Although Crawford-Compton enlisted in the RAF in a
groundcrew role, he was later selected for flight training. Once this was completed, towards the end of 1940, he was posted to
No. 603 Squadron, based at
Hornchurch, as a
sergeant pilot. In March 1941 he was transferred to
No. 485 Squadron. His new unit, newly formed at
Driffield, had a cadre of experienced New Zealand pilots. After a period of training, the squadron became operational on 12 April, flying
Supermarine Spitfire fighters on patrols over the
North Sea.
Circus offensive stands first right while
Jack Rae stands first left In June No. 485 Squadron graduated to taking part in the RAF's
Circus offensive, carrying out sweeps over the French coast and the following month was operating from
Redhill. By this time Crawford-Compton had been
commissioned in the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) and was a probationary
pilot officer. Redhill was a satellite airfield to
Kenley and the squadron formed part of Kenley Wing, alongside
No. 452 and
No. 602 Squadrons. It flew 22 offensive operations in July during which seven pilots were lost. By September the tempo of operations had slowed, with the squadron only involved in seven operations. During one of these, on 21 September, Crawford-Compton engaged a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, claiming it as probably destroyed. The following month, while covering bombers attacking
St. Omer on 13 October, he destroyed a Bf 109, stating that he had seen it break up in midair. As winter set in, offensive operations were scaled back but on one of the final sweeps of year, carried out on 6 November, he claimed another Bf 109 as probably destroyed near
Cap Gris-Nez. On 12 February 1942, No. 485 Squadron was among those
scrambled during the
Channel Dash, with Crawford-Compton leading one of its flights. He shot down one Bf 109, which crashed near
Ostend and damaged a second. Now holding the rank of acting
flight lieutenant, he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) early the following month; the citation, published in
The London Gazette, read: The Kenley Wing resumed offensive operations the next month and on 26 March, while escorting
Douglas Boston bombers attacking
Le Havre, the squadron encountered large numbers of Bf 109s. Crawford-Compton, leading the squadron on this operation, shot down one of the enemy fighters during the engagement, and with Pilot Officer
Evan Mackie, shared in the destruction of another. Two days later he shot down a
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter, one of several put up by the
Luftwaffe in response to a sweep mounted by the RAF that covered the French coast from Cap Gris-Nez to
Dunkirk. On 27 April, Crawford-Compton was involved in an accident when the engine of his Spitfire cut out while landing after an operation. During the resulting crash landing, he broke his wrist. This took him off flight operations for a time while he recovered and meant he missed being given command of No. 485 Squadron, for its commander,
Squadron Leader Edward Wells, was to be appointed to lead Kenley Wing. In August, once he recovered from his injuries, he was posted to
No. 611 Squadron, another Spitfire unit, as one of its flight leaders. He soon was back in action, and damaged a Fw 190 on 19 August while flying one of two covering patrols he carried out during the
Dieppe Raid. On the other patrol, he became separated from his section and was pursued by four Fw 190s, which only ceased the chase halfway across the
English Channel. Five days later, he destroyed another Fw 190. He claimed to have shot down two more on 28 August, when his squadron was escorting
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the
United States Army Air Force (USAAF) on a bombing raid of an aircraft factory at
Méaulte, near
Amiens. On subsequent operations from September to early November, he was credited with damaging at least six Fw 190s. On 9 November he claimed a Fw 190 as destroyed near Cap Gris-Nez. A further Fw 190 was claimed as probably shot down south of Dunkirk on 6 December. Crawford-Compton was appointed commander of the Spitfire-equipped
No. 64 Squadron on Christmas Day. By this time he had been awarded a
Bar to his DFC; the published citation read: Crawford-Compton was credited with damaging a Fw 190 on 20 January 1943 and damaged another one the following month. On 8 March he had two Fw 190s confirmed as destroyed near
Clères. He gave up command of No. 64 Squadron shortly afterwards, at which time he was assigned a staff role at
No. 11 Group. Despite his duties, he still occasionally flew on operations, and on 13 March, while flying with
No. 122 Squadron was credited with damaging a Bf 109. In June he was appointed commander of the fighter wing at Hornchurch, which included
No. 129 and
No. 222 Squadrons. Much of the wing's work involved escorting bombers of the USAAF on raids to France. In recognition of these efforts, he was awarded the
Silver Star, a United States gallantry medal. He destroyed a Bf 109 on 27 June. Another Bf 109 was destroyed on 19 August and this was followed by Fw 190s on 5 and 23 September. Shortly afterwards, his award of the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) was announced, the published citation reading: Within a few days of the announcement of his DSO, he was credited with damaging a Fw 190 near
Beauvais and then on 3 October, the destruction of a Bf 109 near
Noordwijk. His substantive rank was made up to squadron leader later that month. At the end of the year, Crawford-Compton was taken off active duties and selected to go to the United States to give talks regarding the operations of the RAF. Along with another experienced pilot, Wing Commander
Raymond Harries, he spent three months in the country lecturing before returning to England.
Northwest Europe at Merston, Sussex, on the morning of
D-Day In April 1944, Crawford-Compton was appointed wing commander, flying, of
No. 145 Wing, which had two
Free French squadrons of Spitfires. Under the overall command of Wing Commander
Alan Deere, and later
Group Captain Adolph Malan, the wing was part of the
Second Tactical Air Force. In the prelude to
Operation Overlord, the landings at
Normandy, Crawford-Compton led the wing in attacks on targets in France, including transportation infrastructure, flying-bomb sites and military installations in the
Pas-de-Calais. Following the invasion, Crawford-Compton's wing conducted regular patrols over Normandy and covering the Allied forces maintaining their hold on the bridgehead. The day after the landings, he intercepted and destroyed a
Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber, one of a group of five that were attacking the landing beaches. As the Allied ground forces moved inland, the wing began operating from temporary airstrips established in the bridgehead at Normandy. It sought out and attacked German transports on the roads between
Paris and
Caen, disrupting the flow of supplies to the front lines. At the end of the month, he destroyed a Bf 109 and Fw 190 that had just taken off from Evereux airfield, with other pilots in the wing accounting for four other German aircraft. As the Allies advanced further into Normandy, No. 145 Wing continued to provide support, carrying out fighter-bomber operations on the
Falaise pocket and on 9 July, Crawford-Compton destroyed a Bf 109. By the end of the year, his command was operating from
Antwerp. Upon completion of his tour in early 1945, he was awarded a Bar to his DSO and was posted to the headquarters of No. 11 Group, as a staff officer. He ended the war having flown at least 517 operational missions and was credited with destroying at least 20, possibly 21, German aircraft. He also shared in the destruction of one further aircraft, claimed three probables and a share in a fourth, and thirteen damaged. ==Later life==