What first seemed like a disadvantage that would prevent Douglas Bader from fighting for the British Royal Air Force, turned into his greatest strength during battle
In May of 1940, Germany invaded France. By the end of the month, British and French forces were driven to the beaches of Dunkirk. A sea-rescue evacuation plan, Operation Dynamo, was credited with destroying at least ten enemy implemented by the British Navy.
With the harbour at Dunkirk destroyed, large naval vessels remained in deeper waters and small flat-bottomed boats transferred the troops to the warships.
Even private boat owners assisted in the evacuation of 338 226 British, French, Dutch and Belgian troops. This operation was heavily attacked by the German Luftwaffe and defended by the Royal Air Force (RAF).
In the months that followed, Britain defended against large-scale attacks by the German air force, which was dubbed The Battle of Britain.
This is where Douglas Bader enters the story. He was part of the aerial defence at Dunkirk and intensely involved in the Battle of Britain.
During the nine days of the evacuation, he was able to destroy three enemy aircraft and damage a fourth without any damage to himself. In the Battle of Britain, Douglas was aircraft. In one skirmish his Hurricane aircraft was badly shot up, but he managed to land safely.
When luck runs out
Douglas joined the RAF in 1928 and by 1930, he was airborne with a Bristol Bulldog, an aircraft known for its instability at low speeds. Nevertheless, Douglas loved doing aerobatics even when regulations forbade it.
However, in 1931, Douglas’ luck ran out. While performing some low-level acrobatics (apparently in response to a dare) the tip of his left wing touched the ground, and he crashed. He was rushed to hospital where both his legs were amputated; one above knee and the other below the knee. Douglas became a bilateral amputee.
After a long and difficult recovery, he was fitted with two prosthetic legs. He was later able to play golf, dance and drive an adapted car. In 1932, he was given the opportunity to fly an Avro 504 aircraft, which he piloted successfully.
However, the RAF refused to take him back. Civilian employment did not suit Douglas and with the tensions rising in pre-war Europe, Douglas repeatedly appealed to the RAF to re-employ him. They finally considered favourably, but as ground crew only.
Perseverance wins out
Douglas’ opportunity to fly again came when an Air Vice Marshall personally endorsed him and requested a Flying School to assess his capabilities. He passed and progressed through refresher courses.
Despite his injuries and subsequent disability, he had not lost his daredevil instinct. During one refresher flight, he could not resist the temptation to fly his plane upside down at the low altitude of 180 meters above the ground! In January of 1940, he was posted to a fighter pilot squadron.
Interestingly, the same disability that kept him from returning to the air force helped him to excel. When planes go into tight turns, the gravity forces blood from the head into the legs, which result in pilots blacking out. Because of his amputation, Douglas was able to take his plane through much tighter turns than the enemy thus gaining an advantage.
Prisoner of war
In 1941, Douglas was promoted to Wing Commander and led his wing of fighter pilots on several successful “sorties”. The same year, his plane was damaged, and Douglas bailed out. He was captured and interred in Colditz Castle for over three years. During that time the Germans treated him with great respect!
When he bailed out of his plane, Douglas lost one of his prosthetic legs. The German General in charge contacted Douglas’ squadron and offered them safe passage to fly in a replacement prosthesis. An RAF bomber flew in and dropped the prosthesis by parachute.
Douglas remained a prisoner of war until his liberation in April 1945. His stay in Colditz Castle was eventful to say the least.
After the war, Douglas Bader was given the honour of leading a victory flypast of three hundred aircraft over London in June 1945. He remained with the RAF, but he was given a training post which he became dissatisfied with. He retired in July 1946 and joined the Shell Company where flying light aircraft was a part of his job.
Douglas died of a heart attack in 1982. His memory remains; that of a man who overcame profound difficulties to become a national hero, who served his country with distinction, never giving up on his disability instead using it to his advantage in the tight turns of aerial combat.
Photo sourced from Wikipedia.
