F/L 'Witt' Wittridge RIP

Kyt · May 21, 2009

Flight Lieutenant 'Witt' Wittridge - Telegraph

Flight Lieutenant 'Witt' Wittridge, who has died aged 86, was a fighter pilot during the Burma campaign; later he became a test pilot flying a wide variety of aircraft used for the development of aero-engines.

By August 1944 the Spitfires of No 155 Squadron had moved to the front line as the Fourteenth Army had started its advance on Mandalay. Flying from Palel, the squadron's main task was to provide escort to the crucial air transports dropping supplies, and to the tactical bomber force supporting the army. There was also a need to maintain two aircraft on readiness against any raids by Japanese aircraft.

On September 25 Wittridge was scrambled to intercept two bandits at 27,000ft. These turned out to be "Dinahs" (similar to the RAF's Mosquito) on a reconnaissance flight, and he and his wingman gave chase. Wittridge shot one down, scoring one of the few successes in that phase of the campaign. As the army advanced, No 155 moved to forward airstrips and, with the Japanese Air Force less in evidence, concentrated on cannon attacks against enemy ground forces and transport targets.

During November, Wittridge was scrambled to investigate a rare appearance by Japanese aircraft. He spotted nine "Oscar" fighters and attacked one, which he caused to crash-land. Later, with a party of Gurkhas, he located the wreckage and was able to observe the accuracy of his fire, remarking: "It was riddled with bullet holes, and it was a wonder it could fly at all."

A welcome interlude was provided when Vera Lynn and a singing partner arrived at the squadron's forward airstrip close to the Japanese positions, and serenaded the pilots from the wing of a Spitfire. Wittridge wrote: "Those two girls sang their hearts out, bless them." He also compared them favourably to the many artists who travelled no further than Delhi or Calcutta, where they were treated as VIPs by staff officers, saying: "Our little charmers had more guts in their little fingers than that other lot put together."

After many more strafing sorties and scrambles, Wittridge was finally rested in April 1945. On leaving No 155 he was assessed as "an exceptional fighter pilot" and awarded a DFC.

The son of a soldier who died young, Albert Howley Wittridge (known throughout his life as "Witt") was born on October 30 1922 at Teddington, Middlesex. He was educated at Kingston Grammar School and worked briefly as an apprentice draughtsman with the Parnall Aircraft Company. Aged just 17, at the height of the Battle of Britain, he travelled to Headquarters Fighter Command to volunteer as a fighter pilot. This unorthodox approach failed, so he joined the local Home Guard until he was eventually called up in August 1941 to train as a pilot.

Wittridge's commission was delayed for seven days after he was reprimanded for "reckless flying", but he then flew fighters before being sent to India. He joined No 155 at Imphal to fly the outdated, and outclassed, Mohawk fighter, but within a few weeks the squadron was re-equipped with the Spitfire, initially providing defence for Calcutta before moving to Palel.

In June 1945 Wittridge moved to Egypt as a fighter instructor before joining No 213 Squadron in Palestine, flying the Mustang. After attending the Empire Test Pilots' School and spending two years testing large aircraft at Boscombe Down, he left the RAF in 1953 to join Armstrong Siddeley as a test pilot. The company had contracts to test rocket propulsion, jets, turbo-propellers and piston engines – all on a variety of aircraft. On one occasion Wittridge was flying a Hunter fighter at high speed when the ailerons jammed; he was forced to descend using only coarse rudder movements before managing to land.

In 1959 Wittridge transferred to Bristol Siddeley at Filton, where he flew a converted Vulcan bomber with the Olympus engine to be used in Concorde. With cutbacks required at Filton in 1967, Wittridge decided to resign to allow younger talent to advance. He then flew as an aerial chauffeur to a multi-millionaire businessman until the injuries he had sustained in the RAF ended his flying career in 1975. He had flown 120 different types of aircraft, from gliders to heavy bombers – but the Spitfire remained his greatest love. He then worked as a meteorological officer in the geography department at Birmingham University until he retired in 1985.

Wittridge nursed a passion for cars from childhood. His 1934 Lagonda was his everyday transport and hobby, and he won many cups and awards at British and European rallies. Together they completed three Mille Miglias, two Le Mans Retros, four 2,000km Dutch Deutschland and two pan-Pacific Rallies in New Zealand and Australia. It was his proud boast that, as he serviced it himself, the car never went to a garage.

Wittridge was full of mischief and wit, and wrote an evocative account of his life, An Evil Boy (2004). When he had to have a hip replacement, he insisted on having an epidural so that he could watch the proceedings.

"Witt" Wittridge died on April 23. He married, in 1947, Barbara Poole; she died in 2003, and he is survived by a son and two daughters.
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Antipodean Andy · May 21, 2009

Quite the character and what a pilot! RIP.

Another book to huint down too.

Kyt · May 21, 2009

The book is a 64 page booklet

An Evil Boy: Amazon.co.uk: F/Lt A H Wittridge DFC RAF: Books

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