Geoffrey Cooper (RAF officer)

Geoffrey Strickland Cooper OBE (25 October 1925 – 13 December 2014) was a Royal Air Force officer of the post-Second World War era who as a fighter pilot saw action in the Middle East and Malaya.[1]

Geoffrey Cooper
Birth name	Geoffrey Strickland Cooper
Born	(1925-10-25)October 25, 1925
Died	December 14, 2014(2014-12-14) (aged 89)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Unit	208 Squadron

In early 1948, Cooper was stationed at Ramat David in Palestine with 208 Squadron when his base came under attack from a Spitfire of the Egyptian Air Force, destroying two British Spitfires on the ground. Just hours later an Egyptian patrol of three more Spitfires attacked again. In the subsequent fight, Cooper shot down one Spitfire, damaged another which a colleague then shot down, and a third was destroyed from the ground.[1]

In January 1949, while on patrol, Cooper was involved in a fight with Spitfires of the Israeli Air Force and forced to bail out inside Egyptian territory. He was found by Bedouin tribesmen and returned to his base.[1]

In 1956, Cooper was involved in actions against communist insurgents in Malaya.[1]

Cooper retired from the RAF in 1978 as an Air Commodore. He then worked as the air correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.[1]