Battle Order 204 (6)
Take Up Crash Positions!

‘Third time unlucky!’ each crew member muttered under his breath, frigid with fear as he prayed.

‘But if anyone can get out of this, it’s our Dave,’ Drew thought, taking comfort in his skipper’s skill and determination.

‘Pilot to wireless operator. Fire a Very light for assistance.’

‘Wireless operator to pilot. Very light going up.’

After Reg sent up the red Very light for an escort, a couple of RAF fighters checked them out. But as Dog’s engines were still functioning, the fighters left them to it.

Putting on speed, David headed for the emergency airfield at Juvincourt in France. But then, even though he was weak from loss of blood, he decided to try to carry on to Woodbridge, an emergency airfield in England.

Dog’s instrument panel was badly damaged, and all the radar sets were out of commission, so Charles navigated by dead reckoning while Drew map-read. ‘Thank God it’s daylight,’ Drew thought.

Boz and Birdy in their gun turrets scanned the sky in every direction for more enemy fighters harassing the returning bomber stream.

Always on the lookout for an easy kill, the deadly swift Messerschmitts and Junkers 88s would find the disabled Lancaster a ready target to down.

•••••••••••••••••

But the skies remained clear and Dog limped across the Channel.

‘Over England at last!’ they all breathed.

But the crew’s relief was short-lived. Despite the holed petrol tank, Cyril judged there was still enough fuel for one more leg. Summoning every atom of his rapidly dwindling strength, David set course for Lincolnshire and their home base, Kelstern. Fearing that he might not be able to land the damaged kite safely, he asked each crew member in turn if he wanted to bale out.

Everyone opted to stay. So David gave the order no one wanted to hear.

‘Take up crash positions!’

They braced themselves and crouched through the last fateful moments as Dog descended.

•••••••••••••••••

Would they make it? Was this the ending each man had always known might be his - burned to death as his plane crashed down?

Newspaper reports of Bomber Command raids on Essen in Happy Valley