In March 1940, with the Second World War underway, Robinson was sent to France to join
No. 85 Squadron but his posting was changed while he was in transit. He instead went to
No. 87 Squadron, also in France but based at
Lille and equipped with Hurricanes. His rank of flight lieutenant was made substantive on 16 April. The squadron saw little action during the
Phoney War and he was involved in an aircraft accident on 6 May and his injuries to his hand warranted repatriation to the United Kingdom where he was hospitalised. By August, he had recovered and was posted to
No. 601 Squadron.
Battle of Britain At the time of Robinson's arrival at the squadron, it operated Hurricanes from
Debden as part of
No. 12 Group and was seeing an increase in
Luftwaffe activity in the area. On 31 August, Robinson claimed his first aerial victories, destroying a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter to the south of
Maidstone. The same day, over the
Thames Estuary, he engaged and probably destroyed a Bf 109 and damaged a second. He shared in the probable destruction of a
Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter south of
Worthing on 4 September, and two days later destroyed a Bf 109, this time north of
Mayfield. He probably shot down a Bf 110 on 25 September, the last aerial victory he achieved while flying with No. 601 Squadron. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to
No. 238 Squadron, and on 30 September, intercepting a Luftwaffe raid to the south of
Portland, he shot down two Bf 110s and probably destroyed a Bf 109. In early October Robinson was appointed commander of
No. 609 Squadron. His new unit was equipped with
Supermarine Spitfire fighters and based at
Middle Wallop. On 7 October he destroyed two Bf 110s but towards the end of the month, the Luftwaffe's offensive against England began to slow down. For his successes in the preceding weeks, Robinson was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the official announcement was made in
The London Gazette on 26 November. The published citation read:
Circus offensive No. 609 Squadron spent the winter of 1940–41 at
Warmwell but in February 1941, it relocated to
Biggin Hill and began to be involved in
Fighter Command's
circus offensive, regularly flying sweeps to France to draw out Luftwaffe fighters and to escort bombers. On 7 May, Robinson damaged a Bf 109 over the
Strait of Dover. The following day he destroyed two Bf 109s several kilometres south of
Dungeness. He was promoted to temporary
squadron leader on 1 June. Three days later, with another pilot, he damaged a Bf 109 south of
Dover. He damaged another Bf 109 at the end of the month, while on a sortie inland of
Dunkirk. On 3 July, the RAF mounted a bombing raid on railway facilities at
Hazebrouck and while No. 609 Squadron provided cover for the attacking British bombers, Robinson shot down a Bf 109. Flying another sortie the same day, also to Hazebrouck, Robinson shot down a second Bf 109 and damaged a third. Flying another sortie the next day, he damaged a Bf 109. He damaged another Bf 109 on 8 July, this time to the south of
Gravelines. He destroyed a Bf 109 on 10 July, while flying over
Hardelot, and then shot down another of the same type the next day near
Saint-Omer. Yet another Bf 109 was shot down by Robinson on 12 July, this time south of
Cap Gris-Nez. He destroyed a further Bf 109 two days later near
Le Touquet. Robinson damaged a Bf 109 near Saint-Omer on 19 July and then repeated the feat on 24 July in the same area, while also destroying another Bf 109. At the end of the month, he was promoted to
wing commander and given command of the
fighter wing at
Biggin Hill, succeeding the South African flying ace
Adolph Malan. At the time of Robinson's appointment, he was one of the youngest wing leaders in the RAF. Within a few days, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in recognition of his leadership of No. 609 Squadron. The published citation for Robinson's DSO read: His first victory as leader of the Biggin Hill wing was achieved on 7 August, when he claimed a Bf 109 as probably destroyed in the area between
Mardyck and Gravelines. While engaged in a search and rescue mission for a pilot downed in the
English Channel on 19 August, he ran out of fuel and had to crash-land at
Manston airfield. Soon afterwards, he was awarded the Belgian
Croix de Guerre by the
Belgian government in exile "in recognition 'of valuable services rendered in connection with the War". He shot down a Bf 109 near Gravelines on 27 August, his final aerial victory as he was rested from operation and sent on leave early the following month. Robinson was appointed the station commander at Manston once his leave was completed but this was only for a short period of time as in October he was appointed to the staff of the
Inspector General of the RAF. He was
mentioned in despatches in the
1942 New Year Honours, and on the day this was announced, 1 January 1942, was appointed commander of the fighter wing at
Tangmere. Making a cross-channel sweep to occupied France on 10 April 1942, he was engaged by
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters of
Jagdgeschwader 26. Both he and his wingman were shot down off the French coast and killed. Having no known grave, Robinson is commemorated on the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission's
Air Forces Memorial near
Egham in
Surrey, England. At the time of his presumed death, he was credited with having shot down sixteen German aircraft, and four more probably destroyed, plus a fifth shared with another pilot. He is also credited with damaging eight aircraft. His medals are held in the collection of the
Imperial War Museum. ==Notes==