvellous charity fly2help at their new headquarters at Gloucestershire Airport where I met the chief executive, Alison Pavier, and her great team of dedicated young ladies.
In the early days of the charity I had been involved in a modest way but my visit today was the first for a number of years. I was tremendously impressed by the progress made and the expansion of their activities.
So, why was I there today? I recently gave my talk Behind Enemy Lines to the members of the Bristol Men’s Club. At the end of the evening they gave me a very handsome donation for one of my ‘favourite charities’. When I opened the envelope I saw it was for fly2help and I felt I must reconnect with them. I am delighted that I did.
They have a wonderful ‘mission statement’, which I have copied below. It captures their aims but why not visit their web site HERE and learn more about the wonderful work they are doing to promote aviation amongst young people and to provide a stimulating and heart-warming experience for those children and adults with profound disability, who are disadvantaged or bereaved?
Next week they celebrate their 10th Anniversary so please see what you can do to help them promote their great mission.
The Mission
Everything looks better from above the clouds where skies are blue. Leaving our worries on the ground gives us the freedom to look at the world from a fresh perspective.
fly2help is an aviation charity dedicated to raising the spirits of people, young and old, living in difficult personal situations and inspiring young people as they consider their future lives. Founded by pilots, our Air Smiles Days and Aim High education programme take everything that is exhilarating about flying and uses it to do something extraordinary.
A former Halton apprentice, Pawsey trained as a pilot and flew Spitfires during the Italian campaign. With little air opposition, Pawsey’s squadron, No. 253, was engaged in ground attack sorties in the Balkan Air Force in support of Marshal Tito’s Yugoslav partisans.
For full obituary click HERE
Burbridge was the most successful British and Commonwealth night fighter pilot of World War Two. With his navigator, Flight Lieutenant Bill Skelton, he destroyed 21 enemy aircraft and three V-1 flying bombs. On one sortie in support of a Bomber Command raid, the pair destroyed four aircraft . His exploits were recognised by the award of two DSOs and two DFCs. He devoted the rest of his life to his Christian beliefs with the Scripture Union.
For full obituary read HERE
Molly Rose was one of the last surviving ‘Spitfire Women’ who flew with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the Second World War. During the course of the war she delivered 486 aircraft and flew 38 different types ranging from the Tiger Moth to the Wellington bomber. Her favourite was the Spitfire, which she flew many times but she also mastered the Mosquito and the Beaufighter, both with a tendency to swing on take off and aircraft that some squadron pilots found difficult to handle.
For full obituary read HERE
This article appears in the ‘Spotlight’ feature of the December issue of the magazine and is devoted to the Hawker Tempest, a development of the Typhoon. Entering RAF service in the later stages of the war, it gained success against the V-1 flying bomb threat and gave excellent service as a ground attack fighter with 2 TAF. My article outlines the careers of three men who gave distinguished service flying the aircraft;
A Norwegian Army Air Force pilot who fought after the German invasion of his country before escaping across the North Sea in a fishing boat. He later commanded a Norwegian Spitfire squadron which he led during the Dieppe raid for which he was awarded the DFC. He later landed in France with his Norwegian Spitfire Wing.
Post war he served in NATO, rose to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and was Director of the National Defence College in Oslo.
(In the photograph he is receiving the Norwegian War Cross from King Haakon of Norway)
To read the full obituary click HERE
GRAHAM PITCHFORK 