Bidspirit auction | Air Marshall Richard Wakeford signed

Air Marshall Richard Wakeford signed Scarce Variety RAF Hercules flown cover. Air Marshal Sir Richard Gordon Wakeford, KCB, LVO, OBE, AFC (20 April 1922 - 13 February 2007) was an officer in the Royal Air Force for 36 years, from 1941 to 1977. Beginning as a pilot of flying boats with Coastal Command, he became a flying instructor, and commanded the Queen's Flight. After various operational commands, his last post was as Deputy Chief of Defence (Intelligence) at the UK Ministry of Defence. Wakeford joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941.[1] After flight training with the US Navy at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, he joined Coastal Command to fly anti-submarine missions.[1] He flew Catalina flying boats with No. 212 Squadron for 18 months from November 1942,[1] patrolling the Indian Ocean from its base in Karachi. After a period training other pilots of flying boats, he joined No. 210 Squadron in October 1944,[1] based at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands, patrolling the Norwegian Sea. He flew in support of Russian convoys and intercepted German submarines based in Norway. Wakeford was involved in the last sinking of a German U-boat, on 8 May 1945. VE Day was the previous day, and all German submarines had been ordered to travel on the surface: submerged U-boats were liable to be attacked. Flying a Catalina over the North Atlantic, Wakeford detected a submerged German submarine. Having run out of depth charges, he dropped some sonobuoys to track the U-boat before returning to base in the Shetland Islands. A second Catalina relieved him and damaged U-320. The German submarine was later scuttled off the coast of Norway. Good condition Est.