List of Victoria Cross recipients of the Royal Air Force

The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other postnominals and medals. It can be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture held at Buckingham Palace. It is the joint highest award for bravery in the United Kingdom with the George Cross, which is the equivalent honour for valour not "in the face of the enemy".[1] The VC has been awarded on 1356 occasions to 1353 individual recipients.

Photograph of the roll of honour to British airmen in St. Clement Danes

The ribbon is crimson, 38 mm (1.5 inches) wide. The original (1856) specification for the award stated that the ribbon should be red for army recipients and blue for naval ones.[2] However the dark blue ribbon was abolished soon after the formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. On 22 May 1920 King George V signed a warrant that stated all recipients would now receive a red ribbon and the living recipients of the naval version were required to exchange their ribbons for the new colour.[3][4]

There have been a total of 26 recipients of the VC who were serving in the Royal Air Force, including the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, at the time of their valiant deed or deeds. First World War VCs awarded to airmen in the Royal Flying Corps (13 in total) and the Royal Naval Air Service (2 in total) are not listed below, see the RN page for the RNAS recipients. The vast majority of air force VCs awarded in a single conflict were for the Second World War, with the majority being won by Bomber Command aircrew and only one going to Fighter Command.[5] Second World War dominion air force personnel under RAF command are not listed below. Their tally is as follows: Royal New Zealand Air Force (3 awards), Royal Australian Air Force (2 awards), Royal Canadian Air Force (2 awards), South African Air Force (1 award). Additionally, two Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm airmen won the VC during the Second World War, one of whom was attached from the Royal Canadian Navy.

All of the 26 men who won the VC while serving in the RAF were aircrew. Although no RAF ground branch officers or tradesmen have ever won the VC while serving in the RAF, Group Captain F H Kirby, who was an RAF equipment officer, won the VC for his actions during the Second Boer War when he was a corporal in the Royal Engineers.[6] No RAF personnel have been awarded the VC since the end of the Second World War.

Recipients

  This along with the * indicates that the Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously

NameUnitDate of actionConflictPlace of actionNotes
Edward Mannock074No. 74 Squadron and
No. 85 Squadron		17 June 1918 to
26 July 1918*		First World WarWestern Front[7]
Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor084No. 84 Squadron8 August 1918 to
8 October 1918		First World WarWestern Front[8]
Ferdinand West008No. 8 Squadron10 August 1918First World WarNear Ham and Hombleux, France[9]
William Barker201No. 201 Squadron (attached)27 October 1918First World WarOver the Forêt de Mormal, France[10]
Donald Garland012No. 12 Squadron12 May 1940*Second World WarOver the Albert Canal, Belgium[11]
Thomas Gray012No. 12 Squadron12 May 1940*Second World WarOver the Albert Canal, Belgium[11]
Roderick Learoyd049No. 49 Squadron12 August 1940Second World WarOver the Dortmund-Ems Canal, Germany[12]
James Nicolson249No. 249 Squadron16 August 1940Second World WarNear Southampton, England[13]
John Hannah083No. 83 Squadron15 September 1940Second World WarOver Antwerp, Belgium[14]
Kenneth Campbell022No. 22 Squadron6 April 1941*Second World WarOver Brest Harbour, France[15]
Hughie Edwards105No. 105 Squadron4 July 1941Second World WarOver the port of Bremen, Germany[16]
Arthur Scarf062No. 62 Squadron9 December 1941*Second World WarOver and on return from Singora, Thailand[17]
John Nettleton044No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron17 April 1942Second World WarOn the outward flight and over Augsburg, Germany[18]
Leslie Manser050No. 50 Squadron30 May 1942 to
31 May 1942*		Second World WarOver and attempting to return from Cologne, Germany[19]
Hugh Malcolm018No. 18 Squadron4 December 1942*Second World WarNear Chougui, Tunisia[20]
Guy Gibson617No. 617 Squadron16 May 1943 to
17 May 1943		Second World WarOver the Möhne and Eder dams, Germany[21]
Arthur Aaron218No. 218 Squadron12 August 1943*Second World WarOver Turin, Italy and on the return flight to Bone, North Africa[22]
William Reid061No. 61 Squadron3 November 1943Second World WarOn the outward flight and over and returning from Düsseldorf, Germany[23]
Cyril Barton578No. 578 Squadron30 March 1944*Second World WarOn the outward flight and over and returning from Nuremberg, Germany[24]
Norman Jackson106No. 106 Squadron26 April 1944 to
27 April 1944		Second World WarAttempting to return from Schweinfurt, Germany[25]
John Cruickshank210No. 210 Squadron17 July 1944 to
18 July 1944		Second World WarNorth Atlantic[26]
Ian Bazalgette635No. 635 Squadron4 August 1944*Second World WarOver Trossy St. Maximin and flying to Senantes, France[27]
Leonard Cheshire000Several bomber squadrons1940 to 1944Second World WarWestern Europe[28]
David Lord271No. 271 Squadron19 September 1944*Second World WarOver Arnhem, Holland[29]
Robert Palmer109No. 109 Squadron23 December 1944*Second World WarOver Cologne, Germany[30]
George Thompson009No. 9 Squadron1 January 1945*Second World WarOver the Dortmund-Ems Canal, Germany[31]

References
General
  • Bowyer, Chaz (1992). For Valour - The Air VCs. Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-57-7.
  • Ashcroft, Michael (2006). Victoria Cross Heroes. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7553-1632-0.
  • "RAF Victoria Cross Holders - WW1". Malcolm Barrass. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  • "RAF Victoria Cross Holders - WW2". Malcolm Barrass. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  • "Royal Air Force Victoria Cross recipients". Mike Chapman. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  • "Victoria Cross Registers". National Archives (UK). Retrieved 13 November 2008.
Specific
  1. "The world's most exclusive club". Ministry of Defence. 30 April 2007. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  2. "Original warrant, Clause Two": Secondly. It is ordained that the Cross shall be suspended from the left breast by a blue riband for the Navy, and by a red riband for the Army
  3. "The Victoria Cross". Imperial War Museum Collections. Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  4. "The Victoria Cross mentioned in newsletter" (PDF). Army Museum of Western Australia. 1 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  5. Neil, Tom (15 September 2015). Scramble: The Dramatic Story of a Young Fighter Pilot's Experiences During the Battle of Britain and the Siege of Malta. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445649528.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 October 2004. Retrieved 28 November 2004.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "No. 31463". The London Gazette. 18 July 1919. p. 9136.
  8. "No. 31042". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1918. p. 14204.
  9. "No. 30999". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1918. p. 13199.
  10. "No. 31042". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1918. p. 14203.
  11. "No. 34870". The London Gazette. 11 June 1940. p. 3516.
  12. "No. 34927". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 August 1940. p. 5090.
  13. "No. 34993". The London Gazette. 15 November 1940. p. 6569.
  14. "No. 34958". The London Gazette. 1 October 1940. p. 5788.
  15. "No. 35486". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 March 1942. p. 1163.
  16. "No. 35225". The London Gazette. 22 July 1941. p. 4213.
  17. "No. 37623". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1946. p. 3211.
  18. "No. 35539". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 April 1942. p. 1851.
  19. "No. 35755". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 October 1942. p. 4593.
  20. "No. 35992". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1943. p. 1905.
  21. "No. 36030". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 May 1943. p. 2361.
  22. "No. 36235". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 November 1943. p. 4859.
  23. "No. 36285". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 December 1943. p. 5435.
  24. "No. 36584". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1944. p. 3041.
  25. "No. 37324". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 October 1945. p. 5233.
  26. "No. 36682". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 August 1944. p. 4073.
  27. "No. 37228". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 1945. p. 4185.
  28. "No. 36693". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 September 1944. p. 4175.
  29. "No. 37347". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 November 1945. p. 5533.
  30. "No. 36997". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 1945. p. 1593.
  31. "No. 36948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1945. p. 999.
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