Robert Wardlow Oxspring, (22 May 1919 – 8 August 1989) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and family

Oxspring was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London on 22 May 1919. His father, also named Robert, had served in No. 54 Squadron RFC, and was a founder member and commander of No. 66 Squadron RFC during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in which he was credited with several aerial victories, and was twice awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

before being wounded in action during a mid-air collision on 30 April 1917.

Military career

Oxspring was granted a short service commission as an acting pilot officer on 7 May 1938, being described at the time as "a tallish, good-looking, fair-headed bloke", and served in No. 66 Squadron RAF. He was regraded to pilot officer on 7 March 1939. Flying throughout the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, Oxspring was promoted to flying officer on 3 September 1940, and on 25 October was shot down in Spitfire X4170 near Capel, Kent. Known as one of the battle's great aces, he was one of the fraction of

The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase " Never, in the field of human c ...

selected by Fighter Command to have a portrait drawn by Cuthbert Orde, sitting for it on 9 December 1940. On 8 November 1940 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The citation read: Promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 3 September 1941, he became flight commander in No. 41 Squadron RAF, and went on to command No. 91 Squadron RAF at RAF Hawkinge, No. 222 Squadron RAF and No. 24 Wing. He was awarded a Bar to his DFC on 18 September 1942, with the citation: Moving to Mediterranean combat, it is thought probable that Oxspring was the pilot who shot down renowned German ace Anton Hafner of JG 51 on 2 January 1943. Having led his squadron to be the highest scoring in the North African theatre, and survived his second shooting down of the war, Oxspring was awarded a second Bar to his DFC in February 1943, with the citation reading: On 1 January 1944 he was promoted to temporary squadron leader, and was promoted to squadron leader (war substantive) on 15 June 1944. the rank he held when the conflict ceased in 1945. During the war he had registered 13 solo kills with 2 shared, 2 probable kills and 4 solo

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

s destroyed and 1 shared. After the war, on 10 January 1947, he was one of the British officers given royal recognition of the award of the Dutch Airman's Cross. He was also awarded the 1939–1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp, the Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany clasp, the Italy Star, and the War Medal 1939–1945. He stayed on in the RAF, receiving a permanent commission as a flight lieutenant on 1 September 1945, and being promoted to substantive squadron leader on 1 August 1947. He was awarded the Air Force Cross on 1 January 1949, after leading No. 54 Squadron RAF

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

s to Canada and the US, the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic. On 22 September 1949 he led a flight of five Vampire Mk.3 aircraft from 73 Squadron RAF on a tour of Italy to promote the aircraft to the Italian Air force. Flying VF345 Oxspring with a broken radio was unable to find the airfield at Malpensa. Almost out of fuel he chose to land in a field with the other four Vampires also out of fuel following him. All five pilots made successful landings without any serious injuries. Promotion came twice more, to wing commander on 1 January 1953, and finally group captain on 1 January 1960. He was appointed Station Commander of RAF Gatow in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where a section of the fence was the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. He retired on 23 February 1968.

Later life

Oxspring wrote the book ''Spitfire Command'' (1984, William Kimber & Co Ltd (publisher)], ; republished 2003 by Cerberus, ). Oxspring died on 8 August 1989, and is buried at Cranwell Parish church,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxspring, Bobby 1919 births 1989 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead Royal Air Force group captains British World War II flying aces The Few Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Airman's Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)