Air Commodore Ferdinand Maurice Felix West, VC, CBE, MC (19 January 1896 – 8 July 1988) was a senior Royal Air Force officer, aviator, and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in Paddington, London, on 19 January 1896, "Freddy" West was the son of an army officer killed in 1902 during the Second Boer War.

Crewing up with Lt. William Haslam in March, West flew a series of hazardous sorties over the front, culminating with both men being awarded the Military Cross on 1 May 1918.

On 21 April 1918 West, flying with observer Grice, witnessed the last combat and fall of Manfred von Richthofen, Germany's leading fighter pilot.

Setting off at dawn, West and his observer, Lt. John Alec Haslam, flying an Armstrong Whitworth FK 8 (serial number C8602), spotted an enemy concentration through a hole in the mist.

Avoiding severe ground fire, almost immediately they came under attack from seven German fighter aircraft and West was hit in the leg, and his radio transmitter was smashed.

With the end of the war in Europe, he retired from the RAF and joined J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors in January 1946, working in overseas sales.

Subsequent directorships included Hurst Park Syndicate, Continental Shipyard Agencies, Technical Equipment Supplies Ltd, Tokalon Ltd and Terravia Trading Services.

He also appeared as a contributor in the 1987 documentary 'The Cavalry of the Clouds', produced by British regional commercial television station 'HTV West'.