Air Commodore Roy Kenneth Orrock DFC (18January 192111July 2002) was a British pilot during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer in the post-war years. He served as the fourteenth

Commandant Royal Observer Corps The Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps (CROC) was the Royal Air Force commander of the Royal Observer Corps. All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of Air Commodore, initially retired reserve officers then Auxiliary offic ...

from 1973 to 1975. He was Aide-de-camp to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. During the Second World War, Orrock flew with No. 22 Squadron RAF flying the

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British Multirole combat aircraft, multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter varian ...

moving to the Mediterranean in 1942 after which the unit was posted to North Africa and then the far east and later as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

No. 248 Squadron RAF No. 248 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, active immediately after World War I, and again during World War II. Service history First World War 248 Squadron RAF was formed at Hornsea Mere in the East Riding of Yorkshire in August 191 ...

flying the

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

. On 17 March 1945, whilst leading a strike force over

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Orrock's aircraft was hit by flak, but he made a successful ditching and became a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

until the end of the war.

References

External links

Banff Wing Strikes – Wing Commander R K Orrock
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Orrock, Roy Kenneth 1921 births 2002 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Havering Royal Air Force personnel of World War II English aviators People from Romford People of the Royal Observer Corps Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force officers