Eugene Esmonde Lieutenant Commander Eugene Kingsmill Esmonde VC DSO , F / Lt , RAF , Lt - Cdr ( A ) RN ( 1 March 1909 – 12 February 1942 ) was a distinguished British pilot who was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to members of Commonwealth forces . Lt - Cdr Esmonde earned this award while in command of a Naval torpedo bomber squadron serving in the British Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War . Early life . Esmonde was born on 1 March 1909 in Thurgoland , Yorkshire , near Barnsley , where his father Dr John Joseph Esmonde ( 1862 – 1915 ) was in temporary General Practice . Though by birth English , his parents were from Ireland and he returned to his family ' s ancestral home of the Esmonde baronets in Drominagh , North Tipperary as a boy and was educated by the Jesuits , first at Wimbledon College in London and then at Clongowes Wood College in Co . Kildare , Ireland . He had three elder half - brothers from his father ' s first marriage , Sir John Esmonde , 14th Baronet , who served in the First World War , 2nd Lt . Geoffrey Esmonde ( 1897 – 1916 ) who was killed in action in the First World War serving with the 26th Tyneside Irish Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers , and Sir Anthony Esmonde , 15th Baronet . Esmonde was commissioned into the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) as a pilot officer on probation on 28 December 1928 . During the early 1930s , Esmonde served first in the RAF , and then transferred to the Fleet Air Arm where he served in the Mediterranean when responsibility for naval aviation was returned to the Royal Navy . Upon leaving the navy in 1934 , he flew for Imperial Airways . Early wartime career . At the start of the Second World War , he returned to the Fleet Air Arm with the rank of lieutenant commander . His first sea posting was to , which was sunk in September 1939 . He returned to sea duty onboard after a series of postings to shore - based stations . On the night of 24 May 1941 , Esmonde led No . 825 Naval Air Squadron ' s nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber s in an attack against the . This attack took place after the Battle of the Denmark Strait , in which was sunk by the " Bismarck " . The biplanes flying from " Victorious " made a 120 - mile flight in foul North Atlantic weather and hit the " Bismarck " amidships . ( The attack that disabled the ship ' s rudder and doomed the German battleship was caused by a Swordfish torpedo strike from HMS " Ark Royal " some days later . ) Esmonde was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order on 11 February 1942 for his leadership and actions ( the award was actually announced on 16 September 1941 ) . His squadron was serving on when she was torpedoed in November 1941 . Attempts to tow her to Gibraltar were abandoned , and on 14 November 1941 she sank . The Swordfish of the squadron ferried some of the crew off the ship before she sank ; Esmonde was Mentioned in Despatches for his actions on this occasion . Victoria Cross . Esmonde earned his Victoria Cross when he led his squadron against elements of the German fleet which made the " Channel Dash " ( Operation " Cerberus " ) from Brest in an attempt to return to their home bases at Wilhelmshaven and Kiel through the English Channel . On 12 February 1942 off the coast of England , 34 - year - old Lieutenant Commander Esmonde led a detachment of six Fairey Swordfish in an attack on the two German battlecruisers and and the heavy cruiser , which had all managed to leave Brest without hindrance . These ships , along with a strong escort of smaller craft , were entering the Straits of Dover when Esmonde received his orders . He waited as long as he felt he could for confirmation of his fighter escort , but eventually took off without it . One of the fighter squadrons ( 10 Supermarine Spitfire s of No . 72 Squadron RAF ) did rendezvous with Esmonde ' s squadron ; the two squadrons were later attacked by enemy fighters of JG 2 and JG 26 as part of Operation " Donnerkeil " , the German air superiority plan for the mission . The subsequent fighting left all of the planes in Esmonde ' s squadron damaged , and caused their fighter escort to become separated from the bombers . The torpedo bombers continued their attack , in spite of their damaged aircraft and lack of fighter protection . There was heavy anti - aircraft fire from the German ships , and Esmonde ' s plane possibly sustained a direct hit from anti - aircraft fire that destroyed most of one of the port wings of his Swordfish biplane . Esmonde led his flight through a screen of the enemy destroyers and other small vessels protecting the battleships . He was still some 2 , 700 metres from his target when he was hit by a Focke - Wulf Fw 190 , resulting in his aircraft bursting into flames and crashing into the sea . The remaining aircraft continued the attack , but all were shot down by enemy fighters ; only five of the 18 crew survived the action . The four surviving officers received the Distinguished Service Order , and the enlisted survivor was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal . The disproportionate ratio of officer to enlisted survivors was most likely due to the fact that the officers , as the pilots , sat further forward in the aircraft and were closer to the large radial engine , which served as a shield from enemy fire . The enlisted members sat behind the pilots in rear - facing seats and were exposed to more enemy fire as a result . The courage of the gallant Swordfish crews was particularly noted by friend and foe alike . Admiral Bertram Ramsay later wrote , " In my opinion the gallant sortie of these six Swordfish aircraft constitutes one of the finest exhibitions of self - sacrifice and devotion to duty the war had ever witnessed " , while Admiral Otto Ciliax in the " Scharnhorst " described " The mothball attack of a handful of ancient planes , piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day " . As he watched the smoking wrecks of the Swordfish falling into the sea , Captain Hoffmann of the " Scharnhorst " exclaimed , " Poor fellows , they are so very slow , it is nothing but suicide for them to fly against these big ships " . Willhelm Wolf aboard the " Scharnhorst " wrote , " What an heroic stage for them to meet their end ! Behind them their homeland , which they had just left with their hearts steeled to their purpose , still in view " . The award of the VC was gazetted on 3 March 1942 , the citation read : He was remembered in Winston Churchill ' s famous broadcast speech on 13 May 1945 , " Five years of War " , as having defended Ireland ' s honour : Esmonde was buried in the Woodlands Cemetery , Gillingham , Kent .