Adrian Warburton Wing Commander Adrian " Warby " Warburton ( 10 March 1918 – 12 April 1944 ) was a Royal Air Force ( RAF ) pilot during World War II . He became legendary in the RAF for his role in the defence of Malta . His life and work has been depicted in the book " Warburton ' s War " by Tony Spooner and in the BBC Timewatch documentary " The Mystery Of The Missing Ace " . A fuller depiction of his life , " The Maltese Spitfire " , was written by Squadron Leader Harry Coldbeck DFC , with an introduction by Wing Commander P . B . Lucas CBE , DSO , DFC ; both of whom knew Warburton extremely well . Early life . The son of a naval officer , Warburton was born in Middlesbrough , and christened on board a submarine in Grand Harbour , Valletta , Malta . He attended St Edward ' s School in Oxford , where two other famous airmen , Guy Gibson and Douglas Bader , were also educated . Malta 1940 – 1942 . Warburton was commissioned in the Royal Air Force in 1939 as an Acting Pilot Officer . He was promoted to Pilot Officer ( on probation ) on 3 September 1939 , and confirmed as a Pilot Officer on 31 October On completing flying training , he was posted to No . 608 Squadron RAF , flying Blackburn Botha s on North Sea patrols . Warburton ' s criticism of the obsolete plane led to his commanding officer having him transferred to Malta as an observer , not a pilot . He joined 431 Flight , an RAF detachment flying reconnaissance sorties over the Mediterranean in twin - engined Martin Maryland reconnaissance / light bombers . Within four days of arrival , he had his pilot status reinstated . The Station Commander was short - toured and removed from flying duties . In the words of an RAF Spitfire pilot , Group Captain Duncan Smith : Fearless and unorthodox , ( he seldom completed a Form 700 authorising flights ) , " Warby " participated in an increasing number of daring sortie s . On 30 October 1940 , Warburton and his two crewmen shot down an Italian Z . 506B seaplane . Three days later , they nearly fell victim to an attack by four Italian aircraft . Warburton was hit by a spent bullet which caused no serious injury , but did render him unconscious . Sergeant Frank Bastard took control and managed to keep the aircraft flying ( for which he received the Distinguished Flying Medal ) until Warburton had recovered sufficiently . He was soon back in the air and , on 10 November , 431 Flight spotted a major concentration of Italian battleships and cruisers in Taranto , Admiral Cunningham then deciding on an audacious night attack by Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo bombers . Warburton flew a reconnaissance mission on 11 November prior to the attack . Circling the harbour several times , when the cameras failed , Warburton flew so low , his observer was able to read off the names of the battleships as they flew past . Guided by this intelligence , the Fleet Air Arm launched its devastating attack that night . Warburton was promoted to Flying Officer on 3 December . In January 1941 , Warburton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . The citation in the " London Gazette " read : With 431 Flight now expanded into No . 69 Squadron RAF in January 1941 , Warburton steadily developed a reputation within the RAF as its leading reconnaissance pilot . He located numerous enemy convoys supplying the Axis forces in North Africa , providing vital information to the Allied anti - shipping forces in the Mediterranean interdicting much needed supplies . His superiors therefore turned a blind eye to many of " Warby " s eccentricities . On 14 April 1941 , the Maryland was mistaken for a Ju 88 and attacked by a Hurricane flown by F / O Innes Westmacott , and Warburton had to force - land the damaged aircraft . Although the Maryland ' s guns were for defence , he and his crew were frequently involved in air combat , claiming five air victories and three enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground or afloat on the water . He crashed twice , but each time walked away . In September 1941 , Warburton was awarded a bar to his DFC . At the end of September 1941 , Warburton and his crew were rested . On 3 December 1941 , Warburton was promoted to war substantive Flight Lieutenant While on detachment in Egypt , he managed to ' acquire ' a Bristol Beaufighter heavy fighter . Stripping the aircraft of all guns and armour , he equipped it with cameras and took the aeroplane back to Malta . He flew the plane for about a year until it was destroyed in a raid . His second tour finished in mid - March 1942 so he missed the intense battles over Malta in the summer . He was not a pilot with any degree of support from Air Vice Marshall Park , the Air - Officer - Commanding . Warburton was appointed a DSO on 20 March 1942 , and received a second bar to his DFC in October , by which time he was an acting Squadron Leader . Sicily 1943 . In February 1943 , Warburton was promoted to war substantive Squadron Leader . He was then involved in the vital pre - invasion reconnaissance of the landing beaches in Sicily in 1943 . Now commanding 683 Squadron , he co - ordinated the photographic work with the local American forces , who were amazed at the much - decorated officer attired in dirty grey flannels , an oil - stained tunic and topped by a mop of long unkempt blond hair when he came out to greet them at Luqa airfield . He had just " returned from the dead " after being missing for three days . While photographing Bizerte his plane was disabled by flak . He struggled on to Bone and landed unhurt . After being kept under lock and key for two days suspected of being a German agent he was able to establish that he was British and was given a French plane to fly to Gibraltar . There he changed it for a Spitfire and flew back to Malta , picking up his cameras and film at Bone and shooting down a Ju88 on the way . When he landed at Malta his first remark was - allegedly - " Sorry I ' m late " . In October 1943 , Warburton was given command of a new photo - reconnaissance wing of four squadrons . However , following a car accident in late 1943 , he was hospitalised for several weeks and subsequently returned to the UK . One story of Warburton recounted by Squadron Leader Bill Olmsted DSO , DFC . Soon after the North African landing the " brass " wanted to know if the Bizerte airdrome was in our hands , as communications had broken down . From Malta , Warby took a twin - engine bomber , and when he arrived at the airdrome started landing with wheels and flaps down . He successfully escaped the heavy ground fire which greeted him . Returning to Malta he declared the airdrome was not yet secure . This story was confirmed by British commandos who were in the position to observe the attempt to land . Death . By the beginning of 1944 , he had been promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and his gallantry recognised by the award of the Distinguished Service Order and Bar , the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Bars , and an American Distinguished Flying Cross . By this time he had flown nearly 400 operations and claimed 9 enemy aircraft destroyed . On 1 April 1944 , he was posted as the RAF Liaison Officer to the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group , US 8th Army Air Force , then based at RAF Mount Farm in Oxfordshire . Warburton was the pilot of one of two Lockheed F - 5B photo - reconnaissance aircraft ( a version of the Lockheed P - 38 Lightning fighter ) that took off together from Mount Farm on the morning of 12 April 1944 to photograph targets in Germany . The aircraft separated approximately 100 miles north of Munich to carry out their respective tasks ; it was planned that they would meet and fly on to a USAAF airfield in Sardinia . He failed to arrive at the rendezvous point and was not seen again . Years of speculation about his fate came to an end in 2002 , when his remains were found in the cockpit of his plane , buried about deep in a field near the Bavarian village of Egling an der Paar , 34 miles west of Munich . According to witnesses , the aircraft fell there on 12 April 1944 , around 11 : 45 . One of the propellers had bullet holes in it , which suggests that Warburton had been shot down . Parts of the wreck can be seen today in the Malta Aviation Museum . Only a few pieces of bone and the odd part of flying clothing were actually found . As Warburton was flying a USAAF plane with USAAF markings he was thought to be an American . Most of Warburton ' s body was removed from the P - 38 and buried in a grave in the town of Kaufering ' s cemetery . The grave was marked " unknown American Airman " and was right next to a Halifax crew that were shot down and died on the night of 6 – 7 September 1943 . When the area came under Allied control ( particularly American ) , the graves were moved . A memorial service was held on 14 May 2003 , in the St Aegidius Parish church , Gmund am Tegernsee , followed by burial at the Dürnbach Commonwealth War Cemetery . The ceremony was attended by his widow , Eileen ( known as Betty ) and by Jack Vowles , a former colleague who had served with him in Malta in the early 1940s . Media . Warburton was the subject of the " Mystery of the Missing Ace " episode of the BBC investigative documentary series Timewatch , first broadcast in November 2003 . Marriage in 1939 was to Eileen Adelaide Mitchell