Complex sentence: Townsend was a decorated RAF pilot, who brought down the first German bomber to crash in England since the First World War, and in 1941, he was recovering from injuries incurred in a dogfight.
Split into simpler sentences: Townsend was a decorated Royal Air Force pilot, who early in the Second World War had brought down the first German bomber to crash in England since 1918. In 1941, he was recovering from injuries incurred in a dogfight.