Lloyd Allan Trigg Flying Officer Lloyd Allan Trigg VC DFC ( 5 May 1914 – 11 August 1943 ) , of Houhora , New Zealand , was a pilot in the RNZAF . He was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy for British and Commonwealth armed forces . His award is unique , as it was awarded on evidence solely provided by the enemy , for an action in which there were no surviving Allied witnesses to corroborate his gallantry . Early life . Lloyd Allan Trigg , the son of Arthur and Cecelia Louisa Trigg ( nee White ) , was born at Houhora , Northland , New Zealand on 5 May 1914 and was educated at Whangarei Boys ' High School . Military career . He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF ) as a trainee pilot in June 1941 . After attending training school in Canada , Trigg obtained his pilot ' s wings on 16 January 1942 , and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer . After receiving further training in Lockheed Hudson aircraft he embarked for the UK in October 1942 . He was posted to West Africa in December 1942 and joined 200 Squadron RAF in January 1943 . As a first pilot he took part in some 50 operational reconnaissance patrols , convoy escort flights and anti - submarine patrols . The squadron later converted to the maritime version of the B - 24 Liberator . He was an experienced pilot ( he had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross ) while attached to 200 Squadron , operating with Coastal Command . He was flying his first operational flight in a Liberator V ( having previously flown Hudsons ) over the Atlantic from his base in Bathurst , West Africa ( now Banjul , The Gambia ) , when on 11 August 1943 when he engaged the German submarine " U - 468 " under the command of Oberleutnant Klemens Schamong . His aircraft received several catastrophic hits from the submarine ' s anti - aircraft gun s during its approach to drop depth charge s and was on fire as Trigg made his final attack . It then crashed 300 yards behind its victim , killing Trigg and his crew . The only witnesses to his high courage were the U - boat crew members . Since Trigg has no burial place , he is commemorated on the Malta Memorial to the 2 , 298 Commonwealth aircrew who lost their lives around the Mediterranean during the Second World War and who have no known grave . The badly damaged U - boat sank soon after the attack with the loss of 42 hands but seven survivors ( including Schamong ) were spotted by an RAF Short Sunderland of No . 204 Squadron in the dinghy of the crashed Liberator , drifting off the coast of West Africa . They were rescued by a Royal Navy vessel the next day and Schamong reported the incident , recommending Trigg be decorated for his bravery . The citation reads as follows : The Victoria Cross was awarded to Trigg ' s widow by the Governor General of New Zealand , Sir Cyril Newall , on 28 May 1944 . Legacy . In 2007 , New Zealand researcher Arthur Arculus tracked down Klemens Schamong near Kiel . The commander said about Trigg ' s effort " such a gallant fighter as Trigg would have been decorated in Germany with the highest medal or order " . In May 1998 , Trigg ' s VC was sold at auction by Spinks of London for £120 , 000 , the equal highest price ever realised for a VC at that time . The seller was not believed to have been a relative of Trigg and the medals were purchased on behalf of the Michael Ashcroft Trust , the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft ' s VC Collection . The VC is now on display at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum . Trigg ' s complete medal awards are :