The Ten Of Us: A WWII Pilots Story Of His Missions and Crew

At the outbreak of war in September operational Royal Air Force bomber squadrons in Europe were equipped with two main categories of bombers, single-engined Fairey Battle and twin-engined Bristol Blenheim light bombers and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley , Vickers Wellington and Handley Page Hampden medium bombers. Bomber Command aircrew "trades" flying operationally in the early stages of the war were: Pilot — A qualified pilot flew the aircraft and in the Royal Air Force was usually the captain function not rank of the crew, making the key operational decisions even if his rank was junior to other members of the crew.

Officers of higher rank did occasionally fly operationally but were discouraged from doing so due to concerns of them being taken prisoner.

Captains were often informally referred to by their crews as Skipper or Skip. A pilot wore the traditional double-winged brevet "pilot's wings" on his tunic above his left breast pocket. Second Pilot — A fully qualified, usually less experienced pilot who assisted the captain, who might assist the Observer and was usually a sergeant or commissioned officer. A second pilot wore the traditional double-winged brevet pilot's wings on his tunic above his left breast pocket. Observer — The role was to navigate the bomber to the target using astral navigation, map reading, and wireless position fixes and then to release the payload onto the target.

The observer was often a commissioned officer but could hold any rank from Aircraftman 2nd Class until 27 May up to Group Captain. An observer wore a single-winged aircrew brevet with a wreath containing the letter "O" on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialization. If the aircraft was operated by a Polish or French manned squadron the observer was often the senior ranking crew member aboard and was captain function not rank of the crew. In the early stages of the war usually an enlisted man, he could hold any rank from Aircraftman 2nd Class until 27 May [33] upwards but most often a sergeant.

Air Gunner — The role was to defend the bomber using the aircraft's machine guns. In the early stages of the war usually an enlisted man, he could hold any rank from Aircraftman 2nd Class until June upwards but most often a sergeant although some air gunners were commissioned officers of which a small number were considerably older than most aircrew and even veterans of World War I.

An Air Gunner wore a single-winged aircrew brevet with a wreath containing the letters AG on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialization and very early in the war might also have the brass "winged bullet" qualification badge of a pre-war air gunner on his sleeve. The Battle-equipped squadrons were operational in the Battle of France and suffered catastrophic losses when they were intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf and the Messerschmitt Bf The Hampden-equipped squadrons were operational from the day Britain declared war on Germany initially dropping propaganda leaflets but then usually in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying sea mines in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours.

The Wellington-equipped squadrons were operational from the day Britain declared war on Germany initially dropping propaganda leaflets but then usually in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying sea mines in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours. Daylight bombing operations attempted by formations of Vickers Wellingtons in December over Northern Germany resulted in terrible losses and were not repeated for that reason once it was appreciated that even a tight formation of bombers could not defend itself against German fighters.

The Whitley-equipped squadrons were operational from the day Britain declared war on Germany initially dropping propaganda leaflets but then usually in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying sea mines in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours. The aircraft was reaching the end of its operational life and was phased out of night bombing operations by RAF Bomber Command recognized the requirement for heavy bombers and brought into operational service the bombers usually associated with attacks on German targets in Europe.

From November the four-engined Halifax was introduced, followed by the four-engined Stirling in January and the under-powered twin-engined Manchester which had relatively brief operational service before being replaced by the world-famous Lancaster in February In November , the fast twin-engined Mosquito light bomber was introduced and finally in March the four-engined Avro Lancaster came into service.

The introduction of heavy bombers with four engines brought the necessity of engine management and a new trade entered service with these aircraft. The flight engineer was usually a sergeant , promotion was very slow indeed. A Flight Engineer wore a single-winged aircrew brevet with a wreath containing the letter 'E' on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialization.

During the initial operational service of four-engined bombers second pilots were carried until sufficient flight engineers had been trained. The original trade of Observer began to be phased out although those airmen who had qualified in that role early in the war continued to wear their O brevet with great pride. It was replaced by two new trades. Concentration was certainly needed in flight navigation of the aircraft. Flight Navigation was an inexact science and a lapse of concentration could be fatal. At this stage of the war pilots and navigators were often commissioned on completion of training.

This crewman manned the nose mounted gun turret usually twin. During the "bombing run" when the bombs were about to be released he would instruct the pilot on minute adjustments to course in order to release the bombs as accurately as possible, the release of the bomb load activated a flash photograph to record the target below.

The Bomb Aimer was usually often a commissioned officer, he wore a single-winged aircrew brevet with a wreath containing the letter B on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialization. In order to protect the heavy bombers from a German Luftwaffe night fighter force which had evolved at great speed to become extremely effective, most of the new heavy bombers had three power operated gun turrets usually sited in the nose, dorsal mid upper and rear tail positions requiring an additional gunner.

The traditional tail end Charlie "Rear Gunner" continued in place facing rearwards with his quad mounted. On the Halifax this turret was armed with four. In the middle years of the war it became more usual to train airmen specifically as "Wireless Operators" and no longer add air gunnery training to their instruction.

These men graduated training schools to earning a single-winged aircrew brevet over a wreath containing the letters S on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialization as "signaller". As the war progressed it became common for airmen to "team up" and form the crew with whom they would fly "operations" while still at their "Operational Training Unit" before being posted to their squadrons.

On joining the squadron their pilot would often be assigned to fly one or two operational missions as Second Pilot with an experienced crew in order to gain operational experience before taking his own crew into action. In this situation he would be referred to as a Second Dickie second pilot. Typically when flying operationally the following aircraft carried seven aircrew while operating in the main force heavy bomber role, the exception being the de Havilland Mosquito:.

Occasionally a second pilot might be aboard. Utilised primarily in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying sea mines in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours. In late and daylight operations were possible as the Luftwaffe 's ability to attack large formations was reduced and daylight "Ops" were flown. The Short Stirling was withdrawn from service with RAF Bomber Command in being used mainly thereafter for SOE support missions, [56] mine laying and towing gliders of airborne troops.

Late in the war a "Set Operator" flew within crews of a small number of specialized squadrons who operated additional technical equipment. The aircraft was always crewed by a pilot and a navigator and was a multi-role combat aircraft suited for high speed low level marking, precision bombing, night fighting, photo reconnaissance and night-intruding to strike at Luftwaffe airfield runways to try to reduce night fighter activity.

During the late period of World War II some bombers carrying out special duties began to carry additional specialized equipment for navigational and similar purposes. The equipment was more complex than that normally carried and a specially trained "Set Operator" was carried to operate it and interpret the results. His equipment was usually referred to as "the gubbins" and he was regarded as a specially intelligent person, a "Gen kiddie". At the outbreak of war in Europe all ranks of the Royal Air Force could be bomber command aircrew, from the most junior aircraftman 2nd class. Pilots were more likely to be commissioned officers than the other trades.

Promotion through the ranks was considerably quicker in Commonwealth Air Forces and advancement to commissioned rank was more likely for aircrew of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force no matter what their aircrew trade particularly towards the end of the war. There were men from the Commonwealth amongst the enlisted men but they were relatively unusual.

Soon afterwards there were multiple Canadian and Australian bomber squadrons although both types almost always had British flight engineers as very few flight engineers were trained by those air forces. In all squadrons of Bomber Command there were British airmen and it was very common for a bomber crew, in any squadron, to consist of British, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand airmen. Several Polish squadrons were formed in England after the Battle of France comprising Polish personnel who wished to continue the fight against the Germans. The Polish squadrons were usually manned by only Polish airmen with occasional British airmen attached.

A small number of squadrons were formed from escaped Czech airmen and also French bomber squadrons were formed in England after the Battle of France comprising French personnel who wished to continue the fight against the Germans. These included Nos and Squadrons. The French squadrons were usually manned by mainly French airmen. Within English speaking squadrons manned primarily by British or Commonwealth airmen men from Belgium, the Caribbean, [74] the USA and a huge variety of returned expatriates could be found. Taken prisoner under his false identity, he made repeated escape attempts and was decorated with the Military Cross for his bravery.

The majority of RAF Bomber Command aircrew were aged 19 through to their mid-twenties although younger and considerably older airmen have been identified. The average age is stated to have been He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and rejoined as a pilot officer in rapidly rising to the rank of air commodore , he re-trained as an air gunner and flew operationally several times at the age of 67 until his age was recognized and he was officially "grounded". A "Main Force" heavy bomber squadron was commanded by an officer holding the rank wing commander who was usually a pilot by trade.

Bares, reportedly requested weather information. A ground station in Brazil responded with a report, but heard nothing further from the plane. Nothing further was ever to be heard from Authorities have never issued an official explanation for the crash. The aircraft remained lost until the s, when a group of gold prospectors reportedly stumbled across it. Army located the crash site and recovered the crew's remains in July Leitch, whose brother, Staff Sergeant John E. Leitch, was 's flight engineer.

James Leitch, also a World War II veteran, said he contacted government officials in after reading a short news report that the plane had been found. A half-century's silence When and its crew of 10 went down in April , James Leitch was a year-old infantry-man waiting to be shipped to duty in the Pacific. His company commander called him to the office and told him he needed to go home to Los Angeles. There, his parents told him his brother was reported missing in action somewhere in the Brazilian jungle.

About a month later, A Brazilian native reportedly told officials he had seen the wreckage of a four-engine plane and six bodies, but the man disappeared before anyone could verify his story, said Peter Muello, an Associated Press writer in Shortly after that initial report, a British man told authorities he had found the plane, and even reported the aircraft's correct identification number, said Muello.

The Leitch family never heard about either of these sightings. During that same time year , the Los Angeles Times reported that the U. But in December , a joint search party mounted by Brazil's air force and the U. Embassy to Brazil failed to find the site. Finally, officials confirmed the site; and on Independence Day, , a man salvage team from the U. Army Central Identification Laboratory arrived in Brazil to join a Brazilian army expedition to travel to the site and recover anything that was left. Thanks to the ongoing mission of the Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii CILHI , many missing servicemen--especially from Vietnam--have been positively identified from even the smallest of remains, after a process involving long hours of scientific analysis.

Apparently, that's where 's crew has been since the summer of , while U.

• Perpetual emotion: Acoustic Funambulist.
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• Beryl Goes Wild.

Army officials attempted to track down next-of-kin for each man. An FAB Brazilian air force team prepared the site, and assisted the CILHI researchers during a three-week recovery effort in a dense jungle area some 50 miles northeast of the Amazon River city of Macapa, located about miles northwest of the plane's destination, Belem. One investigator found a wallet, and another found several dollar bills, he said. The high-speed impact of the crash meant little was left of the aircraft, and most of it--spread over a wide area and undisturbed for 51 years--will never be recovered, officials said.

After three weeks, the team recovered the remains of all 10 on board.

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Officials then held a memorial service for the crew at Macapa, capital city of Amapa. A short time later, CILHI forensics experts confirmed the remains were, indeed, those of the long-lost crew of Brown's straggling B was now attacked by over a dozen enemy fighters a mixture of Messerschmitt Bf s and Focke-Wulf Fw s of JG 11 for over ten minutes. The bomber's internal oxygen, hydraulic and electrical systems were also damaged, and the bomber lost half of its rudder and its port left side elevator, as well as its nose cone. Many of the gunners' weapons then jammed, probably as a result of loss of the on-board systems leading to frozen mechanisms the ground crew did not oil the guns correctly , leaving the bomber with only two dorsal turret guns and one of three forward-firing nose guns from 11 available for defense.

Miraculously, all but Eckenrode survived. Brown's damaged bomber was spotted by Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler then an ace with 27 victories , who was refueling and rearming at an airfield.

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He soon took off in his Messerschmitt Bf G-6 which had a. Browning machine gun bullet embedded in the radiator, which risked the engine overheating and quickly caught up with Brown's plane. Through the damaged bomber's airframe Stigler was able to see the injured and incapacitated crew.

To the American pilot's surprise, Stigler did not open fire on the crippled bomber. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down.

Twice Stigler tried to get Brown to land his plane at a German airfield and surrender, or divert to nearby neutral Sweden, where he and his crew would receive medical treatment and be interned the remainder of the war. Brown and the crew of the B didn't understand what Stigler was trying to mouth and gesture to them and so flew on. Stigler later told Brown he was trying to get them to fly to Sweden.

He then flew near Brown's plane in a formation on the bomber's port side wing, so German antiaircraft units would not target it; he then escorted the damaged B over the coast until they reached open water. Brown, unsure of Stigler's intentions at the time, ordered his dorsal turret gunner to point at Stigler but not open fire in order to warn him off.

RAF Bomber Command aircrew of World War II

Understanding the message and certain that the bomber was out of German airspace, Stigler departed with a salute. He was told not to repeat this to the rest of the unit so as not to build any positive sentiment about enemy pilots. Brown commented, "Someone decided you can't be human and be flying in a German cockpit.