A/C Patrick Burnett DSO, DFC

Antipodean Andy · Nov 25, 2008

An older obit but worth posting.

Air Commodore Patrick Burnett - Telegraph

Air Commodore Patrick Burnett , who has died aged 90, was awarded the DSO, the DFC and was mentioned in dispatches; but he was particularly celebrated for his return flight from leading his squadron in an attack on Hanover on the night of September 26 1943.

A German night-fighter attacked Burnett's Lancaster and put two of his engines out of action while seriously wounding the rear gunner, who remained trapped in his turret.

Burnett made it across the North Sea but, as he approached his base, the third of his four engines failed. Despite a crosswind he managed to land safely, an extraordinary feat of piloting. He was awarded an immediate DSO for "his masterly effort, which merited high praise".

The citation also referred to Burnett as "an ideal leader, whose untiring efforts and personal example have been reflected in the high standard of operational efficiency of the squadron he commands". Just two months earlier he had been awarded the DFC "for his unflagging energy and devotion to duty".

The son of one of five brothers who managed the family engineering firm making railway rolling stock, Patrick Burnett was born at Doncaster on February 13 1914. He was educated at Oakham School before joining the RAF on a short service commission in September 1936. After training as a pilot, he joined No 211 Squadron based in Egypt, flying the bi-plane Hind bomber before the squadron converted to the Blenheim.

After the Italians entered the war in June 1940, Burnett flew numerous bombing operations against enemy airfields and transport columns in the North African desert. At the beginning of 1941 he became a flying instructor at Ismailia teaching pilots to fly the Blenheim bomber.

After five years in Egypt, Burnett returned to England and pressed to return to operations. In August 1942 he was appointed as a flight commander on No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, the first to be equipped with the Lancaster bomber, and based at Waddington. He flew intensive operations against the most heavily-defended targets in Germany and Italy. On October 17 he flew on the raid against the Schneider factory at Le Creusot, some 300 miles inside France. The factory was regarded as the French equivalent of Krupps and produced heavy guns and railway engines. To reduce the risks to the nearby houses of the workers, the raid took place in daylight with the Lancasters bombing from the relatively low height of 6,000 feet to improve accuracy.

The raid attracted widespread praise. The Air Officer Commanding No 5 Group described it as "one of the most outstanding shows of the war", and the Commander-in-Chief, "Bomber" Harris, congratulated the crews on their "brilliantly executed and highly successful operation". Just after the Le Creusot raid, Burnett attacked Milan in daylight after a long and hazardous flight across the Alps. A few days later he returned to Italy to attack Genoa and Turin by night with the support of the Pathfinder Force. He attacked the Baltic ports in November, and after completing 30 operations he was rested.

After a six-month rest at the Headquarters of No 5 Bomber Group he returned to operations in April 1943, when he was appointed to command No 9 Squadron based at Bardney near Lincoln. After attacking Stettin and the Skoda works at Pilsen, Burnett attacked many of the most difficult targets during the Battle of the Ruhr, including Dortmund, Cologne and Essen. He also attacked Berlin and Hamburg before his masterful landing on his return from Hanover. After completing his 45th bombing operation, in addition to those he had completed in North Africa, he was rested.

After completing the Army Staff College course in 1944, he served as the senior air operations officer at the main bomber airfields of Coningsby and East Kirkby. At the end of the war he flew a number of Lancaster sorties to repatriate former PoWs.

Burnett was offered a permanent commission in the RAF and, after serving at the Air Ministry, was chief flying instructor on Meteor jets at the Advanced Flying Training Schools at Finningley and Driffield in Yorkshire. Appointed Air Attache in Stockholm in November 1950, he returned to command the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Jurby on the Isle of Man. He was an accomplished carpenter and built the pulpit for the station's RAF church.

In 1958 he became the Director of Intelligence at the Air Ministry at the height of the Cold War. The Soviet Union was upgrading its radar network and developing a major missile programme. These were monitored by overflights by U 2 bombers, until Gary Powers was shot down in 1960. Burnett saw little of his family during this tense period.

After retiring as an air commodore in 1960, he spent 15 years in the light engineering business. In his youth he was an excellent rugby player and played for RAF representative teams. A keen salmon fisherman, he was also an ardent Francophile.

Pat Burnett, who died on March 27, met his wife Mary Westbrook during a brief posting to Nairobi, where she was serving as an officer with the South African Air Force. They were married in 1942; she died in 1997. He is survived by a son and a daughter.
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Adrian Roberts · Nov 25, 2008

What a landing! He only had one chance to get that right - with only one engine, going round again was not an option!

He could have ordered a bail out and let the aircraft crash, but the injured rear gunner would not have been able to get out.

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