Frederick Robertson

Frederick Robertson (25 July 1918 – 31 August 1943) was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with the destruction of at least twelve aircraft.

Born in Romsey, Robertson was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve when he was called up for service in the RAF on the outbreak of the Second World War. He served with No. 66 Squadron during the later stages of the Battle of France and in the first phase of the Battle of Britain, claiming his first aerial victories during this time. In late July 1940 he was sent to Malta where he flew Hawker Hurricane fighters during the siege of that island. He was one of the most successful RAF pilots in the early stages of the siege, claiming several aerial victories and being awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. Repatriated to the United Kingdom after 12 months, he carried out instructing duties until early 1942. He then served with a series of night fighter squadrons until his death at Foulsham in a flying accident on 31 August 1943.

Early life Frederick Neal Robertson was born on 25 July 1918 in Romsey, England, the son of Frederick and Beatrice Robertson. His father, a Scotsman, was an officer in the Gordon Highlanders who had been killed during the Spring Offensive, a few months before the birth of his son. Raised in Lockerley in Hampshire, after completing his schooling Robertson trained as a marine engineer. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in September 1937 and trained as a pilot.

Second World War On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Robertson was called up for service in the Royal Air Force. His initial war service was with the Fleet Air Arm, to which he had been loaned. He flew with 769 Naval Air Squadron, training on the aircraft carrier HMS Furious with Gloster Gladiator and Fairey Swordfish biplanes. In October he was posted to No. 66 Squadron. This was based at Duxford and, with its Supermarine Spitfire fighters, was tasked with intercepting unidentified aircraft and patrols along the North Sea coastline. During the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk from late May to early June 1940, the squadron helped with providing aerial cover in the area. On 2 June Robertson destroyed a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber over Dunkirk but when his Spitfire was hit by anti-aircraft fire had to bale out to the west of the evacuation beaches. He was able to find a berth back to England on one of the last vessels to take off British military personnel from Dunkirk. Robertson shot down a pair of Ju 87s over Rabat on 23 March but his Hurricane was set afire in the engagement and he had to bale out, landing near Luqa. One of the most successful RAF fighter pilots serving at Malta at this time, he was rested from operations the following month, and No. 261 Squadron was subsequently disbanded. After a few weeks in Cairo, he was repatriated to the United Kingdom in July. Based at Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland, the squadron did night patrols with its Beaufighters. It was transferred to North Africa at the end of the year. However, Robertson, now holding the rank of flying officer, did not go with it and instead was posted to No. 96 Squadron.

A Beaufighter unit, No. 96 Squadron was based at Honiley and, like Robertson's previous squadron, was engaged in night patrols but with intruder sorties to German-occupied France. Here Robertson was paired with Sergeant Bertram Dye as his observer. While flying a night sortie on 31 August, his Beaufighter collided with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber of the United States Army Air Force. The aircraft crashed at Foulsham, killing Robertson and Dye. Nine of the eleven crew of the B-17 were killed as well. A memorial was dedicated on 12 May 2017 to the dead airmen near the crash site by the Foulsham Archive Group. He is credited with having destroyed twelve aircraft, one being shared with another pilot, and damaging seven more. He is also credited with the probable destruction of three aircraft.