Another WWII bomber pilot passes away.
Telegraph Obituaries
16 APRIL 2018 • 5:30PM
Wing Commander Henry Cobb, who has died aged 95, flew Wellington bombers on night attacks and shadowing operations against enemy coastal naval forces; he was awarded the DSO and the DFC.
Already a veteran of 30 bombing operations over North-west Europe and North Africa, Cobb was appointed to the newly formed No 524 Squadron in April 1944. The squadron flew specially modified Wellington bombers from an airfield in Devon. Its role was to attack enemy E-boats (heavily armed fast patrol boats) and fly anti-submarine patrols off the north French coast at night. It also shadowed and illuminated enemy coastal shipping for Beaufighter strike aircraft to attack with rockets.
During the build up to D-Day in June, it was important to prevent U-boats entering the western end of the English Channel and to attack E-boats that could pose a significant threat to the Allied landings in Normandy. On May 16 Cobb spent four hours shadowing and attacking a force of E-boats. On July 6 he attacked another nine and continued shadowing them to provide reports for follow-on attacks.
With Allied forces well established in Normandy, the squadron moved to Norfolk. On August 9 Cobb illuminated a force of E-boats for Beaufighters. The boats were close inshore and, hindered by low cloud, Cobb had to make several runs across the mouth of the Seine at Le Havre to provide directions, enabling the Beaufighters to make a successful attack. Two nights later, one of the two engines of his Wellington failed while flying at low level, but he managed to gain just enough height to reach the coast and make a crash landing.
On August 17 he was operating off the Dutch coast when he made another attack, this time against five E-boats. He continued to shadow them for an hour and provide accurate reports for other forces to engage the enemy. He won an immediate DFC. In September he carried out a successful attack on merchant shipping in the Wilhelmshaven anchorage. He encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire but dropped his bombs, leaving a large ship on fire.
Throughout the winter of 1944-45 he attacked more shipping and, at the end of the war, he was awarded an immediate DSO. The citation stated: “His record of courage and flying skill have earned him an outstanding reputation, and he sets a magnificent example.”
Henry James Cobb was born on May 31 1922 at Chelmsford and educated at Worthing High School. He was just 18 when he enlisted in the RAF and trained as a pilot.
In September 1941 he joined No 458 Squadron to fly Wellingtons. He took part on raids against Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Aachen. In February 1942 the squadron left for the Middle East and Cobb and his crew ferried one of the aircraft to Egypt. He bombed Tobruk on five occasions before moving to Malta, where he flew torpedo strikes and mine-laying operations off the Italian coast. After completing 30 war sorties he returned to Britain and began a series of specialist anti-shipping courses before joining No 524 Squadron.
After the war he flew Liberator transport aircraft before converting to the Lancaster to fly maritime patrol sorties, first with Coastal Command and then with No 38 Squadron in Malta as a flight commander for two years.
In 1952 he attended the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Farnborough and at the end of the year-long course he remained there with the Armament and Guided Weapons Flight, when he flew the early jet fighters and bombers. For his work as a test pilot he was awarded the AFC.
During his time as a staff officer in Malaya in 1958 Cobb was involved in the formation of the Malayan Air Force.
He returned to the UK in October 1959 and spent the next six years as a test pilot, first with the RAF Handling Squadron at Boscombe Down and then at Farnborough in the Department of Human Engineering, where he tested pressure suits and helmets for the V-Bombers and other high-flying aircraft.
He took voluntary retirement from the RAF in December 1967 and moved to Aden as deputy of the embryonic South Arabian Air Force. This proved to be a difficult time for Cobb and his wife who, after a few months, found themselves confined to their house before they were able to leave.
In the early 1970s he served with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force. Later he learnt to fly helicopters and for a number of years worked as a crop-spraying pilot in the UK, Africa and the US.
He retired to South Africa before moving to the Charente region of France. Keen on watching nature and reading, he enjoyed his whisky and red wine.
Henry Cobb married Rosamund in 1953. She and their two daughters survive him.
Henry Cobb, born May 31 1922, died March 22 2018
Wing Commander Henry Cobb ? obituary