大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Julia Shuvalova on behalf of Mr John Taylor, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author is fully aware of the terms and conditions of the site.

Although in a reserved occupation, I volunteered for aircrew and was trained as a navigator at East London, South Africa, subsequently joining 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe, a satellite of Waddington, as a Flight Sergeant.

During the operational tour I had many near escapes 鈥� but none as hair-raising as when trying to land at my home aerodrome at this end of op number 34.

We had just entered the landing circuit when the bomb aimer yelled, 鈥淐hrist 鈥� DIVE skipper!鈥� As pilot Jack Mouat, from New Zealand, complied, the floor seemed to drop from under me, my navigation instruments flew all around the compartment and the oxygen bottles jumped out of their brackets.

I couldn鈥檛 move and just sat there watching the altimeter pointer race anti-clockwise round the dial: 2000 鈥� 1900 鈥� 1700. I thought we were going to dive into the ground but didn鈥檛 feel frightened, only a numbness as if it were happening to somebody else. Through the gap in the curtain I could see the pilot and end engineer with their feet on the control panel hauling back on the control columns in an effort to pull out of the dive. Dully I thought what a stupid way to go.

Then at 200 feet, Jack regained control and levelled out.

Another aircraft landing at a neighbouring airfield 鈥� they were often very close to each other in Lincolnshire 鈥� had been taking too wide a circuit and almost collided with us head-on.

When we landed we found our wireless aerial had been torn off the top of the fuselage. That鈥檚 how close we had been to disaster.鈥�

That is the moment that stands out in my mind. There were others such as my fifth trip, to Mailly-le-Camp in France. Early on target we were told to circle and wait. The night fighters arrived and we saw 25 Lancasters being shot down.

On the next night attacking a German battleship in Brest harbour, we were caught in searchlights, escaping by diving almost to sea level. There were a lot of holes in the Lancaster.

Then there was the first daylight operation, flying in Vics of three to attack the German military academy at St Cyr on the outskirts of Paris.

Suddenly, several Messerschmitt fighters were in among us and all the aircraft started firing. As we were not used to flying in formation, many pilots started to weave their aircraft and we saw huge shapes sliding across, just missing. We saw some aircraft have their tail-fins or mid-upper turrets sliced off by other aircraft from our own side.

We breathed a sigh of relief when the German fighters went off to refuel but then heavy anti-aircraft fire came up at us.

I looked at our starboard outer engine and saw a long white trail of smoke coming from it. Even as I looked the cloud thickened and turned orange and long flames poured from the engine. It had been hit and set on fire.

Jack, our pilot, pushed the fire-extinguisher button and stopped the engine. We kept on to Paris on three engines.

We were hit again over the target, many of the navigation instruments stopped working and our port inner engine was put out of action. I set a course for home as best I could. We were alone in the sky.

Then two Messerschmitts appeared and flew towards us. We were very frightened. With only two engines we couldn鈥檛 do much dodging about.

Then to our relief, three Spitfires came streaking over the horizon and chased the Messerschmitts off. They had been sent to look for us because someone had radioed that we were in trouble.

The Spits came back waggling their wings, fell in on each side of us and escorted us all the way home.

On 6 Jiune, briefed to bomb naval guns at the tip of the Cherbourg Peninsula, I and my fellow crew members were intrigued to see aircraft of all kinds in every direction. After bombing and turning back to the Channel in the early light we saw hundreds of landing craft full of soldiers heading for the beaches. We realised it was D-Day and that the invasion had begun.

Back in the local pub the customers were listened to the news of the landings. 鈥榃hy aren鈥檛 you there?鈥� they asked.

'Because we鈥檝e already been鈥� we told them. After that, the beer was free!

On completing 34 operations, the crew were rested, and I, by this time commissioned, became a navigation instructor. When the European war ended I was sent to India for supply-dropping in Dakotas, but then that was also ended with the dropping of the atomic bombs. Then I returned to Britain 鈥� and took up teachers.

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