Adrian WARBURTON. D S O and Bar, D F C and 2 Bars. Wing Commander 41035 Royal Air Force
Born 10 March 1918 to Navy Commander. Geoffrey Warburton, D.S.O., R.N., and Muriel Warburton nee Davidson of Middlesborough, Yorkshire. Husband of Eileen A M Warburton, nee Mitchell of Westminster, London. Commanded 683 Squadron. Killed in action while flying a USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 12 April 1944 aged 26 years. His remains were unearthed by aviation investigators in a German field November 2002.
He was laid to rest 14 May 2003, with full military honours at Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany. Plot 11 Row H. Grave 2879
Battles Second World War. Siege of Malta and also Allied invasion of Sicily
Promotions:
September 3th, 1939: Pilot Officer (probation). October 31st, 1939: Pilot Officer. December 3th, 1940: Flying Officer. December 3th, 1941: Flight Lieutenant (war sub). February 20th, 1943: Squadron Leader (war sub)
Distinguished Flying Cross. (DFC) Awarded 11 February 1941. Flying Officer with No 431 Flight Royal Air Force.
Citation.
"This officer has carried out numerous long-distance reconnaissance flights and has taken part in night air combats. In October, 1940, he destroyed an aircraft and again, in December, he shot down an enemy bomber in flames. Flying Officer Warburton has at all times displayed a fine sense of devotion to duty."
Distinguished Flying Cross. (DFC). Awarded 9 September 1941. Flying Officer with 69 Squadron RAF
Citation
“This officer is a most determined and skilful pilot and has carried out 125 operational missions. Flying Officer Warburton has never failed to complete the missions he has undertaken and, in the actions fought, he has destroyed at least three hostile aircraft in combat and another three on the ground. “Second DFC awarded as a bar for on the ribbon of the first DFC.
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Awarded 20 March 1942 as Flight Lieutenant
Citation.
“This officer has carried out many missions each of which has demanded the highest degree of courage and skill. On one occasion whilst carrying out a reconnaissance of Taranto, Flight Lieutenant Warburton made 2 attempts to penetrate the harbour, although as there was much low cloud this entailed flying at a height of 50 feet over an enemy battleship. In spite of the failure of his port engine and repeated attacks from enemy aircraft, he completed his mission and made a safe return. On another occasion he obtained photographs of Tripoli in spite of enemy fighter patrols over the harbour. In March, 1942, Flight Lieutenant Warburton carried out a reconnaissance of Palermo and obtained photographs - revealing the damage caused by our attacks. This officer has never failed to obtain photographs from a very low altitude, regardless of enemy opposition. His work has been most valuable and he has displayed great skill and tenacity."
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Awarded 3 November 1942. Acting Squadron Leader with 69 Squadron, RAF.
Citation.
"Since August, 1942, this officer has completed numerous operational photographic sorties, many of them at low altitudes and often in the face of opposition from enemy fighters. His work has been of the utmost value. In October, 1942, his gallantry was well illustrated when he directed an enemy destroyer to a dinghy in which were the crew of one of our aircraft, which had been shot down. Although he was fired upon by the destroyer and engaged by Italian aircraft he remained over the area until he observed that the drifting crew were picked up by the destroyer."
Details:
Third DFC awarded as second bar for on the ribbon of the first DFC.
Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Awarded 6 August 1943. Acting Wing Commander with No 683 Squadron, RAF.
Citation.
"This officer has undertaken a very large number of reconnaissance nights over a wide range of targets in the Middle East theatre. His work throughout has been of the highest order and the information he has obtained has proved of incalculable value. On one occasion in December, 1942, he made a low-level flight over Naples and achieved success in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire and fighter opposition. Wing Commander Warburton's great courage and devotion to duty were well illustrated during a reconnaissance of Pantellaria in May, 1943. Although his aircraft was continuously subjected to fire from the coastal batteries, he skilfully accomplished his task securing information of the highest importance. Wing Commander Warburton's record of operational flying is outstanding."
Details:
Second DSO awarded as a bar for on the ribbon of the first DSO.
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) (USA). Awarded 18 January 1944. Acting Wing Commander RAFVR
Credit the following extract to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/aerial_recon_gallery_03.shtml
Wing Commander Warburton
The RAF's most valuable pilot
Wing Commander Adrian Warburton, DSO and Bar, DFC and Two Bars, DFC (USA), was one of the most decorated pilots of World War Two. Lord Tedder, Marshall of the RAF, even described him as 'the most valuable pilot in the RAF'. Strangely, 'Warby' had been considered a below-average pilot while he was with 22 Squadron of Coastal Command, but after he was transferred to Malta, he developed a very considerable reputation for his photographic reconnaissance work at Taranto, Sicily and North Africa.
Although considered a law unto himself, uncontrollable and unpredictable, the fact that he always got his photographs, coupled with his skill, bravery and hard work, caused Warby's unconventional behaviour to be overlooked. With his girlfriend Christina, he became part of Malta's legend, a symbol of the island's resistance to the Axis powers. This photograph of Warby, taken in 1943 on the wing of a P-38 Lightning aeroplane, shows his typically unconventional dress.
After contributing greatly to the success of the Allied landings on Sicily in 1943, for which he was personally thanked by General Alexander, Warby commanded 336 Photo Reconnaissance Wing in North Africa. Then, following a serious car accident, he returned to the UK and began a liaison job with the US Photo Reconnaissance Groups - thanks to his friendship with Elliott Roosevelt, son of the US president.
Even though he had been grounded due to his injuries from the car accident, on 12 April 1944 Warby took off in a Lockheed F-5B (a variant of the P-38 Lightning) - he never returned from this flight, and there was no clue as to what had happened to him. By the time of his disappearance, however, he had flown over 350 operational photographic reconnaissance sorties.
After many years the site where he had crashed his plane was discovered, and after this, in May 2003, a military funeral was finally held for this legendary pilot.
the following credited to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Warburton
Death and legacy
By the beginning of 1944, he had been promoted to the rank of wing commander and his gallantry recognised by the award of the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Bars and an American Distinguished Flying Cross. By this time, he had flown nearly 400 operations and claimed 9 enemy aircraft destroyed. On 1 April 1944, he was posted as the RAF Liaison Officer to the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, US 8th Army Air Force, at RAF Mount Farm in Oxfordshire. Warburton was the pilot of one of two Lockheed F-5B photo-reconnaissance aircraft (a version of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter) that took off together from Mount Farm on the morning of 12 April 1944, to photograph targets in Germany. Although, as a liaison officer, Warburton should not have been flying operations, he was given permission to fly by the American base commander, Lt-Col. Elliott Roosevelt, the son of the president of the USA. The aircraft separated approximately 100 mi (160 km) north of Munich to carry out their respective tasks; it was planned that they would meet and fly on to a USAAF airfield in Sardinia. He failed to arrive at the rendezvous point and was not seen again. Years of speculation about his fate came to an end in 2002, when his remains were found in the cockpit of his aircraft, buried about 2 yd (1.8 m) deep in a field near the Bavarian village of Egling an der Paar, 34 mi (55 km) west of Munich. According to witnesses, the aircraft fell there on 12 April 1944, around 11:45. One of the propellers had bullet holes in it, which suggests that Warburton had been shot down. Parts of the wreck can be seen today in the Malta Aviation Museum. Only a few pieces of bone and the odd part of flying clothing were found. As Warburton was flying a USAAF plane with USAAF markings he was thought to be an American. Most of Warburton's body was removed from the P-38 and buried in a grave in the Kaufering town cemetery. The grave was marked "unknown American Airman" and was next to a Halifax crew who were shot down on the night of 6/7 September 1943. When the area came under Allied control (particularly American), the graves were moved.
A memorial service was held on 14 May 2003, in the St Aegidius Parish church, Gmund am Tegernsee, followed by burial at the Dürnbach Commonwealth War Cemetery. Warburton had been married in 1939 to Eileen Adelaide Mitchell. The ceremony was attended by his widow, Eileen (known as Betty) and by Jack Vowles, a former comrade who had served with him in Malta in the early 1940s
