X-Nico

4 unusual facts about John Crampton


John Crampton

Squadron Leader John Crampton DFC (21 August 1921 – 12 June 2010) was a British pilot who conducted spy flights into the Soviet Union in the early 1950s.

The aircraft were tasked with flying deep level reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union to gather electronic and photographic intelligence.

In the early postwar years, Crampton transitioned from piston-engined bombers to jet fighters.

It was not until 1994 (under the "fifty year rule" of the Public Records Act 1958) that the existence of the spy missions became public knowledge.



see also