Bertie Hoare | |
|---|---|
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| Born | June 1912 Brighton, England |
| Died | 26 March 1947 (aged 34) Sydney Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1947 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Commands | No. 23 Squadron No. 605 Squadron RAF Little Snoring |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order & Bar Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar |
Bertie Hoare, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (1912 – 26 March 1947) was a flying ace who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. During his service with the RAF, he was credited with having destroyed at least nine German aircraft.
Born in Brighton, Hoare joined the RAF in 1936 and was commissioned as a pilot officer. Posted to No. 207 Squadron upon completion of his training, he was injured in an aircraft accident soon after the commencement of the Second World War. He returned to operational duty in early 1941, with an assignment to No. 23 Squadron as a night fighter pilot. With his navigator/radar operator, Warrant Officer J. F. Potter, he achieved several aerial victories on intruder missions to German-occupied Europe, and commanded the squadron for a time. Further aerial victories were made when he later commanded No. 605 Squadron. He ended the war as commander of the RAF station at Little Snoring. Remaining in the RAF in the immediate postwar period, he served at the headquarters of the RAF's Far East Air Force in Singapore. In 1947 he was attached to the Royal New Zealand Air Force's ferry flight for the purpose of flying a recently acquired De Havilland Mosquito heavy fighter from Singapore to New Zealand. He and his navigator was killed when their Mosquito crashed while traversing the Gulf of Carpentaria in bad weather.