Someone could fly twenty trips and due to nerves, stretched beyond the limit of endurance, then be branded LMF. Aircrew were not very happy about this label. If any airman, due to a breakdown in nerves, sickness, fright, or any other reason, was unable to, or refused to fly, he was branded LMF (lack of moral fibre). It is difficult to decide which is the more terrifying experience to bomb or to be bombed. Reports tell of so much sorrow and misery one hardly dares to think about them in detail. Goebbels wrote: "The situation grows daily more intolerable, we have no means of defending ourselves against the catastrophe". In the first few weeks after D–Day the RAF was losing more men than the British 2nd Army in Normandy, and aircrew were amongst the most highly skilled manpower.īy early 1945 the cities of Germany were battered on an unprecedented scale. Royal visits and heroic accolades were heaped upon the men of Bomber Command which lost 56,000 men killed in WWII. Because of the heavy casualties on 460 squadron, there was not any one plane, which flew 100 operations. The chance of completing the 30 trips was only 44%. Flying a bomber, over Germany, with flak and fighters, and risk of collision, was one of the most demanding, and deadly experiences in World War Two.Ī tour of operations was 30 trips, the life expectancy of a crew was 6 trips, and of the Lancaster 10 trips. The aircrews knew the odds weighed heavily against their own survival when carrying out air attacks on the industries of Germany. The Royal Air Force Bomber Command, following the Battle of Britain, was the means to carry the war to Germany. And later he stated, "I would not regard any cities of Germany as worth the bones of one of our airmen". His answer to that was "Well, it has never been tried yet and we shall see". The British night bomber offensive against Germany had been directed since early 1942 by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, who said, "A lot of people say that bombing can never win the war".
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