Michael Ashcroft: Why we must honour Bomber Command
April 26, 1944 - 20,000 feet above Germany. The Lancaster was returning from a successful bombing mission. But all was not well. An attack by a German fighter aircraft had caused serious damage, and a fire had started on the starboard wing. Home was many miles away.
The Lancaster's flight engineer, Sergeant Norman Jackson, was wounded in the attack. Yet, he responded to the emergency by volunteering to do something which, quite simply, defies belief.
It was bitterly cold outside the aircraft, and the Lancaster was flying at 200mph. In a remarkable act of courage, Jackson attempted to do something extraordinary, even though he knew he could never retrace his steps. He clambered out of the cockpit, and crawled along the top of the fuselage with a fire extinguisher stuffed into his Mae West, intent on putting out the flames threatening the lives of all aboard.
As if Sergeant Jackson did not have enough on his plate, his parachute pack had come open, the contents spilling out into the cockpit. Other members of the crew gathered the parachute together, and paid it out as Jackson, undeterred, made his perilous way towards the wing.
In a heart-stopping moment he slipped and fell down the side of the fuselage towards the burning wing. He managed to grasp an air intake on the leading edge of the wing and somehow clung on.
Jackson was then engulfed by flames. He was swept over the wing, and plummeted to earth, dragging his burning parachute behind him. Miraculously, it managed to reduce the speed of his fall and Jackson survived. For his endeavours that night, he received the Victoria Cross.
After Norman Jackson's death, his medals were sold at auction, and his VC forms part of the Ashcroft Collection, one of three Bomber Command VCs in the trust's possession.
We need little reminding of the Battle of Britain, nor of the importance to Britain of "The Few". But bear in mind that, during the whole of the Battle of Britain, just one VC was awarded - to Flight-Lieutenant J B Nicholson....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Lancaster's flight engineer, Sergeant Norman Jackson, was wounded in the attack. Yet, he responded to the emergency by volunteering to do something which, quite simply, defies belief.
It was bitterly cold outside the aircraft, and the Lancaster was flying at 200mph. In a remarkable act of courage, Jackson attempted to do something extraordinary, even though he knew he could never retrace his steps. He clambered out of the cockpit, and crawled along the top of the fuselage with a fire extinguisher stuffed into his Mae West, intent on putting out the flames threatening the lives of all aboard.
As if Sergeant Jackson did not have enough on his plate, his parachute pack had come open, the contents spilling out into the cockpit. Other members of the crew gathered the parachute together, and paid it out as Jackson, undeterred, made his perilous way towards the wing.
In a heart-stopping moment he slipped and fell down the side of the fuselage towards the burning wing. He managed to grasp an air intake on the leading edge of the wing and somehow clung on.
Jackson was then engulfed by flames. He was swept over the wing, and plummeted to earth, dragging his burning parachute behind him. Miraculously, it managed to reduce the speed of his fall and Jackson survived. For his endeavours that night, he received the Victoria Cross.
After Norman Jackson's death, his medals were sold at auction, and his VC forms part of the Ashcroft Collection, one of three Bomber Command VCs in the trust's possession.
We need little reminding of the Battle of Britain, nor of the importance to Britain of "The Few". But bear in mind that, during the whole of the Battle of Britain, just one VC was awarded - to Flight-Lieutenant J B Nicholson....