Greatest Flying Ever?

[metalthrower]

Having decided a few days ago (6 Jun actually) that I really didn't know a lot about the Second World War. I decided to pack my bags and toodle off to France for a quick weekend stop. I flashed around a couple of the battlefileds and famous sites. On reaching Pegasus Bridge and now having read the facts I am astonished at the feat of skill displayed to land the gliders within 50m of the target at night in poor weather, unpowered and using only compass and stopwatch for aids thus allowing the bridge to be captured in 10 or so minutes. It's described by many as the greatest feat of flying of WWII but is it? Do you think it can it be considered as 'better' than the skill shown by 617 Sqn for example during their most 'famous hour?

PS This is not the subject of my ICSC Essay just looking for some good ole debate!

[Onan the Clumsy]

There was one that might qualify. It happened the day before.

With the combination of tide and moon, June 5th and 6th offered the best chance of the month for the landing. If it didn't happen then, it possibly would have been delayed until July etc.

The weather on the 5th was not conducive to a seaborne invasion, but some met chap still had to make the call. In any event, you can't all set off at once, so a small flotilla was launched on the 5th. As the minutes ticked by, they finally had to face it that the invasion would have to be delayed until the 6th.

Apparently the flotilla was maintaining radio silence - and I have to say I don't understand why they couldn't have listened and not replied, but for some reason, they could not call them back by radio. In any event, if they were to continue, they would be alone, and apart from meeting certain death, they would also give away the element of surprise.

So it fell onto the shoulders of someone who's name I don't know to search the channel for the flotilla, and having found it (a feat in itself I would have thought) pass over the lead ship and drop a message in a tin can.

Fortunately his aim was good and the message was received and acted upon and the rest is history.

I'll try and see if I can get any more details, but to me it's only one part of one of the most fascinating stories of history. There were so many little things like that, the BIGOT documents, the Mulberry crossword, the depth of the FUSAG deception, the Hobart funnies that didn't quite work, the story of the commandoes on the beach taking sand and profile samples when the sentry walked past, the request for holiday snaps to help build a composite picture of the landing place, Von Runstead's wife's birthday falling on the 5th (or was it Rommel's wife?), the fact that when the invasion took place, the German high command were in the middle of an exersize to simulate an allied landing.

Sorry, I went on, but to me that has to be one of the best pieces of flying.

[Skylark4]

Some years ago I happened upon Pegasus bridge by accident and, fortunately, recognised it having recently read several accounts of the operation. I found it a most moving experience to stand on the end of that bridge, it was the original one then, only a few months before they replaced it, and be able to "see" exactly where those gliders landed.
All in all, an incredible operation.
Better than 617? Maybe, maybe not, just a different manifestation of extreme bravery.

Mike W

[SASless]

There were so many "great" acts by "small" people prior to, during, and after the invasion it is hard to point to just one or even a hundred acts that could be "the" feat of daring or ability that made the invasion a success.

British paras at the Pegasus Bridge, the American Rangers at Point du Hoc, the infantry in the first wave at Omaha Beach....the destroyer men that went right up on the beach delivering direct naval gunfire....how does one single out the one feat above so many others.

Our Fathers and Grand Fathers that participated in that grand adventure all are heroes in my book. They left us a great legacy to live up to.

[Tourist]

One word
Taranto.
Nothing like it before, and only copied once, Pearl Harbour

[MOSTAFA]

"Soldiers First"

[Proman]

We mustn't forget that the greatest heroes are often unsung.

As an example I'd cite the recce pilots who went over 'the day after' to take pictures of bomb damage. The enemy surely knew they'd be along, and were ready and waiting and in full daylight, at limits of range for the small a/c. Flying solo into that must have required extreme bravery, and accompanying skill to get into the right place over the target to get the pictures needed.

I recall reading Constance Bbabbington Smith's (sorry about spelling if wrong) book. She was the doyen of phot interpreters and for example found the Peenemunde rockets. She makes reference to deliberately not forming relationships with the pilots as she knew most were short lived.

And this applies to both/all sides.

[ORAC]

How about the attack on Amiens prison in Feb ´44? Members of the French Resistance were being held there, awaiting execution. 18 Mosquitos were tasked to blow holes in the walls to allow them to escape. They also had to destroy the guard sleeping quarters and dining hall within the compound. The attack height was about 60 feet. Operation Jericho (http://www.air-photo.com/english/jericho.html )

http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/war/mosquito5.jpg

[Chalkstripe]

I went to Pegasus Bridge last year - one week before the D-Day anniversary. They have an outstanding museum there where I spent most of the afternoon. Above the display cases are original letters written by the men that participated in the attack, often followed by a letter that started "Dear Mrs Smith, it is with regeret that...". Mrs CS was amazed to see that my ususal stoicism (sic), had completely fled - and I had to take a breather outside.

Along with the massed glider landings that followed, these extraordinary men (light infantry) held the local ridge/hills against everything that was thrown at them from the German Divisions to the east as the allies consolidated the beaches. This was then used as a hub as the allies moved around them and advanced west. Exceptional men in extraordinary times.

However I digress - if you should ever be in that area of France it is a fascinating place to visit

[Onan the Clumsy]

Operation Jericho. I notice one thing about those photographs, If you look at this one, the text says: "...As shown by the dark wall bricks that have been strewn across the white snow, two holes have been blown in the outer wall..."

http://www.air-photo.com/grap/jericho6.jpg


Later they show this one with they text: "Photo taken the day after the raid, shows one hole in the north wall."
http://www.air-photo.com/grap/jericho7.jpg


I wonder if it snowed again that night.


One thing that I find interesting is the codename used for this operation. My understanding is that Allied codenames rarely bore any connection to the events at hand, whereas German codenames, often had some relationship, like the rearward pointing airborn radar that was named (Freya?) after a god who could see behind her. I heard there were several Wagnerian references like this that gave Allied forces important hints about what was being hidden by the codename.

Anyone care to comment?

[SASless]

Chalk,

I had a similar experience at a small little known place called Bastogne one December several years ago. My Mom's brother was Missing In Action for 13 days after his unit of Tank Destoyers was overrun during the first action. His account of the tank fight and expending all of the unit's ammunition before being forced to E&E on foot was simply amazing. He told me the story in full exactly once...it was something he just did not say much about. He and five of his mates found their way to Bastogne through German lines and then got to participate in that fight.

Walking about the place...and visiting the museum was quite an experience....made doubly so by the snow and cold weather very similar to when the fight was going on. The monument that overlooks the town with the historical markings explaining the battle is very much worth seeing.

We still have the telegram informing my Grandma of her son's becoming Missing-in-Action.....really brings home the costs of war.

[Biggles Flies Undone]

I did the Pegasus Bridge visit several years ago and was very touched by the sheer history of the place. I think the memorial garden with individual monuments to mark the landing spots is very well done. Also had a fascinating chat to the lady that ran the cafe (the first building in France to be liberated) - she was just a small girl at the time of the battle but could recall it with absolute clarity and in perfect English. Highly recommended.

For those with an interest in Bastogne, I cannot recommend 'Band of Brothers' too highly - in my opinion the best series ever about the war. My Dad was there in the Ardennes fighting alongside the Americans and he says that they got the weather and all the events absolutely right.

As for the flying, my vote has to go with 617.

[airborne_artist]

Minor thread creep, but on the evg of June 6th (a few days ago) I had a phone call from an 81 y/o who was in 501 Para Inf (part of 101st) when they jumped into the Cherbourg peninsula.

For an ex-airborne like me that was just superb. He's thriving in Basingstoke, having married a local girl - celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in August.

I think my vote for greatest flying would have the Tempsford-based Lysander pilots pretty high on the list. Different (and iffy) LZ every night, no armaments, "welcoming party" ...

[Thud_and_Blunder]

There was another top bit of flying right at the beginning of the war in W Europe - by the side that eventually came 2nd. Visit Eben Emael one day and see the area that 10 gliders landed upon to disgorge their 78 troops. Brilliant tactics and astonishing flying - one crew that had to force land in Germany after their tow-rope broke tabbed back to the airfield, got into another aircraft and still made it to the target in time to help hold back the Belgique counter-attack on one of the bridges nearby. Credit where its due - as to whether it's "better" flying than any other, that's a can of worms I'm not opening.

[Flatus Veteranus]

I will quote a passage from "the Right of the Line" (The RAF in the European War 1939-45) by John Terraine, Chapter 11 "Norway 1940".

"The air cover provided by the two fighter squadrons (No 263, Gladiators, and No 46, Hurricanes) was undoubtedly a major factor in this success (the Allied capture of Narvik) but the success itself was hollow: the Allies were already planning the complete evacuation of Norway. This was completed on June 8, which was the day of final tragedy. No 263's Gladiators (reduced to 8) had already been flown on to the aircraft-carrier Glorious. About midnight on June 7, despite the fact that they had never done a deck landing (it was, in fact, considered impossible for aircraft such as Hurricanes) and despite a day of almost continuous combat flying, the 10 pilots of No 46 took off to do the same. One by one they came low over the carrier, touched down, and braked to a heart-stopping halt. Against all chances and all predictions, here were the Hurricanes safe on deck, ten priceless machines saved for the Battle of Britain and an achievement that made the dead-beat pilots forget the weariness."

And I do not think the Hurricanes had hooks to take the wires! It takes my vote for superb flying by a whole squadron. A pity the ship was sunk a bit later and all were lost.

[Onan the Clumsy]

What about Faith, Hope and Charity and the defence of Malta?

http://www.aviatorart.com/stokes/images/s-faith.jpg
(painting by Stan Stokes)


To say Malta's air defences were small at the beginning of WWII would be an under statement.

The total air power on Malta consisted of 4 Gloster Gladiator biplanes. These were packed in crates & left at Kalafrana flying boat base by HMS Glorious which left to join the Norwegian campaign. In fact, there were enough parts to make up 8 biplanes but the Navy wanted 4 back to join the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle.

The remaining 4 were assembled, 3 were to be used on operations with the reamaining 1 kept in reserve.

After assembling the biplanes the Royal Navy decided on having them back for work in Alexandria, so they were taken apart for re-packing.

Following talks between Air Commodore Maynard & the Royal Navy it was decided to leave the biplanes on Malta & they were re-assembled.

Their first use in combat came at 0649 on the 11th of June 1940 when 10 Italian Savoia Marchetti 79 bombers bombed Grand Harbour. No aircraft were shot down in this encounter.

On the 7th raid of the day the Gladiator's drew blood by shooting down a Macchi 200 fighter. Although the biplanes were slower than the Italian fighters they were more manouverable.

Flying Officer John Waters nicknamed the aircraft 'Faith, Hope & Charity'.

Three bladed propellers were fitted in place of the usual two to give the biplanes a faster rate of climb. Other parts were later used from a Swordfish.

Superchargers were left on maximum during the climb after take off (which was against orders) so they could gain height faster. This put extra strain on the engines & 2 of them blew pistons. Maintenance crews converted Blenheim bomber engines to fit the Gladiators.

Faith, Hope & Charity fought for 17 days without relief & played a fundamental role in fooling the Italian intelligence into thinking Malta had a substantial fighter defence.

[STANDTO]

Maverick and Ice Man up agaist all those Migs, or how about Luke Skywalker on the last run down the trench of the death star?

Seriously though, unpatriotic though it may sound, some of the most inspiring tales I have read is those of the Argentinian A4 pilots during the 1982 war. The chap who was shot up in Falkland Sound, had his tanks breached, and the was towed all the way back to the land of corned beef by a C130 tanker.

pretty remarkable stuff

[Time Flies]

Great topic for a thread metalthrower.

I share the same view as Proman when he wrote We mustn't forget that the greatest heroes are often unsung.

This is often the case and I'm quite sure there is an awful amount that goes on which we don't hear about.

Raising a glass now to all demonstrations of the "Greatest Flying Ever", known or otherwise.

TF

[ShyTorque]

There have of course been a few more modern feats of bravery; some stories not yet fully told.

Such as that exhibited by the crew of a Chinook sent to rescue "some people" from the middle of Baghdad, during an air raid at the height of hostilities, in GW 1.

"Some people" were delayed and were unlikely to make it out by other means, so the crew took a vote and decided to wait - and parked up with just the APU running, for twenty minutes on a playing field in the middle of it all.

Big balls, guys. :ok:

[MightyGem]

Better than 617?
...or any of the others already quoted. possibly, possibly not. There's one thing to remember though, all the other examples have engines. They can manouver, reposition or go round again for another go.

Gliders can't do that. They have to get it right first time. This time they did, not just one of them but all of them. It's number one for me.

[Onan the Clumsy]

What about the one where the guy gets pushed back from behind enemy lines, by a nose cone in the jet pipe?

[metalthrower]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gliders can't do that. They have to get it right first time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This to me is what makes it so special. It was a one shot option...fantastic. But hey I'm not going to split hairs - the incidences quoted above all deserve their place in history.

Keep 'em coming!!

[SASless]

Onan,

Later on in the Vietnam war....an F-4 pushed another F-4 to a safe eject area....pushee lowered his arresting hook...other aircraft placed his front lower edge of the windscreen at the base of the hook....and off they went.

[BossEyed]

That's "Pardo's Push" (http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/3227/push.htm), that is.

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/3227/push.jpg

But impressive as that feat and others may be, I'm with MightyGem: the GPR on D-Day at Pegasus Bridge does it for me. It's not just how close they got to the objective, it's the nature of the landing site - canal on one side, marshy pond on the other, and three aircraft fitting into that tiny space.

[PoorPongo]

While I'm not sure I would like to make the final choice in terms of greatest combat flying feat ever, I will say that the gliders at Pegasus Bridge episode actually came well recommended.

The 'greatest flying feat of the entire second world war' quote is actually from Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory who was commanding the Allied Air Forces on D-Day. Praise indeed for a 24 year-old Army NCO pilot from a Royal Air Force 4 -star!

As an aside, the pilot of the lead glider made the trip at night, on stop watch and compass only, at a weight he had never flown his aircraft before, using a parachute arrestor system he had never used before and point landed the aircraft to within single feet in order to exactly cross a barbed wire entanglement and allow troops to cross it and assault the bridge. When the aircraft came to its final halt, he and his co were thrown forward out of the cockpit into the ground and in doing so became the first allied serviceman to touch on French soil as part of the invasion force.

Good work by SSgt Jim Wallwork DFM Glider Pilot Regiment who I believe is still alive and lives somewhere near Vancouver.

One of many heroes of that generation.

[SASless]

....and after doing that magnificent feat of flying....picked up his weapon and fought on the ground....though I bet it took a while for his legs to support him and his hands quite shaking!

[GeeRam]

I would think one of the most remarkable feats of airmanship of WW2 was the glider assult and subsequent landing and take off by pilot Walter Gerlach, in a Fiesler Storch some 6500ft up on the rock strewn summit of the Gran Sasso to 'rescue' El Duce in 1943.

And of the Amiens prison raid by New Zealand's 487 Sqn and Australia's 484 Sqn.
Quote from Wing Commander I.S. Smith, leader of the first attacking vic of Mossie's:

We flew as low and as slowly as possible, aiming to drop our bombs right at the foot of the wall. I dropped my bombs from a height of 10 feet, pulling hard on the stick..... :ooh:

[C130 Techie]

Its difficult to judge which rates as the greatest flying ever. During WW2 there were so many examples of exceptional skill, bravery or determination.

I don't think I could single out any one feat in particular but those that are up there are

The fighter pilots of 1940

Bomber Command 1944-45

The Pathfinders

617 Sqn

The Defence of Malta

The Market Garden Glider pilots

There are of course many others and without these brave and selfless heroes our world would be a very different place today

[teeteringhead]

And for more on the gliders that started the thread, check this (http://www.assaultgliderproject.co.uk/home.html) out. Very much worth a visit, so you can see how incredibly fragile they were. The gliders were not all one-way trips. There was the "snatch" take off technique (more often used on the smaller Waco glider), where you sat and waited to be "hooked" by a low flying Dak. Must have been some acceleration!

Shy Torque - I think you'll find that the "Baghdad Shutdown" was in fact pre-planned - which takes even more cojones IMHO.

[diginagain]

In early 1941, the then Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Arthur Harris, thought Army flying preposterous:

"The idea that semi-skilled, unpicked personnel (infantry corporals have, I believe, even been suggested) could with a maximum of training be entrusted with the piloting of these troop carriers is fantastic. Their (the gliders) operation is equivalent to forced landing the largest sized aircraft without engine aid - than which there is no higher test of piloting skill."

It's clear that he was subsequently proved wrong.

[henry crun]

You comment on the Market Garden pilots C130 Techie, they deserve a mention.
This is an edited extract from my brother in law's story of landing on day two.
It was written in a POW camp shortly after he was captured there.

"You should have seen the gliders lying about in the fields below belonging to those who had landed on Sunday. They were as thick as flies on an empty jam tin, it was a wonderful sight.
I did not know how we were going to manage to land as there was hardly any room left, but down we came in a steep dive until about 100 yards from the ground he straightened her out and slid down to the ground just missing the other gliders already there by inches. He could not have made a better landing. "

[diginagain]

Some of those who fought on the ground around Oosterbeek and Arnhem have mentioned to me the high regard they have for the pilots and crews who flew Dakotas in their desperate efforts to re-supply them, in the face of fierce oppposition.

[ORAC]

Flt. Lt. David Samuel Anthony Lord VC, DFC
271 Squadron, 46 Group RAF

Born on 18th October 1913, in Cork, Southern Ireland, Flight Lieutenant "Lummy" Lord was a distinguished 30 year old Dakota pilot with 271 Squadron, who flew re-supply missions to Arnhem. He had previously flown similar missions using DC3's with 31 Squadron in India, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Burma. In July 1943, his extensive service record was mentioned in dispatches, and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

On Tuesday 19th, while on the final approach to the drop zones and only three minutes away from them, heavy anti-aircraft fire tore into the wave of slow moving supply aircraft. Lord's plane received two hits on the starboard wing and the engine on that side burst into flames. At such a low height there was no way to extinguish such a fire, and so the only real option in such a situation would be to abandon the attempt to drop supplies and bail out before the fuel tanks exploded. However Lord refused to do so, and kept flying true and steady to make sure he dropped his supplies on target. With his aircraft clearly in dire trouble, Lord was singled out for attention by most every German anti-aircraft gun in the vicinity. He continued on his path and reached the drop zone.

After completing his run, Lord was informed by his calm and highly disciplined crew (three RAF personnel and four Army dispatchers) that two canisters of supplies still remained. Lord turned the aircraft around for a second pass over the dropping zone, still under intense fire. When all the supplies were at last dropped, and the aircraft had descended to the perilously low height of only 500 feet, Lord cried to his men "Bail out! Bail out! For God's sake, bail out!", while making absolutely no effort to do so himself. A few seconds later, the starboard wing exploded and the plane crashed in flames into the ground, just north of the Reijers-Camp farm on LZ-S.

There was only one survivor, Flying Officer Harry King, who was blown out of the side door when the engine exploded. King himself landed in no man's land between the British and Germans, but he managed to find the 10th Battalion and stayed with them until eventually captured.

The sight of Lord's crippled aircraft was witnessed by troops on the ground, who were so mesmerized by this single plane that they stood up in their trenches to will it on. They were all highly moved, in some cases to tears, by this tremendous display of courage and self sacrifice on their behalf. With flames licking wildly under the fuselage, many men were pleading with the crew to jump, but they would not, and instead the dispatchers were seen to be continually throwing out more supply containers until the wing collapsed.

From the point that the engine caught fire to the moment of the crash, Flight Lieutenant Lord flew his Dakota, steadily while under very heavy anti-aircraft fire, for a total of 8 minutes. For his suicidal bravery and single-minded determination to get the supplies to those who needed it, David Lord was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation reads:

"On 19 September 1944 at Arnhem, Holland, the British 1st Airborne Division were in desperate need of supplies. Flight Lieutenant Lord, flying a Dakota through intense enemy A.A. fire was twice hit, and had one engine burning. He managed to drop his supplies, but at the end of the run found that there were two containers remaining. Although he knew that one of his wings might collapse at any moment he nevertheless made a second run to drop the last supplies, then ordered his crew to bale out. A few seconds later the Dakota crashed in flames with its pilot."

[diginagain]

Thanks for that ORAC, it certainly brought a lump to my throat. Wasn't the late Jimmy Edwards injured in a crash on similar duties? IIRC, he grew the outrageous handle-bar moustache to hide his burns.

[Samuel]

Don't forget the Kiwis!

Flattus referred to the flight of seven Hurricanes from a frozen lake in Norway out to the carrier HMS Glorious on which they performed their first ever deck landing in a Hurricane , which was of course not equipped with any means of stopping other than brakes and the wind! Quite a feat. Glorious unfortunately ran into the two German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenhau and was sunk by gunfire, and there were only two survivors from the RAF: the CO,Sqn Ldr Cross and Fl Lt Jameson.

Jameson was a Kiwi and a strong swimmer and saved a few seamen, but most of them died of exposure. He later became Air Commodore Jameson, having stayed on in the RAF and though borne in NZ, it seemed he was a descendant of the Jameson Whiskey family and inherited a castle in Ireland! He lived in it for a while too, before deciding it was too cold and damp and returned to New Zealand in the 1980s.

I met him a few times socially because we lived not far from each other, and though not of his generation, I knew who he was and his background, and found him a lovely and very unassuming guy who didn't think he was in any way exceptional.

He died a few years ago.

[Onan the Clumsy]

What about great flying feats from the chaps on the other side?



Saburo Sakai (I think) wrote of a young pilot who he met one day. They got talking about the large aircraft the young man was flying and the subject came around to aerobatics. The pilot said he had often wondered if his aircraft, though obviously not designed for it, could fly through a loop. It was shortly afterwards that Sakai was on a mission and he saw one of the same type get hit and catch on fire. As the fire grew, he saw the nose pitch over, the speed increase and then the nose start to rise as the aircraft clawed skywards.

He realised who the pilot was and what he was trying to accomplish with what was left of his brief life.

[Samuel]

I seem to recall a documented incident being recalled in "Flypast" of a Lancaster doing a slow roll over the top of a B17!

The recovery of a BA 747 after losing all four engines and forward vision in a volcanic dust cloud over Indonesia.

The pilot of the Andover I was in the back of who was 0ooh so nonchalant with wheels and flaps down on the edge of thunder storm between Sydney and Nowra, when I watched the wings bending.:oh:

[Thud_and_Blunder]

I've just been reading a copy of BALPA's April/May "The Log" magazine (we're so up-to-date out here). Neil Marshall has written a stunning article about that strange woman, Hanna Reitsch. How sad that such a skilled individual should choose for almost all her life to swear allegiance to such a despicable regime.

Most of us probably already knew about her test-flying on the Gigant glider (unboosted controls, she was only 5' 0.5" tall...), the Fi103 piloted V1 and her early helicopter work. However, up for consideration as some of the top examples of flying-associated skill have to be:

- flying trials on Barrage Balloon Cable-Cutting, where her Do17 was so badly damaged that no-one watching thought she'd get back down.

- flying trials on Me163 Komet where, having just stalled-in because the undercarriage-trolley had failed to release and lost her nose in the ensuing crash-landing (among other injuries) she insisted on writing up the flight report before allowing herself to be stretchered off. Took her 18 months to recover to fully fit.

- the whole saga of her flight to Berlin in April 1945. Never mind the bullet-riddled 190 she and the General landed in at Gatow, how about the Fi156 trip from there to the city centre? She was in the back seat when the fella up front was hit by a round which exploded in the cockpit, almost entirely blowing off his foot. Meanwhile, all fuel tanks had been punctured by small-arms fire. Reitsch leans over the now-unconscious front-seater and lands in a tiny rubble-free area near the Brandenburg Gate.

What a waste of incredible talent, eh?

[C130 Techie]

Some excellent reading on this subject:

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum

Tail End Charlies - Bomber Command 1944-45 by John Nichol and Tony Rennell.

Both are highly recommended.

[ORAC]

Onan,

Reference the choice of the name for the operation at Amiens, jut got home and was able to look it up, (And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, Jack Fishman, 1982, ISBN 0285 625195)

The name selected for the operation was originally "Renovate", but was changed to Jericho on the decision of AVM Basil Embry at the meeting when he finally authorised the attack....

Winding up the meeting, Embry sat back and said: "I am making a slight change in arangements. As so much depends on those walls tumbling down, I think, from now on, the operations code name should appropriately be - Jericho".

[henry crun]

My first squadron C/O planned the route for that raid.
Ted' Sismore DSO DFC AFC, one of the very best.

"On 31st January 1943, Mosquitos bombed Berlin for the first time. Timed to coincide with a speech by Hermann Goering, three Mosquitos from 105 Squadron, led by Squadron Leader R W Reynolds and Ted Sismore, attacked at exactly 11.00 hrs to disrupt the Reichmarshall's speech for over an hour. Ted later navigated the final large daylight raid by 105 Squadron in May 1943, when both men led the attack on the Zeiss Optical factory and the glassworks in Jena. Ted Sismore planned the route for the famous Amiens prison raid, and 'master-navigated' all three Gestapo raids in Denmark - Aarhaus, Shelhaus and Odensa.

[Chalkstripe]

I know that it's not military but I recall reading about an airliner a few years back that lost all hydraulics. The pilots, through fine control of the engines, managed to divert and land - although there may have been problems with wind shear on the actual landing.

That always struck me as extraordinary self control in a crisis.

[SASless]

A great account of Mossie flying during the war...."Terror in the Starboard Seat". The writer has a sense of humour!