What surprised me is one of the veterans (sorry can't recall his name) flew spitfires in the Battle of Britain before then flying bombers.
Was it normal for such a change from single engine fighter to large multi engined bomber?
As
skua says, that was Thomas Clifford (Tony) Iveson.
He was a sergeant pilot on 616 Squadron when he flew during the Battle of Britain - and survived ditching in the North Sea in September 1940. He was posted to 92 Squadron the following month and spent some time in Rhodesia as an Instructor.
He was commissioned in May 1942, joined 617 Squadron in 1944 and promoted to Squadron Leader later in the same year.
In his own words:
'I believe fighter and bomber pilots were different types, not that everyone was given the choice. In my opinion ace fighter pilots are born not made although, of course, any pilot can be trained to be a reasonable fighter boy.
I discovered my temperament was more that of a bomber pilot. A fighter pilot is a loner and a good one is a natural aerobatic flyer - another term is 'split-arse' - and a natural deflective shot. A bomber pilot has responsibility for his crew and the need to get to the target and put his bombs on the right spot. It requires more precise flying over longer periods.'
On his last operational Lancaster flight, in 1945, his aircraft was badly damaged by a German fighter over Bergen. Three of his seven crew bailed out, believing they were about to crash. He managed to fly the damaged aircraft back to the UK and made an emergency landing on Shetland, for which he was awarded the DFC.
He was inspirational and impressive speaker in support of the Bomber Command Memorial, and had no time for what he called 'self-appointed armchair historians' who criticise Bomber Command ops:
"After the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, in which 43,000 civilians were killed and many more injured, Bomber Command began taking the air war from over the rooftops of London and other British cities into the skies over Germany.
Total war – and that is what we were forced into – is a brutal business, a total breakdown of civilisation, where you fight terror with terror or die."
I last saw him during lunch at the RAF Club following the 2013 Battle of Britain memorial service at Westminster Abbey. He was clearly very ill and, I'm told, knew it was the last time he'd see some of his old friends. He passed away about six weeks later.
Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund - A Battle of Britain pilot remembers
FL