Robert Wardlow Oxspring, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (22 May 1919 – 8 August 1989) was a Royal Air Force officer and flying ace of the Second World War.

66 Squadron RFC during the First World War,[3] in which he was credited with several aerial victories, and was twice awarded the Military Cross before being wounded in action during a mid-air collision on 30 April 1917.

[4][5] Oxspring was granted a short service commission as an acting pilot officer on 7 May 1938,[6] being described at the time as "a tallish, good-looking, fair-headed bloke",[7] and served in No.

[10] Known as one of the battle's great aces,[11] he was one of the fraction of The Few selected by Fighter Command to have a portrait drawn by Cuthbert Orde, sitting for it on 9 December 1940.

The citation read: One day in September, 1940, Flight Lieutenant Oxspring was engaged on an offensive patrol with his squadron.

After driving them off, he led his section in an attack against a large formation of enemy bombers and succeeded in destroying a Dornier 17 at short range and also in damaging two Heinkel III's.

[18]Moving to Mediterranean combat, it is thought probable that Oxspring was the pilot who shot down renowned German ace Anton Hafner of JG 51 on 2 January 1943.

[19] Having led his squadron to be the highest scoring in the North African theatre, and survived his second shooting down of the war,[10] Oxspring was awarded a second Bar to his DFC in February 1943, with the citation reading: During initial operations from forward airfields in North Africa Squadron Leader Oxspring led his formation on many sorties.

[24] He stayed on in the RAF, receiving a permanent commission as a flight lieutenant on 1 September 1945, and being promoted to substantive squadron leader on 1 August 1947.