Mick Ensor | |
|---|---|
 Mick Ensor when he was a squadron leader at No. 224 Squadron, 1944 | |
| Birth name | Maechel Anthony Ensor |
| Born | 5 January 1922 Rakahuri, near Rangiora, New Zealand |
| Died | 27 December 1994 (aged 72) Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Allegiance | New Zealand |
| Service | Royal New Zealand Air Force Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1940–1947 (RNZAF) 1947–1965 (RAF) |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Commands | No. 224 Squadron No. 217 Squadron |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order & Bar Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Air Force Cross |
Maechel Anthony "Mick" Ensor, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, AFC (5 January 1922 – 27 December 1994) was a highly decorated officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. One of the most decorated New Zealanders to have flown in Coastal Command, he is credited with having sunk two U-boats.
Born at Rakahuri near Rangiora, Ensor joined the RNZAF in 1939 but did not commence his training until the following year. In 1941 he was sent to the United Kingdom to serve with the Royal Air Force. Posted to Coastal Command, he was a pilot with No. 500 Squadron, which operated Lockheed Hudson maritime patrol aircraft across the North Sea. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in early 1942 for a sortie during which his Hudson was damaged while attacking a shipping convoy. The squadron moved to Cornwall from where it patrolled the Bay of Biscay. Ensor later served in the Mediterranean theatre of operations and destroyed a U-boat on 13 November 1942, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. After a period of staff duties from January to July 1943, he was posted to No. 224 Squadron, flying the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. He eventually rise to the rank of wing commander and was leading the squadron during the final months of the war, sinking a U-boat on 5 May 1945.
Ensor remained commander of No. 224 Squadron in the immediate post-war period and transferred to the RAF in 1947. He was posted to Transport Command and flew extensively with No. 206 Squadron during the Berlin Airlift. After a period of service with the United States Navy on an exchange, he became commander of No. 217 Squadron, overseeing its conversion to the Lockheed P-2 Neptune maritime patrol aircraft. Much of his later service in the RAF was in staff and administrative roles which caused Ensor to become dissatisfied with his career. He was retired from the RAF on medical grounds in 1965. He returned to New Zealand and ran a transport company until his retirement in 1975. He died in Christchurch in 1994, aged 74.