| Douglas Bader |
Article Index for Douglas |
Website Links For Douglas |
Information AboutDouglas Bader |
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, CBE , DSO And Bar , DFC And Bar , FRAeS , DL , RAF ( 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982 ); surname Pronounced ) was a successful Fighter Pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War . Bader is upheld as an inspirational leader and hero of the era, not least because he fought despite having lost both legs in a pre-war flying accident. His brutally forthright, dogmatic and often highly opinionated views (especially against authority) coupled with his boundless energy and enthusiasm inspired adoration and frustration in equal measures with both his subordinates and peers. EARLY YEARS Bader was born in St John's Wood , London , the second son of Major Frederick Roberts Bader of the Royal Engineers and his wife Jessie. His first two years were spent with relatives in the Isle Of Man as his father had returned to his posting in India shortly after the birth of his son, and was accompanied by his wife and eldest son. At the age of 2, Douglas joined his parents in India for a year before the family moved back to London. He went to Temple Grove Prep School, in Eastbourne , then to St Edward's School , Oxford , which was also attended by Guy Gibson . His father fought in France during the First World War and died in 1922 of complications arising from shrapnel wounds that he suffered in 1917. His mother re-married shortly thereafter, to Reverend Ernest William Hobbs. Bader was subsequently brought up in the rectory of the village of Sprotborough , near Doncaster , West Riding Of Yorkshire now South Yorkshire . JOINING THE RAF Bader joined the RAF as a 2007 . Commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 1930, Bader was posted to Kenley , Surrey , flying Gloster Gamecock s and soon after, Bristol Bulldog s. On 14 December 1931 , while visiting Reading Aero Club, he attempted some low-flying aerobatics at Woodley airfield in a Bulldog, apparently on a dare. His plane crashed when the tip of the left wing touched the ground. Bader was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading , where, in the hands of the prominent surgeon Leonard Joyce, both his legs were amputated - one above and one below the knee. Bader made the following Laconic entry in his logbook after the crash: "Crashed slow-rolling near ground. Bad show."Brookes, Andrew. ''Crash! Military Aircraft Disasters, Accidents and Incidents''. London: Ian Allen Ltd., 1991, p. 36. ISBN 0-7110-1965-7. In 1932, after a long convalescence throughout which he needed Morphine for pain-relief, Bader was transferred to the hospital at RAF Uxbridge and fought hard to regain his former abilities now that he had a new pair of artificial legs. In time, his efforts paid off and was able to drive a specially modified car, play golf, and even dance. Bader got his chance to prove that he could still fly when, in June 1932, Air Under-Secretary Phillip Sasson arranged for him to take up an Avro 504 which he piloted competently. A subsequent medical examination proved him fit for active service, however, in April the following year, he received notification that the RAF had decided to reverse the decision on the grounds that this situation was not covered by the King's Regulations . In May, Bader was invalided out of the RAF, took an office job with the Asiatic Petroleum Company and, in 1935, married Thelma Edwards. SECOND WORLD WAR When war broke out in 1939, Bader used his RAF Cranwell connections to rejoin the RAF, despite his disability and reticence on the part of the establishment. His persistence in trying to regain a medical categorisation for operational flying finally succeeded, and at the end of November the same year, he was posted to the Central Flying School , Upavon , for a refresher-course on modern types of aircraft. Starting with the Avro Tutor , Bader progressed through the Fairey Battle and Miles Master (the last training stage before experiencing Spitfires and Hurricanes ). Bader retained the rank of Flying Officer , that which he held on his retirement in May 1933. Bader's first operational posting was in February 1940 to No. 19 Squadron based at RAF Duxford , near Cambridge , where a close friend from Cranwell days, Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson, was the Commanding Officer, and it was then that he got his first glimpse of a Spitfire. At 29 years of age, Bader was considerably older than his fellow pilots. It was thought that Bader's success as a fighter pilot was partly due to having no legs; pilots pulling high 'G' in combat turns often "blacked out" as the flow of blood from the brain drained to other parts of the body - usually the legs. As Bader had no legs he could remain conscious that much longer and thus had an advantage over more able-bodied opponents. Combat credos Bader attributed his success to the belief in the three basic rules that had been tried and tested by earlier fighter pilots:
Quote; ''“Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind, you'll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”'' Quote; ''"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."''Brickhill 1954, p. 44. Note: (also quoted as "...for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.") In ''Reach for the Sky'', this quote is attributed to Harry Day, the Royal Flying Corps First World War fighter ace. Quote; ''"I am not one of those who see war as a cricket match where you first give anything to defeat the opponent and then shake hands."'' Battle of Britain The following April, he left 19 Squadron to become a Flight Commander with No. 222 Squadron , also based at Duxford, commanded by another old friend of his, Squadron Leader Tubby Mermagen, and it was during this phase of Bader's flying career that he had his first taste of combat. While patrolling the coast near Dunkirk in his Spitfire at around 30,000 feet, he came across a Bf 109 in front of him, flying in the same direction and at approximately the same speed. Bader believed that the German must have been a novice, taking no evasive action even though it took more than one burst of gunfire to shoot him down. His second encounter was with a Dornier a day or two later, in which he narrowly avoided a collision while silencing the aircraft's rear gunner during a high-speed pass. Shortly after Bader joined 222 Squadron, it relocated to RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey , just south of the Humber . After flying operations over Dunkirk, he was posted to command No. 242 Squadron as Squadron Leader at the end of June 1940; a Hurricane unit based at Coltishall , mainly made up of Canadians who had suffered high losses in the Battle Of France and had low morale. Despite initial resistance to their new commanding officer, the pilots were soon won over by Bader's strong personality and perseverance, especially in cutting through red tape to make the squadron operational again. Upon the formation of No. 12 Group RAF , No. 242 squadron was assigned to the Group while based at RAF Duxford. As a friend and supporter of his 12 Group commander Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory , Bader joined him as an active exponent of the controversial " Big Wing " theory. Bader was an outspoken critic of the careful "husbanding" tactics being used by 11 Group commander Keith Park , and Bader vociferously campaigned for an aggressive policy of assembling large formations of defensive fighters north of London ready to inflict maximum damage on the massed German bomber formations as they flew over South East England. As the battle progressed, Bader often found himself at the head of a composite wing of fighters consisting of up to five squadrons. Achievements of the Big Wing were hard to quantify, as the large formations often overclaimed aircraft shot down, but there is no doubt that Bader and Leigh-Mallory contributed to the departure of both Fighter Command commander Air Marshal Hugh Dowding and Air Vice Marshal Keith Park after the battle was over. Wing Leader In 1941, Bader was promoted to Wing Commander and become one of the first "Wing Leaders." Stationed at Tangmere , Bader led his wing of Spitfires on sweeps and "circus" Operations over northwestern Europe throughout the summer campaign. These were missions combining bombers and fighters designed to lure out and tie down German Luftwaffe fighter units that might otherwise serve on the Russian front. One of the Wing Leader's "perks" was permission to have their initials marked on their aircraft as personal identification, thus "D-B" was painted on the side of Bader's Spitfire. These letters gave rise to his radio call sign "Dogsbody." During 1941 his wing was re-equipped with Spitfire VBs, which had two Hispano 20mm Cannon and four .303 Machine Gun s. However, Bader flew a Spitfire Va equipped with just eight .303 machine guns, as he insisted that these guns were more effective against fighter opposition. Prisoner of war By August 1941, Bader had claimed 22 German planes shot down, the fifth highest total in the RAF. On August 9 , 1941 Bader was shot down and taken prisoner. Although he believed for years that he had collided in mid-air with a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Le Touquet , recent research shows no "Bf 109 was lost to a collision that day and he may have been shot down by a Bf 109F of II/JG26 flown by Feldwebel Meyer.Caldwell, Don. ''JG26 War Diary, Volume 1, 1939-1942''. London: Grub Street, 1996. ISBN 1-898697-52-3. As he tried to bail out, one of his prosthetic legs became trapped in the aircraft, and he only escaped when the leg's retaining straps snapped. More recently, in a Channel 4 documentary "Who Downed Douglas Bader?", aired on 28 August 2006 , research by air historian Andy Saunders now suggests that he may have been a victim of ‘friendly fire’, shot down by one of his fellow RAF pilots after becoming detached from his own squadron. |
|
|