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| PERSONALIA |
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| Name: |
Crawford-Compton, William Vernon |
| Date of birth: | March 2nd, 1915 (Invercargill/Southland, New Zealand)
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| Date of death: |
January 2nd, 1988
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| Nationality: |
New Zealander |
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BIOGRAPHY:
Service number 65500.
Born in Invercargill on 2 March 1916, he spent his early years in Waiuku, near Auckland.
In late 1938 he and three other men sailed in the ketch ’Land’s End’ for England, where he hoped to join the RAF. The boat was wrecked on a reef off the coast of New Guinea and the four made a raft from wreckage. Having drifted for twelve hours, they reached the safety of a small island. After six weeks with local natives the party reached safety in a canoe. Crawford-Compton finally arrived in Liverpool on 6 September 1939, having worked his passage as ship’s carpenter on a tramp steamer, and joined the RAF on the same day as a mechanic.
Having been accepted for flying training, he gained his wings as a Sergeant-Pilot and was posted in early March 1941 to the newly-formed 485 (NZ) Squadron.
Commissioned as a Pilot Officer, Crawford-Compton claimed one Bf 109 destroyed and two others probably destroyed in the closing months of 1941. When the German battleships ’Scharnhorst’ and ’Gneisenau’ made their ’Channel Dash’ on 12 February 1942 485 took part in cover operations. Crawford-Compton, by now a flight commander, shot down a Bf 109 west of Ostend.
Crawford-Compton shot down four enemy fighters in March and April and shared another. Returning from a sweep in late April 1942 he was injured in a forced-landing. The mishap was badly timed as command of 485 was about to become vacant and, with Crawford-Compton now non-operational, the post went to the other flight commander, Reg Grant.
Fit again in July 1942, Crawford-Compton was posted to 611 Squadron as a flight commander.
By December 1942, when he was given command of 64 Squadron, he had destroyed four more German fighters.
Crawford-Compton was to lead 64 Squadron until late March 1943. Earlier in the month the squadron escorted US Liberators to bomb targets at Rouen and in a running battle he destroyed an FW 190 and probably a second. On another sortie he shot an FW 190 down into the sea west of Calais.
In June 1943 Crawford-Compton was appointed to lead the Hornchurch Wing. During his six months in command, forty-one enemy aircraft were destroyed and possibly as many more were destroyed or damaged. In late 1943 he was sent to the USA to lecture on tactics.
In April 1944 he became Wing Commander,flying for three Free French squadrons, based then in southern England but ready for transfer to the Continent as soon as the invasion had taken place. Crawford-Compton led them on sweeps, attacks on railways, military installations, flying bomb sites and on coastal targets in the Pas de Calais. In the month after D-Day he destroyed a further four enemy aircraft.
After the war, in which he had been credited with twenty-one enemy aircraft destroyed, he remained with the RAF postwar, retiring as an Air Vice-Marshal on November 1st, 1968.
Post-war career:
1946/1947: HQ, Mediterranean Air Command, Cairo
1948: Returned to the UK
1950: Air Attaché, Oslo
1954: Group Captain commanding RAF Bruggen, Germany
1957: Appointed CBE
1965: Appointed CB
Promotions:
April 23th, 1941: Pilot Officer (probation)
April 23th, 1942: Pilot Officer
April 23th, 1942: Flying Officer (probation)
March 28th, 1943: Flight Lieutenant (war sub)
October 20th, 1943: Squadron Leader (war sub)
April 20th, 1943: Acting Wing Commander
December 10th, 1946 : Squadron Leader
July 1st, 1947: Wing Commander
January 1st, 1955: Group Captain
July 28th, 1959: Acing Air Commodore
July 1st, 1960: Air Commodore
June 1st, 1963: Acting Air Vice Marshall
July 1st, 1963: Air Vice Marshall
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DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS (DFC)
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Rank:
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Acting Flight Lieutenant
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Unit:
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No. 485 Squadron, Royal Air Force
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Awarded on:
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March 10th, 1942
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Action:
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Citation:
"This officer has participated in a large number of operational sorties. He has at all times displayed great dash and determination. He has destroyed 2 and probably destroyed another 2 enemy aircraft."
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DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS (DFC)
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Rank:
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Acting Flight Lieutenant
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Unit:
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No. 611 Squadron, Royal Air Force
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Awarded on:
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December 11th, 1942
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Action:
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Citation:
"This officer has led his flight on many operational sorties with great skill and success. Since being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross he has destroyed a further 5 enemy aircraft bringing his total victories to seven.”
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Details:
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Second DFC awarded as a bar for on the ribbon of the first DFC.
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SILVER STAR
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Rank:
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Squadron Leader
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Unit:
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No. 453 Squadron, Royal Air Force
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Awarded on:
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July 20th, 1943
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DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER (DSO)
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Rank:
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Acting Wing Commander
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Awarded on:
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September 24th, 1943
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Action:
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Citation:
"Since being awarded a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross, this officer has participated in a large number of sorties over enemy territory. By his masterly leadership, exceptional skill and gallant example, he has imbued the squadrons he commands with rare zest for battle, combined with a high standard of operational efficiency. Wing Commander Crawford-Compton, who has destroyed at least 13 hostile aircraft and damaged several others, has rendered most valuable service.”
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DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER (DSO)
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Rank:
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Acting Wing Commander
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Awarded on:
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January 26th, 1945
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Details:
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Second DSO awarded as a bar for on the ribbon of the first DSO.
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