Lady Luck all the way
In reply to your query, Cockney Steve. I always thanked the Americans for the truly superb training we got as the first class (42A) to go to the States. That training and the background, albeit sometimes brutal, discpline enabled one to take advantage of the luck when it presented itself. One example of the luck. I was on the vital bombing of Peenemunde in a Halifax of 51 Sqdn. We were in the first wave. Mosquitos had made a preliminary raid on Berlin and the German fighters were sent there as it looked as though the main stream were Berlin bound. It was a bright moonlit night and we went to Peenemunde, dropped our bombs on the aiming point, saw a lot more Halifaxes doing the same thing, we went back without seeing a fighter or flak and learned, next day that we had lost 42 aircraft ! The luck was being in that first wave and the skill was there to get the hell out whilst the going was good. Thank you for your kind remarks. It makes the single finger pecking away worthwhile when you see that someone is taking note.