A pilot from RAF Benson, who dodged missiles to rescue a wounded soldier in Iraq will make history today when she receives the airs forces' highest award.

Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman - who flies Merlin helicopters stationed at the South Oxfordshire base - will become the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at a gala reception in London.

The DFC is awarded for exemplary gallantry during combat operations.

Flt Lt Goodman and her crew flew into a fire fight to rescue a soldier who had been seriously injured in Basra.

Rifleman Stephen Vause, 20, was wounded in a mortar attack, with an immediate airlift to field hospital his only chance of survival. Thanks to the bravery of Flt Lt Goodman, Rifleman Vause recovered after emergency surgery.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Brigadier James Bashall, who had only taken over as commander of British troops in Basra on the same day in June last year, said: "The decision was left to the helicopter pilot, Flt Lt Michelle Goodman, and her crew. It was dangerous. There was a risk the helicopter could be shot down."

The RAF Merlin flew low and fast out of Basra airport - the main British base on the outskirts of the city - and headed for an isolated compound in the heart of an insurgent stronghold.

Flt Lt Goodman would have been acutely aware that a year earlier two RAF Benson colleagues were among five people killed when their Lynx helicopter was brought down in Basra.

Flt Lt Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, 32, was the first British servicewoman to die in Iraq, while Wing Commander John Coxen, 46, was the most senior British officer to be killed.

Brig Bashall said: "It was an awesome bit of flying and it was important that Stephen was rescued. The soldiers needed to know that if they were badly injured we would come and get them out, no matter what."

Today's ceremony, at the Royal Air Force Club, in Piccadilly, will also see five Conspicuous Gallantry Crosses, five Distinguished Service Orders, 28 Military Crosses and three Distinguished Service Orders presented.