Bob Doe Wing Commander Robert Francis Thomas " Bob " Doe DSO , DFC & Bar ( 10 March 1920 – 21 February 2010 ) was a flying ace of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War , and served with honour with the Indian Air Force during the Burma campaign . Early life . Robert Francis Thomas Doe was born in Reigate , Surrey , on 10 March 1920 . After leaving school he started work as an office boy for the News of the World . Doe joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in March 1938 and made his first solo flight on 4 June 1938 . Second World War . After applying for a short service commission , Doe joined the Royal Air Force in January 1939 . Doe trained with 15 E & RFTS ( Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School ) at RAF Redhill , Surrey and combat training with 6 Flying Training School at RAF Little Rissington . Doe was posted on 6 November 1939 to No . 234 Squadron , a Spitfire Squadron at RAF Leconfield alongside fellow Battle of Britain high - scorer , Australian Pat Hughes . Doe would serve with No . 234 squadron for most of the Battle of Britain . Doe claimed his first victory on 15 August 1940 when he shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 110 s followed by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and a Dornier Do 18 on 16 August , a Bf 109 destroyed ( of JG 52 ) and another Bf 109 damaged on 18 August , a half - share of a KG 54 Junkers Ju 88 on 21 August and a Bf 109 shot down on 26 August 1940 . In September , he added to his tally with No . 234 Squadron with three Bf 110s on 4 September , a shared JG 53 Bf 109 on 5 September , three damaged Dornier Do 17 s and a Bf 109 shot down on 6 September , and a Heinkel He 111 destroyed on 7 September . On 27 September 1940 Doe was posted to No . 238 Squadron , flying Hurricanes from RAF Middle Wallop in Wiltshire , claiming his first victory for the squadron on 30 September by shooting down a KG 55 He 111 . In October , Doe shot down a Bf 110 on 1 October and a Ju 88 on 7 October , the last of his 14 and 2 shared aerial victories of the battle and of the war . On 10 October , in combat over Warmwell , Dorset with some Bf 109s at 12 : 00 , his plane was critically damaged and he was wounded in the leg and shoulder . Doe bailed out , landing on Brownsea Island while his Hawker Hurricane crashed near Corfe Castle viaduct on what is now part of the Swanage Railway . Admitted to Poole Hospital on 22 October 1940 , Doe was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and received a Bar a month later on 26 November . Doe rejoined No . 238 Squadron in December 1940 . In January 1941 , while flying a night sortie , the oil in the oil cooler of his aircraft froze . As a result of his engine seizing he landed heavily at Warmwell on the snow covered runway , breaking his harness and smashing his face against the reflector sight , almost severing his nose and breaking his arm . Doe was taken to Park Prewett Hospital where he underwent twenty - two operations by pioneering New Zealand plastic surgeon , Harold Gillies . On 15 May 1941 he was posted as a Flight Commander to No . 66 Squadron and then joined No . 130 Squadron on 18 August . The series of operations in a two - month period and the need to bring through fresh pilots who could be trained by experienced hands , meant Doe ' s career as a front line fighter pilot was over for the time being . On 22 October 1941 Doe was posted to 57 O . T . U . ( Operational Training Unit ) as an instructor . On 9 June 1943 Doe went to the Fighter Leaders School at RAF Milfield and then joined No . 118 Squadron at RAF Coltishall in July . In August 1943 he joined No . 613 Squadron . In October 1943 Doe was posted to Burma as the activities on the Western Front changed from defence to attack in preparation for Operation Overlord and the invasion of Normandy ; while in the East , the Japanese Army was still advancing on key British Empire assets , including India . In December 1943 Doe was tasked with forming No . 10 Squadron of the Indian Air Force , commanding it throughout the Burma Campaign until April 1945 when he joined the Indian Army Staff College in Quetta and then from August the planning staff at Delhi . On 2 October 1945 , Doe received the Distinguished Service Order . Later life . In September 1946 he returned to the UK and held a number of staff positions and commands before retiring on 1 April 1966 with the rank of Wing Commander . After retirement he opened a garage business . He also wrote his autobiography " Bob Doe , Fighter Pilot " . Bob Doe died on 21 February 2010 , aged 89 .