John Dering Nettleton Squadron Leader John Dering Nettleton VC ( 28 June 1917 – 13 July 1943 ) was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Biography . Early life . Born on 28 June 1917 in Nongoma , Natal Province , South Africa , the grandson of Admiral A T D . Nettleton , he was educated at Western Province Preparatory School ( WPPS ) in Cape Town from 1928 to 1930 , Nettleton then served as a Naval cadet on the " General Botha " training ship and then for 18 months in the South African Merchant Marine . He took up civil engineering , working in various parts of South Africa . Second World War . Commissioned in the RAF in December 1938 , he then served with Nos . 207 , 98 and 185 Squadrons before joining 44 Squadron flying the Handley Page Hampden . He took part in a daylight attack on Brest on 24 July 1941 and in a series of other bombing raids and was mentioned in dispatches in September 1940 . Nettleton was promoted Flying Officer in July 1940 , Flight Lieutenant in February 1941 and was a Squadron Leader by July 1941 . No . 44 ( Rhodesia ) Squadron was based at RAF Waddington , Lincolnshire at this time and had taken delivery of Lancasters in late 1941 . In 1942 a daylight bombing mission was planned by RAF Bomber Command against the MAN diesel engine factory at Augsburg in Bavaria , responsible for the production of half of Germany ’ s U ‑ boat engines . It was to be the longest low ‑ level penetration so far made during World War II , and it was the first daylight mission flown by the Command ’ s new Avro Lancaster . Thus on 17 April 1942 Squadron Leader Nettleton was the leader of one formation of six Avro Lancaster bombers on a daylight attack on a diesel engine factory at Augsburg , near Munich Germany flying Lancaster Mk I , R5508 , coded " KM - B " . A second flight of six Lancasters from No 97 Squadron based at RAF Woodhall Spa , close to Waddington , did not link up with the six from 44 squadron as planned , although they had ample time to do so before the aircraft left England by Selsey Bill , West Sussex . When they had just crossed the French coast at low level near Dieppe , German fighters of Stab and II . / JG 2 , returning after intercepting a planned diversionary raid which had been organised to assist the bombers , attacked the 44 Squadron aircraft a short way inland and four Lancasters were shot down ( 7 were claimed ) . Nettleton continued towards the target in and his two remaining aircraft attacked the factory , bombing it amidst heavy anti aircraft fire . Nettleton survived the incident , his damaged Lancaster limping back to the UK , finally landing near Blackpool . His VC was gazetted on 24 April 1942 . Nettleton died on 13 July 1943 , returning from a raid on Turin in Italy by 295 Lancasters . His Lancaster KM - Z ( ED331 ) took off from Dunholme Lodge and was believed to have been shot down by a fighter off the Brest peninsular . FW 190s of 1 . / SAGr . 128 and 8 . / JG 2 scrambled from bases near Brest in the early hours of 13 July , and at 06 : 30am intercepted the bomber stream . A total of eight bombers were claimed , and at least three Lancasters were almost certainly shot down by the German fighters , one of which was Nettleton . His body and those of his crew were never recovered . All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial . Nettleton ' s medal is not publicly held . Legacy . Following the war the government of Southern Rhodesia named a new school after Nettleton - Nettleton Junior School in the suburb of Braeside in Salisbury ( now Harare ) . The government of Zimbabwe subsequently changed the name of this school , amongst many others , after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe . The school is now named after Tsitsi Munyati , the first Deputy Minister of Education of Zimbabwe .