John Webster

John Webster, (1916 – 5 September 1940) was a British flying ace who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with having shot down at least eleven aircraft.

From Liverpool, Webster joined the RAF in 1935 on a short service commission. Once his training was completed he was posted to No. 17 Squadron. At the time of the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 he was serving with No. 41 Squadron. Flying the Supermarine Spitfire fighter, he achieved several aerial victories while the squadron operated over the evacuation beaches at Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo and in the subsequent Battle of Britain, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in August 1940. He was killed as a result of a collision with another British fighter during an engagement on 5 September 1940.

Early life John Terence Webster was born in 1916 at Grassendale in Liverpool, the United Kingdom, the son of John Herbert Webster and Charlotte Annie Webster, both from Northern Ireland. He went to school at Parkfield Prep before going onto Liverpool College. He was on the college's shooting team and represented the United Kingdom at a competition in Canada in 1933. In August 1935, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) on a short service commission. Completing his initial induction two months later as an acting pilot officer, he then commenced his flight training at No. 11 Flying Training School at Wittering.

His first posting once his flying training was completed in May 1936 was to No. 17 Squadron. The following March he was posted to No. 80 Squadron, newly formed at Kenley, spending a year with this unit flying Gloster Gauntlet fighters. In March 1938 he briefly served with No. 29 Squadron at Debden but within a few weeks was posted to No. 41 Squadron. At the end of the month, it was announced that Webster was to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The citation for the DFC was published in The London Gazette and read:

On 5 September Webster destroyed a Bf 109 south of Gravesend and another near Maidstone. On a subsequent sortie later in the day Webster became involved in a dogfight during which his Spitfire collided with a Hawker Hurricane fighter piloted by Flight Lieutenant R. Lovett. Webster bailed out but was found to be dead on landing. Lovett survived his own bailout but was killed two days later. He was credited with having shot down eleven German aircraft and shared in the destruction of two others. Two more aerial victories were unconfirmed. He is also credited with having damaged three aircraft.