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00:02He was a maverick and a rule-breaker.
00:06Now on BBC Two, Time Watch reveals the story behind the mystery of the missing ace.
00:15April the 12th, 1944.
00:18A young British pilot is preparing for a dangerous mission.
00:21At just 26 years old, he has already been awarded six medals,
00:26making him one of the most highly decorated pilots of the Second World War.
00:30But this is a mission from which he will never return.
00:33The mystery surrounding his disappearance will take almost 60 years to solve.
00:40He was a great man.
00:42Ice water ran through his veins instead of blood, I'm sure.
00:47As a photo reconnaissance pilot,
00:49Wing Commander Adrian Warburton's weapon was photography.
00:56His crucial role in the three-year-long Battle of Malta
00:59made him a legend in his own lifetime.
01:02During the war, he was referred to as the most valuable pilot in the RAF.
01:09In 1940, 1941, Britain desperately needed victory and it desperately needed heroes.
01:16And Adrian Warburton was that kind of hero.
01:19But when Warburton disappeared without trace on that last fateful mission,
01:24his memory would fade and die.
01:26That was until two amateur historians independently went in search of him.
01:32I didn't realize just how difficult it was going to be because it just seemed as if every avenue
01:38that I tried to explore turned out to be a cul-de-sac.
01:42I got a lot of information that no one was bailing out of the aircraft,
01:48that the pilot must be still in the soil.
01:55At the heart of the mystery were the curious circumstances of Warburton's final flight.
02:01He was piloting an American aircraft on an American mission with the GOAIR from the President's son.
02:10Initially, this case was treated as an American loss case due to the fact it was an American aircraft.
02:17How could a wing commander from the Royal Air Force be flying one of our aircraft?
02:21Tonight, Time Watch can reveal for the first time
02:24the full true story of wing commander Adrian Warburton.
02:52In September 1940, age just 22,
02:57Adrian Warburton arrived on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta.
03:01He was a rookie pilot with little flying experience.
03:06There was nothing to suggest that he would become a central player
03:09in one of the war's most protracted battles.
03:13The island had entered the war a few months earlier
03:16and was beginning to come under increasing attack.
03:35Although acutely aware of how important it was not to lose the island,
03:39the British were ill-prepared for the attacks that were to come.
03:43Malta is only a small island,
03:45but its location means it's had a strategic significance for centuries.
03:50When in June 1940,
03:52Italy entered the war on the Axis side
03:54and France collapsed,
03:56Britain and its empire were in a critical position.
03:59They had no major allies and Britain was badly overstretched.
04:04Malta had, for practical purposes, no air defences.
04:08And as a small island,
04:10was faced with pretty well the whole of the Italian Air Force
04:13and for the first year,
04:15also the German 10th Air Corps,
04:18with literally thousands of aircraft between them.
04:32The life that Adrian Warburton had left behind in Britain
04:35was falling apart.
04:37His attitude seemed unsuited to life in the RAF.
04:40He was single-minded and a misfit.
04:43His performance as a trainee pilot had been unremarkable.
04:47He struggled to get off the ground
04:50and he had almost been cancelled as being a Royal Air Force pilot
04:56because his record was not even average.
05:00But the most tangled aspect of his early life in Britain
05:03was a failed marriage.
05:05Whilst on training duty in Portsmouth,
05:08Warburton frequented a local pub called The Bush.
05:10One of the barmaids there was Betty Mitchell.
05:14She was 27 at the time.
05:17Warburton was just 21.
05:21Today, Betty is 91.
05:24And of course, we girls went mad.
05:26We had a wonderful time.
05:28They all used to come in in their uniforms, you know,
05:31and not long after that,
05:34who should walk in but Adrian.
05:36Oh, he looked, really looked wonderful.
05:39And for some reason, he took a fancy to me
05:42and he started taking me out.
05:46And we didn't know each other long
05:49before he proposed marriage,
05:51which amazed me.
05:52But I thought, oh, you know.
05:57And so I married him.
06:01Almost from the outset,
06:03Warburton's marriage was in trouble.
06:05In defiance of RAF regulations,
06:08he'd kept the wedding a secret.
06:09But his superior officers found out.
06:12He didn't tell his mother and father
06:15and he didn't tell the RAF.
06:18So what did they do?
06:20They shot him off to Walter.
06:22That's what happened.
06:29When Warburton came in,
06:31he would duly arrive up this bit of strip here
06:34and on an old bicycle,
06:36which in these days,
06:37he would have thrown on the scrap heap.
06:38But he used to pedal dutifully up there,
06:41never puffed.
06:42He was a very fit chappy.
06:43Dump it outside there,
06:44go inside and say,
06:46right, what's on today?
06:49In his own description,
06:51he had two left feet.
06:53Now, when it came to using an aircraft on the ground,
06:56he wasn't very clever at all.
06:59He had many, many spills,
07:02but when he got into the air,
07:04he was then proving to be
07:05an absolute brilliant pilot.
07:08Fearless.
07:22He was always wanting to get airborne.
07:27He wanted a job to do.
07:29And the more difficult the job, the better.
07:32He wants to fly on his own.
07:35He wants to fly as high and as far as he can go.
07:47In 1940, Warburton was establishing himself on Malta
07:51as the Battle of Britain was reaching its height.
07:59The RAF's young pilots were thrust into the limelight
08:02as a new band of heroes.
08:04But those heroes were principally fighter pilots.
08:08Warburton was in a different breed altogether.
08:13He was naturally a loner,
08:15and his character was ideally suited
08:17to the role he was about to take on.
08:22Photo reconnaissance is often seen
08:24as a rather unglamorous form of flying.
08:28The glamour flyers are the fighter aces
08:30and perhaps some of the bomber pilots.
08:32But before World War II,
08:35General von Fritsch,
08:36the man who was commander of chief
08:37of the German army until 1938,
08:40said that the military organisation,
08:42with the most effective photographic reconnaissance,
08:45would win the next war.
08:47And it did.
08:50The whole point, after all,
08:52of taking a photograph
08:53is so you don't have to rely on the impression
08:56of the person who saw it at the time.
08:58The photographs can be taken away,
09:00studied in detail, analysed.
09:03The point is,
09:04somebody had to go and take the photographs.
09:07This is what Warburton did,
09:09and it was extraordinarily dangerous.
09:19Speed is of paramount importance,
09:21so any armament,
09:23any armour plating,
09:24any defence,
09:25is offloaded because of the weight.
09:27So normally,
09:29a photo reconnaissance pilot
09:30would be going in
09:31totally and utterly vulnerable,
09:33unarmed.
09:34The only thing that could help him
09:35is speed
09:36and his pilot's skill
09:38at outmanoeuvring,
09:39pursuing aircraft
09:40or anti-aircraft fire.
09:44Warburton quickly learnt
09:46that there were two methods
09:47to bring back the photographs he wanted.
09:52One is to fly very high,
09:54so the enemy either can't spot you
09:56or can't do anything about it.
09:57The other choice
09:58is to come in very fast
10:01and very low
10:02until you've got the photographs you wanted.
10:07But the maverick Warburton
10:09was about to rewrite
10:10the rulebook of reconnaissance.
10:13It's a well-known fact
10:14even in modern day
10:15of reconnaissance.
10:16You don't go in twice.
10:18Once you've gone in
10:19and had a go at the target,
10:20if you don't get it,
10:22you don't go back again
10:23for the obvious reason
10:24they're waiting for you.
10:26Warburton broke the rules.
10:27He dismissed this
10:28as a necessary delay
10:31in getting the pictures he wanted.
10:35The only type of aircraft
10:37available to Warburton
10:38on the island
10:39in September 1940
10:40was the Maryland,
10:41an American twin-engine bomber
10:43that had been hastily adapted
10:45for photo reconnaissance.
10:49One man who knew his way
10:50around the Maryland
10:51better than anyone else
10:52was engineer Jack Volz.
10:55This is the headquarters
10:57of the squadron.
10:59The first time
10:59that I ever met Warburton
11:01was in here
11:02and he had been told earlier
11:05of a little bit of expertise
11:07I had in tweaking
11:08the Maryland aircraft.
11:10He came across
11:11and said,
11:13how could he make
11:13the Maryland aircraft
11:14go 15 to 20 knots faster?
11:18The main reason was
11:19he would be able to escape
11:21the Messerschmitt 109s
11:22in level flight
11:23and this 15 to 20 knots
11:25was most important
11:26for saving his life
11:29and getting the photographs
11:30back here
11:30that he had taken.
11:33In November 1940,
11:35Warburton's skills
11:36would be put
11:36to their first major test.
11:43Taranto Harbour
11:44was the base
11:45for the Italian Navy.
11:47Six battleships
11:48dominated a fleet
11:49of over 40 vessels.
11:50They threatened
11:52vital British supply lines
11:53to the Empire
11:54in the East.
11:55The British decided
11:56to launch
11:57a pre-emptive strike
11:58on Taranto.
11:59But to succeed,
12:00they would need
12:01detailed intelligence.
12:07On the 10th of November 1940,
12:09as a final check,
12:11Warburton and his crew
12:12took off
12:13to do a last photo reconnaissance
12:16of Taranto Harbour
12:17and Warburton and his crew
12:19flew their Maryland
12:21across Taranto Harbour
12:23low and fast.
12:24Under the guns virtually.
12:27And if you can visualise
12:28the pilot going in
12:30with everything
12:30that the ship
12:31could throw at him,
12:32firing back at him,
12:34anti-aircraft guns,
12:35machine guns,
12:36small arms even,
12:37probably the kitchen sink
12:38if they'd got a hold of it.
12:44Not only does he do it once,
12:46but he has a cheek
12:47to get up
12:48and go round
12:48yet again
12:49and again.
13:00When they got back
13:01to Malta,
13:02they pulled
13:03a part of an aerial
13:04from an Italian ship
13:05out of the tail wheel
13:06of the plane
13:08they'd been flying.
13:08That's how low
13:09they came in.
13:10And those last photographs
13:12provided the final certainty
13:15for the Taranto raid
13:16to take place.
13:19The following day
13:20British torpedo bombers
13:21attacked.
13:22They sank three battleships
13:24and the Italian fleet
13:25were forced to withdraw
13:26northwards,
13:27a safer distance
13:28from Malta.
13:31Vital British supply lines
13:33had been protected.
13:36Warburton's daring
13:37reconnaissance flight
13:37became RAF legend.
13:39From now on,
13:41he would become
13:41the eyes of the Mediterranean.
13:43Aged just 22,
13:45Warburton was awarded
13:46the Distinguished Flying Cross
13:48for his bravery.
13:49It would be the first
13:50of six medals.
14:00much-needed reinforcements
14:02arrived on Malta
14:03in the shape
14:03of Spitfires.
14:05It was to become
14:06Warburton's
14:06favourite aircraft.
14:12The Spitfire
14:14was faster
14:15and more manoeuvrable
14:16than any other aircraft
14:17available.
14:20more streamlined
14:21and with a longer range,
14:23Warburton could now
14:23go further
14:24and faster
14:25than ever before
14:26and as a single-seat aircraft
14:28it meant
14:29flying solo.
14:31This suited
14:31his maverick style
14:32and meant
14:33that now
14:34both the flying
14:35and the photography
14:36were up to him.
14:43But when he did
14:44get time away
14:45from the airfield
14:46his attentions
14:47were not with his wife
14:47Betty
14:48but were instead
14:49turning to a beautiful
14:50cabaret dancer
14:51from England
14:52called Christina Ratcliffe.
14:55She had arrived
14:56on Malta
14:57as part of a visiting
14:58entertainment troupe
14:59that became known
15:00as the Whizbangs.
15:03They helped boost morale
15:05by performing for troops
15:06all over the island.
15:10When Christina
15:11first met Warburton
15:12it was a turning point
15:13in both their lives.
15:15It would also
15:16have an impact
15:17on the whole island.
15:19A couple of young officers
15:21entered the room.
15:22As they stood at the door
15:24I noticed a blonde RAF officer.
15:27The next thing I knew
15:28he was coming towards us
15:30towards me.
15:32After a quick word
15:33with my friends
15:34he introduced himself
15:37as we talked
15:38I noticed
15:39how incredibly blue
15:41were his eyes.
15:42When he smiled
15:44a deep crease
15:45came into his left cheek.
15:47He's like a Greek god
15:49I thought.
15:52When Warburton
15:53and Christina met
15:54it was just an absolute
15:55magnetic attraction.
15:57They clung to each other
15:58and stayed with each other.
16:02you had to see them together
16:04to realise
16:05how much in love
16:06they were.
16:09I think she was
16:10the perfect match
16:12for him.
16:14I've seen a picture
16:15in the book
16:15where he's holding
16:16the skein of wool
16:17and she
16:18you know
16:20he was at home there
16:21wasn't he
16:22he was at home there
16:24yeah
16:29well good for her
16:31good for her
16:35after Malta
16:36entered the war
16:37Christina was
16:38stranded on the island
16:39on June the 15th 1941
16:41I became a civilian plotter
16:43in the RAF operations room
16:45in Valletta
16:48as a plotter
16:49I found that life
16:50was a round of shocks
16:51and thrills
16:52and the biggest shocks
16:54were usually caused
16:55by Warby
16:58returning from a sortie
16:59of the Sicily
17:00he was being chased
17:01by Messerschmitts
17:02as Warby forged on
17:04towards the island
17:05I plotted his course
17:06I also plotted
17:08the course
17:08of the Messerschmitts
17:15they were getting
17:16dangerously close
17:17there was a hush
17:19in the ops room
17:19all eyes focused
17:21on the table
17:21my heart thumped
17:34Warby had been shot down
17:36it was the end
17:48five minutes later
17:50the message came through
17:51he had landed safely
17:53he'd flown in so low
17:55that the radar station
17:56had been unable
17:57to detect his aircraft
18:06flying from Malta
18:07was becoming
18:08increasingly dangerous
18:10Warburton could now
18:11be certain
18:12that every flight
18:13would involve
18:14a brush with death
18:15with each sortie
18:16the odds against
18:17his survival
18:18grew greater
18:21I was waiting for Warby
18:23coming back
18:23from a mission
18:24and I looked
18:26in the distance
18:27and I could see
18:27the Maryland approaching
18:28with its wheels up
18:31I carried a camera
18:32at the time
18:32a movie camera
18:33so I quickly
18:34whipped it out
18:35to take this shot
18:38he came in
18:40to the left hand side
18:41of the main runway
18:43landed on the grass
18:46slithered along
18:47when I got over
18:48to the plane
18:49he had his helmet
18:50off
18:51the canopy
18:51was off
18:52and I said
18:52that was a brilliant landing
18:54he said
18:55what about the aircraft
18:57I did a quick look round
18:59and saw the cannon shell
19:00holes that were in it
19:00I thought it was most remarkable
19:02that he even got back
19:04I said
19:04Warby
19:05I don't think that it will
19:07ever fly again
19:08and it didn't
19:18the battle for Malta
19:20reached its height
19:21in early 1942
19:28its strategic significance
19:30was such
19:31that the islanders
19:32and the British forces
19:33were doing everything
19:34in their power
19:34to defend it
19:36the island was now
19:38under continual bombardment
19:41in the spring of 1942
19:43Malta became
19:45the most bombed place
19:46on earth
19:48people had to
19:49dig into caves
19:51people had to take cover
19:52as best they could
19:53finally
19:54in April 1942
19:56something like
19:575,000 to 6,000
19:59tons of bombs
20:00were falling on Malta
20:01the people of Malta
20:03suffered tremendously
20:04in the siege
20:05it was an extremely
20:06depressing time
20:08an extremely miserable time
20:23but amidst the mayhem
20:24Adrian Warburton
20:25and Christina Ratcliffe
20:27were now becoming
20:27symbols of the island's
20:29resistance
20:31they provided
20:32a perfect propaganda
20:33opportunity
20:34for the allies
20:38circumstances in Malta
20:40during the siege
20:40were so grim
20:41that anything
20:42which could make life
20:44look a bit better
20:45had to go down well
20:47and the idea
20:48of this rather charming
20:50blonde haired
20:52RAF war hero
20:53which indeed he was
20:54romancing with this
20:56rather glamorous
20:57dancer
20:58generally speaking
21:00going around
21:02in a very casual
21:03very cheerful way
21:04was something
21:06that made people smile
21:07it wasn't fake
21:08it wasn't phony
21:09people are not
21:10fooled by fake
21:11propaganda very easily
21:13they knew what
21:13the score was
21:14with people like
21:15Warburton around
21:16it just helped a bit
21:20on the 15th of April
21:221942
21:22Malta and its people
21:24were awarded
21:25the George Cross
21:26by King George VI
21:27the islanders
21:29heroic resistance
21:29had played a major part
21:31in the defense
21:32of the Mediterranean
21:32at its heart
21:34had been Malta's
21:35golden couple
21:37Warburton and Christina
21:52by early 1943
21:54Warburton had formed
21:56a friendship
21:56that would determine
21:57his fate
22:00Colonel Elliot Roosevelt
22:02son of the American
22:03president
22:03was in charge
22:05of US photo
22:06reconnaissance
22:06for the Mediterranean
22:07theater of war
22:08he visited Malta
22:10to check on a detachment
22:11of American reconnaissance
22:12pilots who were being
22:13trained by Warburton
22:14they regarded him
22:15as a hero
22:16and he fitted in
22:18naturally
22:18with the American way
22:19the RAF maverick
22:21and the formidable
22:22president's son
22:23instantly became
22:25good friends
22:26he talked like American
22:28he acted like American
22:29and he appeared to me
22:31to be about
22:3250% American
22:33he suited
22:35Roosevelt
22:36and Roosevelt
22:37suited him
22:38and Roosevelt
22:39was also
22:40getting a
22:41number one
22:43real live hero
22:44his relationship
22:46with the Americans
22:47was sealed
22:48when he carried out
22:49another daring mission
22:50that would earn him
22:51one of the highest
22:52American military
22:53decorations
22:56his job
22:57was to obtain
22:58detailed photographs
22:59of the heavily defended
23:01Mediterranean island
23:02of Pantellaria
23:03they wanted to know
23:05the levels
23:06for use of their
23:08landing craft
23:09and the cameras
23:11filmed
23:11not only the
23:13sand level
23:13rising
23:14but you could see
23:15the water
23:16then the beach
23:18rising
23:18and then the dunes
23:19behind
23:20and this gave
23:21a perfect picture
23:22for the Americans
23:24to be able to see
23:25the levels
23:26that they could go in
23:27at
23:27and the best spots
23:28for their landing craft
23:33Warburton's photographs
23:34gave the Americans
23:35all the information
23:36they needed
23:36for the invasion
23:38it was a mission
23:40that earned him
23:40the American
23:41DFC
23:46it was the cementing
23:47of Warburton's
23:48relationship
23:48with the Americans
23:49that would eventually
23:50send him
23:51on his last
23:51mysterious mission
23:56but before that
23:57came the parting
23:58of the ways
23:59for Warburton
23:59and Christina
24:10in September
24:121943
24:12Italy surrendered
24:14the Mediterranean
24:15War
24:16was effectively
24:17over
24:17Christina
24:19remained on Malta
24:20working as a plotter
24:21for the RAF
24:36once off Malta
24:37things began
24:38to go badly wrong
24:39for Warburton
24:39just weeks
24:41into his new posting
24:42he was seriously injured
24:47ironically
24:48not in the air
24:49but in a jeep crash
24:50he spent the next
24:52two months in hospital
24:53frustrated
24:53and isolated
24:55from the action
24:57meanwhile
24:58his close friend
24:59Colonel Elliot Roosevelt
25:00had arrived
25:01at Mount Farm Air Base
25:02in Oxfordshire
25:03in preparation
25:04for the planned
25:05Allied advance
25:05into Europe
25:07in the spring
25:08of 1944
25:09Warburton was recovering
25:10from his injuries
25:11he was out of hospital
25:13and desperate
25:14to get back to work
25:16Elliot Roosevelt
25:17organised for Warburton
25:19to join him
25:19at Mount Farm
25:20Officially on sickly
25:22and grounded
25:23he was made
25:24the RAF's liaison officer
25:25effectively
25:26a desk job
25:27the man in charge
25:30of day-to-day running
25:31of Mount Farm
25:31was Lieutenant Colonel
25:32George Lawson
25:33he remembers Warburton's arrival
25:37Roosevelt
25:37got me aside
25:39and he said
25:41Warby
25:42has 300 or 400
25:43combat missions
25:44and
25:46several
25:48hundred
25:48combat hours
25:49he had more experience
25:51than all the rest of us
25:52but together
25:53when he arrived
25:53at Mount Farm
25:56Adrian Warburton
25:57was becoming desperate
25:58to get back
25:58into the air
26:00one of the American pilots
26:02he met at Mount Farm
26:03Carl Chapman
26:04was putting together
26:05a daring mission
26:06to the heavily defended
26:07industrial heartland
26:08of southern Germany
26:09to photograph
26:10a vital engineering plant
26:17chapman's plan
26:18was to take
26:19two aircraft
26:19he would fly one
26:21he wanted Warburton
26:22to pilot the other
26:24even though
26:25it would be
26:26his first experience
26:27of reconnaissance
26:28over Germany
26:30Warburton
26:31was used to
26:32reconnaissance flights
26:33in the Mediterranean
26:34and to being able
26:36to go back
26:37for a second
26:37or a third pass
26:38to get
26:39the photographs
26:40he wanted
26:41the defences
26:42of industrial Germany
26:45the Ruhr
26:45Schweinfurt
26:46and Regensburg
26:47were of an altogether
26:48different order
26:49of magnitude
26:56picking Warburton
26:57for one of these
26:58type targets
26:59for his first mission
27:00was horribly wrong
27:02in my opinion
27:03and shouldn't have
27:04been done
27:06George Lawson
27:08had concerns
27:08about Warburton's
27:09suitability
27:10to fly with the Americans
27:12was it right
27:13to ask the British hero
27:14to join this mission?
27:17I called Carl Chapman
27:19into my office
27:20and said
27:20look
27:21tell me more
27:21about this mission
27:22because I had been trained
27:24and he'd been trained
27:25and all of us
27:26had been trained
27:27to fly alone
27:28at high altitude
27:30avoid friend
27:31or foe
27:34bring the pictures
27:35back
27:36and don't
27:36fool with anything else
27:39Chapman ignored
27:40Lawson's concerns
27:41and got the official
27:42go ahead
27:42direct from
27:43Elliot Roosevelt
27:51early on the morning
27:52of April the 12th
27:531944
27:54Carl Chapman
27:55set off
27:56for Regensburg
27:56Adrian Warburton
27:58headed for Schweinfurt
28:05a photo reconnaissance flight
28:07over Schweinfurt
28:08was a dangerous mission
28:10at the best of times
28:11you flew high
28:13to try and evade
28:14the German fighters
28:15on the way in
28:16and over the target
28:17the flak
28:19was much more intense
28:25this was
28:26a level of
28:27flak defense
28:28which he had simply
28:29never encountered before
28:50eight hours
28:51after taking off
28:52only one of the
28:53lightnings returned
28:55Chapman and Warburton
28:56had planned to meet up
28:57over Europe
29:00but Warburton
29:01had failed to show up
29:02Roosevelt thought
29:04that he had gone
29:05maybe as far as Malta
29:06we just didn't think
29:08anything could happen
29:09to him
29:09he was living a charm life
29:12had led his charm life
29:13for years
29:14we just believed
29:15he was eventually
29:16going to turn up
29:17but he didn't
29:18and it took the Americans
29:20a further three weeks
29:21before they reported him
29:22as missing in action
29:25the RAF
29:26got involved
29:27Roosevelt was
29:29questioned at length
29:30about the mission
29:31and Chapman was
29:33worked over
29:34about the mission
29:35and they visited me
29:37a couple of three times
29:38we had not come
29:39face to face
29:40with the fact
29:41that Warburton
29:42had crashed
29:43George Lawson
29:44has a theory
29:44of what happened
29:45he believes
29:47Warburton's
29:47single-mindedness
29:48to bring back
29:49the best pictures
29:50cost him his life
29:52very rarely
29:53did we ever lose
29:54an airplane
29:55at 30,000 feet
29:57to flack
29:58he was like
29:59a sitting dut
30:00at 12 or 15,000 feet
30:14but in 1944
30:15nobody knew for sure
30:17what had happened
30:18to Warburton
30:29one day in April
30:31an airman said to me
30:32quite casually
30:34I suppose you've seen
30:35the signal
30:36about your old friend
30:37wing commander
30:38Warburton
30:39to begin with
30:40I was not unduly worried
30:43he had been missing
30:44before
30:44and anyway
30:46nothing could ever
30:47happen to Warby
30:48all sorts of rumors
30:50began to run around
30:51Warby had been shot down
30:53no Warby had crashed
30:55in the Alps
30:56he could come walking
30:58in tomorrow
30:58and I don't think
30:59I should be a bit surprised
31:04for 60 years
31:05no one would know
31:06for sure
31:07what happened
31:07to Adrian Warburton
31:10during his time
31:11on Malta
31:11he'd been rated
31:12as the most valuable
31:13pilot in the RAF
31:15often referred to
31:16as the Lawrence of Arabia
31:18of the sky
31:21but the missing ace
31:23faded out of sight
31:24the hero
31:25had vanished
31:30but in 1995
31:31the hunt for his body
31:33and the attempt
31:34to bury him
31:34with the honor
31:35he deserved
31:35began
31:37Frank Dauber
31:38is an amateur historian
31:39who specializes
31:40in tracing missing pilots
31:42from World War I
31:43coming across the name
31:44of Adrian Warburton
31:45was to change his life
31:47well the first time
31:48I came across
31:49Wing Commander Warburton
31:51I just happened
31:51to pick up a book
31:52by the author
31:54Tony Spooner
31:56and I picked it up
31:58and looking at
31:59the portrait of the man
32:00and his name underneath
32:01and all the decorations
32:03to him
32:04my first thought
32:05was
32:05a photo reconnaissance flyer
32:07with all these decorations
32:08you just don't get that
32:10and that's when I decided
32:12to read the book thoroughly
32:13at the end of which
32:15I was ashamed of myself
32:16that having been
32:18a so-called historian
32:19for 30 odd years
32:20I'd never heard of Warby
32:27at about the same time
32:29another amateur historian
32:30in Augsburg
32:31southern Germany
32:32was working
32:33on his long-term project
32:38Hans Griminger
32:39was in the process
32:40of cataloguing
32:41downed aircraft
32:42from the Second World War
32:43in the region
32:44where he lived
32:44when he made
32:46an intriguing discovery
32:48one day
32:49it was in the mid-90s
32:51I got microfilms
32:53from a friend
32:54from a German archive
32:55with shut down reports
32:58of German
32:58anti-aircraft batteries
33:01and suddenly
33:02I found a crash
33:03place
33:04which is not far
33:05from our town
33:06Augling
33:08and this crash
33:09I didn't have
33:10in my register
33:12but nobody
33:13had ever heard
33:14of this mystery plane
33:15shot down
33:17150 miles
33:18from the target
33:19of Warburton's
33:20last mission
33:23time 1145
33:26place
33:27Augling
33:28number of the
33:30anti-aircraft unit
33:34type of aircraft
33:35lightning
33:37in Ordnung
33:38means confirmed
33:43Frank Dorber
33:44had a different problem
33:45from Hans Griminger
33:46he knew that Warburton
33:48had gone missing
33:49on a flight
33:49in April 1944
33:51but there was
33:52little detail
33:52of where
33:53or why
33:55he began
33:56a wide-scale search
33:57of archives
33:57all over Europe
33:59and I
34:00blundered on
34:01at that stage
34:02by making inquiries
34:03with the American
34:04recon group
34:05that he was attached to
34:06for somebody
34:07who was so
34:08esteemed
34:09at that time period
34:10somebody
34:10who they
34:11accepted as being
34:12both infallible
34:13and indestructible
34:14nobody seemed to know
34:16anything about
34:16this last mission
34:17it was a distinct
34:19silence
34:21as Frank Dorber's
34:22search for Warburton
34:23went cold
34:24Hans Griminger
34:25was trawling
34:26through missing
34:26aircrew reports
34:27from the United States
34:28but curiously
34:30he discovered
34:31that the Americans
34:31had no missing
34:32pilots on that date
34:35it seemed
34:36that he was
34:37investigating
34:37a crashed
34:38American aircraft
34:39but not
34:40with an American
34:41pilot
34:53Hans decided
34:54to go to the
34:54crash site
34:55to try to find out
34:56what had happened
34:57to the pilot
34:57had he bailed out
34:59had he been recovered
35:00and given a burial
35:01or was he still
35:02with the plane
35:05Gottfried Grad
35:06was ten years old
35:07when the plane
35:08crashed near
35:08his parents' home
35:13I heard a strange
35:14noise from the plane
35:16so I thought
35:16that's not normal
35:18just flying overhead
35:20but then I looked up
35:21and it came out
35:23of the clouds
35:24spiraling down
35:25trailing a plume
35:26of smoke behind
35:27and then it crashed
35:31it's sad
35:32but you don't know
35:33how to behave
35:34when an enemy crashed
35:35or a plane
35:36from your own forces
35:37you couldn't really
35:38make the distinction
35:39when you were
35:40ten years old
35:41what kind of feeling
35:42are you meant to have
35:43and feeling
35:49Hans Griminger
35:50was now convinced
35:51that he'd found
35:52an unexcavated
35:53war grave
35:58and because
35:59only
36:00Warburton
36:01was missing
36:02at this date
36:03probably in this area
36:05so I had the answer
36:07it must be Warburton
36:09but when he presented
36:10his findings
36:11to the Ministry of Defence
36:12he came to a dead end
36:13they had no record
36:15of Warburton's last flight
36:16and would not accept
36:18that the crashed plane
36:19was Warburton's
36:21I sent him
36:22a complete crash report
36:23with information
36:25about the crash site
36:26the circumstances
36:27and nobody asked me
36:29so tell me more
36:31about your knowledge
36:32about this crash site
36:41but the two independent investigations
36:44into Warburton's disappearance
36:46were about to collide
36:48one of Frank Dorber's
36:49many letters
36:50looking for help
36:51in finding possible crash sites
36:52found its way
36:53to the archives
36:54in Augsburg
36:56it was passed on
36:57to Hans Griminger
37:00unable to convince
37:01the British authorities
37:02of his findings
37:03Hans was forced
37:04to give up
37:06he contacted
37:07Frank Dorber
37:12Frank had no doubt
37:13that his eight-year search
37:15was now over
37:16the information
37:17that Hans
37:18passed over to me
37:20was the final
37:22piece of the jigsaw
37:24having spoken
37:26with Hans Griminger
37:27about his problems
37:28dealing with
37:28the British establishment
37:29I realised
37:30that this was not
37:31going to be straightforward
37:33I seriously wondered
37:34if it was going
37:35to be possible
37:35at all
37:36to get him raised
37:47Convinced he'd solved
37:48the 60-year mystery
37:49of Warburton's
37:50last mission
37:51Frank Dorber
37:52contacted the parish priest
37:53in Eigling
37:54to try to get help
37:55from the local community
37:57In rural areas of Germany
37:59the local priest
38:01has a lot of
38:02political persuasion
38:03I also had the advantage
38:05that people in that area
38:06had always felt
38:06guilty
38:07that they knew
38:08an airman
38:09was still down there
38:10in that field
38:11and nobody had done
38:12anything about it
38:15The task of physically
38:17pinpointing Warburton's
38:18crash site
38:19fell to the local historian
38:21and archaeologist
38:22Dr. Anton Huber
38:25He found an aerial photograph
38:27taken just weeks
38:28after the crash
38:29It showed a fresh crater
38:31in a field
38:32on the edge
38:33of the village
38:38Then I wondered
38:39how we could transfer
38:40this aerial photograph
38:41onto a map
38:43at exactly the right scale
38:46That is what we did
38:53Here we can see
38:55the crash site
38:56precisely
38:56The black dot
38:59marks the area
39:17On the very first day
39:19of the excavation
39:20Dr. Huber
39:21found parts
39:22of an aircraft
39:25First indications
39:26were that it was
39:27an American plane
39:28So any findings
39:30would come under
39:30American jurisdiction
39:35David Roth
39:36is the director
39:37of the U.S. Army Memorial
39:38and Mortuary Affairs
39:40Division
39:40in Europe
39:42His task
39:43is to identify
39:44U.S. servicemen
39:46who have been killed
39:46in action
39:48Based in Germany
39:49Roth and his team
39:50took the key findings
39:51from the crash site
39:52back to the laboratory
39:54for formal identification
39:56Okay
39:56This is from the P-38
39:58the crash site
39:59up there
39:59Eglinaupar
40:00I've done a cursory
40:02search in the field
40:03and I've got some notes
40:05on it
40:05What I need to do
40:05is compare those notes
40:08Essentially
40:08we went through
40:09the parts
40:10and started documenting
40:11them, cataloging them
40:13tracing them back
40:14to a P-38
40:15We started looking then
40:17and saying
40:18well
40:18this is unusual aircraft
40:20because we've got
40:21no machine guns here
40:23and primarily
40:24its role
40:24was a fighter escort
40:25airplane
40:26Another critical piece
40:27of data
40:28that we were able
40:29to find in the field
40:30came off of the left engine
40:31and this is absolutely
40:33critical
40:33because what it shows here
40:35and I need you to record this
40:36it's an Allison
40:37V-1710 engine
40:39This engine was used
40:41on P-38
40:42F-5B aircraft
40:45and we'll go back
40:46and look in the records
40:47it may be possible
40:48that we could associate
40:49this engine
40:49for the tail number
40:50of the aircraft as well
40:51so that's an important
40:53piece of information
40:54that we've got
40:55for this case
40:56Early on in the excavation
40:58the team made
40:59a significant discovery
41:01There was a large roll
41:03of celluloid film
41:04that was sitting there
41:05that was consistent
41:06with being the roll
41:08of film
41:09in the correct size
41:10that was used
41:11in a vertical
41:11or bleak
41:12or topographical camera
41:14The evidence
41:15that this was
41:16a reconnaissance plane
41:17was overwhelming
41:19Then came one final
41:20vital clue
41:21A piece of rubber
41:23was discovered
41:24in the excavation
41:26After examination
41:27it turned out
41:28to be a flying boot
41:30The pilot
41:31The pilot hadn't bailed out
41:32and had died
41:33in the plane
41:35Was the search
41:36for the missing ace
41:37over at last?
41:44Where you can see
41:45the two people digging
41:46that was the cockpit area
41:50That was the most sensitive area
41:52for us
41:53because we had to find
41:54and recover
41:55the mortal remains
41:56of Adrian Warburton
41:57Adrian Warburton
41:59Finden and Bergen
42:09We had an anthropologist
42:11from the central identification lab
42:13do a review
42:14of the skeletal remains
42:16and his report
42:17matched up
42:17with the physical characteristics
42:19of Warburton
42:21We can put them
42:22in the right location
42:23in the right airplane
42:24on the right date
42:26at the right time
42:28So
42:28one can come
42:29to no other conclusion
42:30than that it was
42:31Adrian Warburton's aircraft
42:35After 60 years
42:37the mystery
42:37was finally solved
42:39but it came
42:40too late
42:41for Christina
42:53After the war
42:54Christina stayed
42:55on Malta
42:56The mystery
42:57surrounding
42:58Warburton's disappearance
42:59had a devastating effect
43:01on her life
43:03In the years
43:04after the war
43:05she rented a summer house
43:07on the north coast
43:08of the island
43:09She used to come
43:10to our place
43:11take me out
43:12with her swimming
43:13I think she was
43:14always longing
43:15for company
43:16but I used to hear
43:17her talk about
43:18this Adrian
43:19Adrian
43:20how much she loved him
43:21At that time
43:22I didn't know
43:22who Adrian was
43:23but now I know
43:25who Adrian is
43:29After Adrian disappeared
43:30Christina spent
43:32the rest of her life
43:33on Malta
43:34She never married
43:36I think it was
43:37a very sad story
43:38because
43:39loving somebody
43:40and waiting for him
43:41to come from
43:43this mission
43:44who went on
43:44and he never returned
43:46and then
43:47hearing her say
43:48to my aunt
43:49that she loved him
43:50so much
43:50that she would
43:52never get married
43:54I think it's a very sad story
43:55to love somebody
43:56and you can't be with him
44:00and then
44:01as she grew old
44:02she started
44:04drinking a lot
44:06and I think
44:07people who drink
44:08it's because
44:09they're sad
44:09when they drink a lot
44:13Christina Ratcliffe
44:14didn't deserve
44:15to die this way
44:16because she died
44:17all alone
44:18and with no one
44:20to take care of her
44:23Christina died
44:25in 1988
44:27she'd waited
44:2844 years
44:29for news
44:29of Adrian Warburton
44:42Jesus said
44:43I am the resurrection
44:44and the life
44:46in May this year
44:47Wing Commander
44:48Adrian Warburton
44:49was finally laid to rest
44:51do please be seated
44:54today we come to remember
44:56Adrian Warburton
44:58who was killed
44:59on the 12th of April
45:001944
45:03a man
45:03about whom
45:05a great deal
45:05could be said
45:06a man
45:08who has had films
45:09made about him
45:10a man
45:11about whom
45:12books have been written
45:13in the 12th of April
45:41Wing Commander
45:42Adrian Warburton
45:43was buried
45:44with full military honours
45:46in a Commonwealth
45:47war grave
45:47in southern Germany
45:48close to where he fell
45:50we have entrusted
45:52our brother
45:53Adrian Warburton
45:54to God's mercy
45:55and we now commit
45:57his body
45:58to the ground
45:58earth to earth
46:00ashes to ashes
46:02dust to dust
46:06Amen
46:13ядom
46:15fly
46:18on
46:18well
46:18here
46:36I
46:37I
46:53It's like a circle, and today that circle is closed, because Warburton has his grave.
47:02The family knows where his grave is, where they can think about him.
47:08And it's hard to believe to me that he became this famous pilot that he did.
47:16You know, I believe in fate, and to me it was fate that he should be sent away and do
47:24the
47:24wonderful things he did, but it was very sad that he should end his life so very soon.
47:31On the day itself, I had already said that I wouldn't shed any tears.
47:39I would feel it in my heart, but he wouldn't have wanted tears.
47:55But on the day afterwards, when we went to see the grave, to see the headstone and everything laid,
48:03we walked out of the archway where there was a book, a signing book.
48:10I sat down there, and I wrote something in the book, and I'm afraid I did.
48:20I'm not ashamed at all.
48:23I just put, war be, peace at last.
48:53I'm sorry, but I'm sorry.
48:58I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
48:58Because I was like, I didn't have to leave.
49:01If you have a second World War story to tell, then BBC I would like to hear from you.
49:06Your memories are part of history. Please share them with us.
49:09Log on to bbc.co.uk slash www2.