John Whitworth (RAF officer)

John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth
Air Vice Marshal Ralph Cochrane, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, King George VI and Group Captain Whitworth (shown on the right) discussing the 'Dambusters Raid' in May 1943
Born	(1912-01-10)10 January 1912 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	13 November 1974(1974-11-13) (aged 62) Cirencester, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1930–1964
Rank	Air Commodore
Commands	RAF Hong Kong (1962–64) Chief of Air Staff Ghana (1961–62) Central Flying School (1958–61) RAF Swinderby (c. 1951–53) RAF Scampton (1942–43) No. 35 Squadron RAF (1942) No. 78 Squadron RAF (1940–41)
Battles / wars	Second World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Mentioned in dispatches

Air Commodore John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth, CB, DSO, DFC* (10 January 1912 – 13 November 1974) was a Royal Air Force pilot in the 1930s and a commander during and after the Second World War. He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire.

Whitworth was station commander of RAF Scampton during the planning of Operation Chastise; in 1955 he was a technical advisor for the film dramatisation of the raid, The Dam Busters. Whitworth was portrayed by Derek Farr in the film.

Whitworth was later the Chief of Staff of the Ghana Air Force; he was succeeded by the Ghanaian J. E. S. de Graft-Hayford in 1962.

He retired to the village of Rodmarton in Gloucestershire with his wife.

External links

• Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Cdre Whitworth