Townsend joined the
Royal Air Force in 1933 and trained at
RAF Cranwell. He was commissioned a
pilot officer on 27 July 1935. On graduation, he was posted to
No. 1 Squadron RAF at
RAF Tangmere, flying the
Hawker Fury biplane fighter. In 1936, he was transferred to
No. 36 Squadron RAF in Singapore, where he flew the
Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bomber. He was promoted to
flying officer on 27 January 1937, and returned to Tangmere later that year as a member of
No. 43 Squadron RAF. Townsend was promoted to
flight lieutenant on 27 January 1939. In his memoir, Townsend described No. 605 Squadron's arrival at Tangmere shortly before the
outbreak of war. He wrote: Things hummed at Tangmere Cottage, just opposite the guard room, where
[605's commanding officer John Willoughby de Broke and his wife Rachel] kept open house. There we spent wild evenings, drinking, singing, dancing to romantic tunes... we danced blithely, relentlessly towards catastrophe... With one chance in five of survival - not counting the burnt and the wounded - only a handful of us would come through. The first enemy aircraft to crash on English soil during the Second World War fell to fighters from
RAF Acklington in Northumberland on 3 February 1940, when three Hurricanes of 'B' flight, No. 43 Squadron, shot down a
Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 of
4./KG 26 near
Whitby. The pilots were Flight Lieutenant Townsend, Flying Officer "Tiger" Folkes, and Sergeant
Herbert Hallowes. Townsend claimed two further He 111s on 22 February and 8 April, and a sixth share on 22 April. Enemy aircraft had previously been shot down in 1939 over Scotland's
Scapa Flow naval base during the Luftwaffe's first raid on Britain. Townsend was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in April 1940: By May 1940, Townsend was regarded as one of the most capable
squadron leaders of the
Battle of Britain. He served throughout the battle as
commanding officer of
No. 85 Squadron RAF, flying
Hawker Hurricanes. On 11 July 1940, Acting Squadron Leader Townsend, flying Hurricane VY-K (P2716), intercepted a
Dornier Do 17 of
KG 2 and severely damaged it, forcing the bomber to crash-land at
Arras. Return fire ruptured the Hurricane's coolant system, and Townsend ditched from the English coast, where he was rescued by HM Trawler
Cape Finisterre. He was
mentioned in despatches the same month. On 31 August, during combat with
Messerschmitt Bf 110s over
Tonbridge, Townsend was shot down and wounded in the left foot by a cannon shell that passed through the
glycol tank and exploded in the cockpit. He continued to lead the squadron on the ground even after the wound resulted in the amputation of his big toe, and he returned to operational flying on 21 September. Townsend was promoted to the substantive rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1940. A
Bar to his DFC was awarded in early September 1940 for leading his squadron in protecting convoys during July and August 1940, personally shooting down four enemy aircraft, and leading his unit in destroying at least 10 more and damaging many others. The citation stated: "The success which has been achieved has been due to Squadron Leader Townsend's unflagging zeal and leadership." Townsend oversaw the conversion of No. 85 Squadron to night operations at
RAF Hunsdon in Hertfordshire in early 1941. In May 1941, by then an acting
wing commander and credited with shooting down at least 11 enemy aircraft, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO). His citation recorded that he had "displayed outstanding powers of leadership and organisation, combined with great determination and skill in air combat. By his untiring efforts he has contributed materially to the many successes obtained by his squadron." Townsend was promoted to the temporary rank of
wing commander on 1 December 1941. He later became commanding officer of
RAF Drem in Scotland in April 1942 and subsequently commanded
No. 611 Squadron RAF, a
Spitfire unit. He later led
No. 605 Squadron RAF, a
night-fighter unit, and attended the
staff college from October 1942. In January 1943, he was appointed commanding officer of
RAF West Malling in Kent. His wartime record was nine aircraft destroyed, two shared, two "probables" and four damaged. In 1944, Townsend was appointed temporary
equerry to
King George VI; he had previously served as the future king's flight instructor in the 1930s. Later that year, the appointment was made permanent, and he served until 1953, when he became Extra Equerry, an honorary office he held until his death. He ended his wartime service with the temporary rank of wing commander and was promoted to the permanent rank of wing commander on 1 January 1949. In August 1950, Townsend was appointed deputy
Master of the Household, and after the death of George VI in 1952 he was moved to the post of
comptroller to the
Queen Mother. He was promoted to
group captain on 1 January 1953, and retired from the
Royal Household later that year. Townsend served as
air attaché in
Brussels from 1953 to 1956. ==Personal life==