LEGLESS PILOT

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21370, 14 March 1941, Page 2

LEGLESS PILOT

HONOUR FROM THE KING STORY OF DOUGLAS BADER Squadron-Leader Douglas R. S. Bader, the legless pilot whose investiture by the King with D.S.O. and D.F..C. is announced, leads a squadron of Canadians. Bader was a Rugby player and a stunt pilot when, in 1931, he crashed and was only saved from death bv the amputation of both legs. Nine months after that accident he was equipped with aluminium legs, took a course in civil aviation, and applied to be taken back into the Service. He was refused. He took a job in an oil company, devoted himself to golf, to swimming and to squash. Likewise he danced usually with the wife whom he led to the altar without the aid of sticks. He applied to the Air Ministry to be taken back the day war broke out. “Let me fly single-seaters,” he said. He was tested—he had to keep his elbows on his knees, as. when he “blacks out” in a turn, he has no automatic reaction in his artificial limbs—and was passed. Metal Legs Bent They offered him the job of an air-taxi man; but he wanted to be in the fighting line. Ultimately, he won his point. He had a slight crash and his metal legs were bent. They were hammered out by the Armourer in half an hour and he was in the air again. “Couldn’t have done that with the old ones,” he said. Bader went from Pilot Officer to Flying Officer to Flight Lieutenant He was made a Squadron Leader. One day they were flying at 15,000 feet; half a mile below them they saw a cloud of German machines flying in from the sea. There were between 70 and 100 of them. Leading the squadron, Bader dived sheer, guns spitting. The Germans scattered. Three of them climbed to dodge the attack but Bader swerved in mid-air, zoomed up and caught one of them point blank. A three-second burst of fire cut the machine to pieces. Again Bader swerved, chased another machine, which fled; but there was no escape. The eight-fold guns whirred and the enemy plunged to earth. He was attacked as he turned, avoided the assault and counter-attacked in turn, but the German pilot had had enough: he streaked for France and Bader had no fuel to chase him. His squadron brought down 11 machines that day and he now holds the D.S.O. Mrs Bader sews the D.F.C. onto the uniform of every member of the squadron who wins one—and her needles are busy. More, when Bader walked into a local inn, every single R.A.F. man got to his feet.