Branse Burbridge
Wing Commander Bransome Arthur "Branse" Burbridge, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (4 February 1921 – 1 November 2016) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and flying ace—a pilot credited with at least five enemy aircraft destroyed—who holds the Allied record of 21 aerial victories achieved at night during the Second World War.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe on 3 September 1939 Burbridge registered himself as a conscientious objector but changed his mind in 1940 and enlisted in the RAF.
Burbridge was then posted to an Operational Training Unit (OTU) as an instructor before spending a year as a staff officer.
Burbridge flew with radar operator Bill Skelton, achieving much success in a relatively short time period.
By the end of the German air offensive Steinbock in May 1944 he had shot down five enemy aircraft, making him a night fighter ace.
In June 1944 Operation Overlord and the Allied invasion of German-occupied Europe began reopening the Western Front.
Burbridge was awarded a bar to his DFC in October 1944 and a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) the following month.
Through the influence of his father and aunt, Burbridge adapted his musical and stage skills in Welwyn Evangelical Church where he played the organ at Sunday services.
After completing his schooling, Burbridge attended Camberwell Art College, and lodged with a view over The Crystal Palace.
After the war, Burbridge explained that he wished to have a positive influence over people his own age, and if he was to continue doing so, he had to enter the armed forces.
RAF Fighter Command had prevailed against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain but British cities were suffering in The Blitz—a sustained aerial night offensive against the United Kingdom.
In October 1941, after six months of intensive night flight training, Burbridge was declared ready for front-line operations.
The aircraft was initially used as a light bomber but was converted to the night fighter role as its limited range prevented from being used in bombing operations over Germany.
While the incident led to the nose being strengthened Burbridge found the Havoc to be sluggish and the firepower inadequate for the intended role.
[9] In 1942 the Luftwaffe began the so-called "Baedeker Blitz", in retaliation for RAF Bomber Command attacks on German cities.
[13][14] Burbridge's operational tour expired in October 1942 he was posted as an instructor to 62 OTU at RAF Usworth near Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and then briefly to 141 and 157 Squadrons.
Burbridge and Skelton felt that their experience could give them leverage to apply for an operational posting as a night fighter team.
[15][16][17] Fellow navigator at 85 Squadron, Jimmy Rawnsley, later said the pair flew some of the long-range escort patrols and they got on well personally.
In retaliation Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, initiated Operation Steinbock.
[24] Burbridge reached flying ace status on the 25/26 April, after shooting down a Messerschmitt Me 410 south of Selsey Bill for his 5th victory.
[27] For this purpose, 85 Squadron was trained in low-level night navigation and would eventually be equipped with Monica radar to detect enemy aircraft from behind.
85 Squadron moved to Colerne in Wiltshire, as 100 Group prepared to support Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings which began on 6 June.
On the night of 15 June 1944 Burbridge was on patrol over France and Belgium when they sighted a Ju 188 south-west of Nivelles near the border.
The machine was actually a Ju 88, flown by Major Wilhelm Herget, Gruppenkommandeur (Group Commander) of I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (Night Fighter Wing 4).
[33] In September Bomber Command refocused on Germany after the victory in Normandy, and 85 Squadron continued its support operations.
Other Groups flew "gardening", or mine-laying operations off the German coast while others carried out diversionary raids over Berlin.
[36][37] Burbridge and Skelton proceeded to Gütersloh airfield in the hope of intercepting German night fighters that attempted to take-off.
In February 2013 Burbridge's family reported that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and they were considering selling his medals and wartime memorabilia to fund his private care home.
U5+ML, WrkNr 6358 from 3./KG 2, Leutnant Hans-Günther Hartwig was killed (body recovered), Unteroffizier Leo Eisenkolb, Albert Schilling and Erwin Borehard were all missing.
Do 217M-1, U5+PS, WrkNr 6336 from 8./KG 2, Unteroffizier Manfred Graf, Karl-Julius Levacher, Wilhelm Gast and Hauptmann Hans Summer were all posted missing.
