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"Peter Twydell" wrote in message
...
In article zQeUb.403484$ts4.258352@pd7tw3no, Brian Colwell
writes
snip

I guess you know he was shot down and spent time in a POW camp, And in
one
of the very few examples of compassion during WW2 ( and maybe respect)
The
Germans gave safe passage to an RAF plane to drop a pair of artificial
legs,
as his had been damaged when he baled out !

Regards, BMC

AFAIK the RAF refused the offer of safe passage, partly because it would
have been a propaganda coup for Goebbels, and dropped his new legs
during a routine bombing raid.

Bader always maintained he was involved in a collision, rather than
being shot down, but then he would have, wouldn't he?
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

If you check, you will see I corrected my original post to the effect that
he bailed out after a collision with a German a/c

Regards, BMC

In article qstXb.501404$ts4.75221@pd7tw3no, Brian Colwell
writes

"Peter Twydell" wrote in message
...
In article zQeUb.403484$ts4.258352@pd7tw3no, Brian Colwell
writes
snip

I guess you know he was shot down and spent time in a POW camp, And in
one
of the very few examples of compassion during WW2 ( and maybe respect)
The
Germans gave safe passage to an RAF plane to drop a pair of artificial
legs,
as his had been damaged when he baled out !

Regards, BMC

AFAIK the RAF refused the offer of safe passage, partly because it would
have been a propaganda coup for Goebbels, and dropped his new legs
during a routine bombing raid.

Bader always maintained he was involved in a collision, rather than
being shot down, but then he would have, wouldn't he?
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

If you check, you will see I corrected my original post to the effect that
he bailed out after a collision with a German a/c

Regards, BMC


Whoooosh! Read my post again. Bader said it was a collision - others
have claimed he was shot down. I'm not favouring one point of view or
the other, my point was that Bader would never have admitted being shot
down, it would have damaged his ego.

There's no doubt he was a courageous man and a very good pilot, but like
all of us, he had his faults. His overwhelming belief in himself was
partly to blame for his accident in the Bulldog - attempting a manoeuvre
that was known to be highly dangerous but doing it anyway in order to
show off. Typical scrum half.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

Peter Twydell wrote:
Douglas Bader

There's no doubt he was a courageous man and a very good pilot, but like
all of us, he had his faults. His overwhelming belief in himself was
partly to blame for his accident in the Bulldog - attempting a manoeuvre
that was known to be highly dangerous but doing it anyway in order to
show off. Typical scrum half.

Typical pilot, in those days anyway.

Look at Jimmy Doolittle flying over the Andes with two broken legs.

-Marc
--
Marc Reeve
actual email address after removal of 4s & spaces is
c4m4r4a4m4a4n a4t c4r4u4z4i4o d4o4t c4o4m