Douglas Bader - A true RAF Fighter ace

[jnd2089]

Perhaps more than anybody, Douglas Bader epitomised the British bulldog fighting spirit so needed during the Second World War. Fuelled by the desire to prove he could still fly an aeroplane after having both legs amputated, and also by his burning hatred of Adolf Hitler, his actions as a fighter 'ace' greatly exceeded the call of duty.


Born in London in 1910, Douglas Bader was immediately separated from his parents who left for India. He was reunited with them when they returned to Britain in 1913, but a year later Douglas’ father, Frederick, left for France to fight in the Great War and that was the last he ever saw of him (Frederick Bader died in France in 1922). Perhaps the fact that he never had a father figure to turn to, contributed to his unique psyche in later life.

At school it soon became obvious that Douglas had a natural flair for physical sports, particularly rugby. He also had exceedingly strong leadership qualities, which resulted in him being given the responsibility of captaining the rugby team.

Shortly after leaving school, whilst staying with his aunt and uncle, Bader decided that he wanted to join the RAF. His uncle obviously persuaded him to some degree; he had worked in the RAF for some years. Other family members disapproved though, but he was undeterred, and by 1928 he had gained his cadetship.


During his training for the RAF, he became notorious for not following orders, and his commanding officers began to see him as a thorn in their sides, immature and quite unsuitable for the armed forces. Their feelings were confirmed when the results of a mid training progress exam came through – Douglas Bader had finished very near to last. Because his flight skills were superior though, he was given another chance, but not before a dressing down by one of the senior officers, who made it clear he was in a man’s world now, not some school dormitory. Bader responded magnificently, and graduated into the RAF, narrowly missing out on receiving the Sword of Honour, awarded to the best graduate of the year.

He was posted to Kenley, and it is there that disaster struck. Challenged to perform various acrobatic stunts, Bader protested that the Bulldog planes that they had begun using were very different from what he had been flying, much heavier, and as such he wouldn’t be able to perform the stunts safely. Eventually he was goaded into it though. Tragically, he was proved right. The Bulldogs were much too cumbersome for low-level stunt flying, and Bader crashed. Both legs were mangled in the calamity, and he was taken straight to hospital to see a top surgeon. The surgeon immediately amputated one leg, and a few days later was forced to do the same to the other. Nobody thought that Douglas would live, so bad had been his accident, but amazingly he pulled through.

After recovering somewhat, Bader was transferred to an RAF hospital, where he was left to convalesce. It was here that he met Marcel Dessoutter, who had lost one leg in an air accident. Subsequently Dessoutter had developed a business selling metal alloy false legs for amputee victims. Bader immediately volunteered to try some out and was kitted out with two tin legs. Gradually he taught himself to walk on them, enduring horrific pain along the way and not once using the aid of a walking stick – a remarkable feat. The progress continued when Bader had a car modified so that he could drive it. As a consequence he got his opportunity to fly an airplane again, and he jumped at the chance. After so long though, and with no real legs, his performance in the cockpit was at best shaky. In 1933 the RAF officially retired him.

It looked as though the military career of Douglas Bader was over. He acquired another job with the Asiatic Petroleum Company, and met Thelma Edwards who he married. All the time though, at the back of his mind was the desire to get back in the cockpit of an RAF fighter plane.

His chance came at the outbreak of World War Two. The RAF reassessed him and allowed him to fly. He worked his way through the lesser planes until he eventually had control of the renowned Hawker Hurricane. He got his first kill in Dunkirk in 1940, and shot down 22 enemies in total becoming renowned as an 'ace'. Following the Battle of Britain he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry and leadership of the highest order.

Bader’s amazing aura of invincibility was broken in 1941 when the plane he was flying collided with a German Messerschmit, and the Nazis captured him. After trying to escape several times he was transferred to Colditz, where he stayed until 1945, the end of the war.

Upon his return to England he was chosen to lead the three hundred plane victory flypast, over London, so highly was he regarded. He left the RAF a year later – the tedium of military service in peaceful times was no longer a desired option for him. In 1976 he was knighted, for the services he has given to amputees. Six years later he died of a heart attack aged seventy-two. Without the courage shown by people like Douglas Bader, the war may well have been lost.

[Firefly]

I could go into negative reams about Bader, but fair dues to the man, he overcame his disabilities and provided his country with a good service in the end.

Nice post.

[jnd2089]

Fair enough, every man has some wrong in him... But Bader did help turn the war around (to an extent), with other men too...

[pdf27]

Fair enough, every man has some wrong in him... But Bader did help turn the war around (to an extent), with other men too...

Ummm... sort of. I suspect Firefly is alluding to the whole "big wing" thing, in which case I'm with him. Not smart.

[Nickdfresh]

Sometimes, the rebelliousness and stubbornness that can makes a guy reckless and undisciplined, is what also makes him an ace...

[pdf27]

Sometimes, the rebelliousness and stubbornness that can makes a guy reckless and undisciplined, is what also makes him an ace...

The Germans had a lot of pilots like that, with far more high-scoring pilots than the allies. They also lost the air war very badly - warfare is a team sport, not an individual one.

[Topor]

There was nothing wrong with the "big wing" idea in theory.
The problems stemmed from its execution:
Bader didn't want ALL the Sqns to form into a cohesive mass but Leigh-Mallory demanded this.
Bader wanted the Sqns used as they were in 1942, where the Fighter Directors gave the enemy's position & left the fighting to those on the scene & merely ensured there were sufficient numbers in the area to deal with the threat.
The tight formations used were a hold over from the inter war years & the men at the top couldn't see past them, or misinterpreted what Bader wanted.

[pdf27]

There was nothing wrong with the "big wing" idea in theory.
The problems stemmed from its execution:

I'd argue that they stemmed from attempting to execute the idea at all in 1940. Quite a lot of squadrons got bombed on the ground simply because a big wing takes longer to assemble than a single squadron. Read up on what Keith Park did in Malta, where he turned the air war around by ditching the "Big Wing" ideas they were using at the time as soon as he arrived.

[1000ydstare]

If I recall correctly, the time he was shot down he would have died if he had not had tin legs.

His leg was trapped inside the cockpit and he had to leave it behind. The red cross brought him another leg I think. I think he had them confiscated at Colditz, because he was always trying to run off!!!!

[Firefly]

Actually, his spare leg was dropped by the RAF who were given safe passage to do so by the Luftwaffe, although he may have been given later legs by the Red Cross, I'm not certain though.

[Gutkowski]

Generally speaking, there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance, Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.

[pdf27]

Generally speaking, there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance, Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.

Very true for the Axis, much less true for the Allies. The Allied practice of using veteran pilots to train new ones rather than keeping them at the front racking up scores meant that the new replacement pilots were to a very much higher standard than the Axis replacements, while the very best Axis (particulary German) pilots never had Allied equivalents.

[Topor]

Actually, his spare leg was dropped by the RAF who were given safe passage to do so by the Luftwaffe, although he may have been given later legs by the Red Cross, I'm not certain though.

Not quite correct.
The Germans offered safe passage for a plane but this was turned down as it would have given them a Propaganda coup.
The leg was dropped during a normal bombing operation. There's a photo somewhere showing this.

[1000ydstare]

I vaguely remembered the air dropped leg from an A5 Training pamphlet, but I don't know the full story.

I thought it was a Nazi sanctioned mission by the RAF though. I don't think the Bosche offered though, I think the Red Cross asked them. Pretty sure he had his legs confiscated prior to moving to Colditz, because he kept makeing a nuisance of himself and running off!!!

[Panzerknacker]

The legs were dropped with a couple of bombs also. :wink: