Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was born on 21st February 1910. He and his older brother, Derick,
often argued when they were youngsters, with Douglas constantly leaping at any challenges
and dares from his brother. He excelled at sports at school but did not
apply himself with academia until he had to pass a test to enrol at Cranwell Royal Air
Force College, with a view to joining the RAF.
His flying rating was described as “above average” in his official report at Cranwell
and he was posted to Number 23 squadron to fly Gloster Gamecock fighter aircraft, with
a top speed of 156 miles per hour. He was based in Kenley and in-between flying
represented the RAF in rugby and cricket. The squadron were given Bristol Bulldog fighters
which flew up to 176mph. Bader was also playing rugby for local team Harlequins and several
good performances got him a call up to play for England, earning his cap against the Springboks
of South Africa. A few months later on 14th December 1931,
Bader was taking off from Woodley Aerodrome where some younger pilots had dared him to
demonstrate some acrobatics in his Bulldog. Whilst doing a roll the left wingtip hit the
ground and the aircraft cartwheeled into a crumpled wreck.
Bader drifted in and out of consciousness in the ambulance and was soon on the hospital
operating table. The crash had badly damaged his legs. His right leg was amputated above
his smashed right knee. They tried to keep the left leg but septicaemia and gangrene
set in and it too, was amputated, six inches below the knee.
It was exactly one month and one day after the crash that Bader was able to get up for
the first time, heaving himself onto a wheelchair. That day was the 13th January and after another
operation to trim the bone near his stumps, he eventually left the hospital for good in
April. He was transferred to an RAF hospital in Uxbridge.
He was allowed to venture out and even managed to drive a car by using his one strong leg
for the accelerator and brake, and an umbrella to press the clutch when changing gear.
Seven months after the accident, he walked out of a building on his new artificial metal
legs. He’d lost about an inch in height but for the first time since the crash, he
looked and felt like an ordinary chap. After passing his disabled drivers test, the
next step was to learn to fly again. Bader was convinced he could do it, as it required
less legwork than driving. He passed his RAF medical test and was deemed
fit to fly on dual flights with an instructor but flying was so natural to him, he was soon
flying solo, albeit whilst not being allowed. However, when he went to see which flying
category the medical board would issue for him, he was disappointed to be told by the
Wing Commander that they couldn’t pass him fit for flying because there’s nothing in
the King’s Regulations which covered his case and he’d have to settle for a ground
job. But Bader did not want a ground job and soon
he received a letter from the Air Ministry informing him that he can no longer be employed
by the RAF and suggested he retired due to ill health.
He now had no job and nowhere to live but Bader soon rented a room in London and also
got an office job there selling aviation spirit to airlines and governments. He didn’t much
like the job, but it did give him the money to support his future wife, Thelma, who he’d
met soon after his accident, and his spirits were raised when they got engaged. They married
soon after. In 1939 Bader wrote to the Air Ministry asking
for a flying refresher course should there be a war. “No” was the response. An old
colleague in the RAF also wrote on Bader’s behalf and got a slightly more positive answer,
“No” but if war was to break out they’d almost certainly want his services if the
doctor agreed. On the day Prime Minister Chamberlain announced
Britain had gone to war, Bader wrote again. He received a telegram asking him to report
to the Air Ministry selection board. This time he passed the medical and later after
not flying for seven years passed that test too.
Whilst training he got to fly the Hurricane fighter aircraft and his final report described
his flying ability as “exceptional”. He was posted to 19 squadron in Duxford. In his
new squadron he got to fly the Spitfire for the first time. Soon he became leader of his
section and eventually became a flight lieutenant as he was promoted to flight commander of
222 squadron. After what seemed like a never-ending period
of leading the squadron in aerobatics, formation flying and routine patrols, Bader’s first
engagement with the enemy in the Second World War came over Dunkirk.
His first kill was a Messerschmitt 109, shooting it down with his Spitfire’s guns. The remaining
patrols in Dunkirk were uneventful for Bader. After that he was promoted again and given
his own squadron, 242. It was a Canadian squadron, the only one in the RAF, and he was their
new squadron leader, flying Hurricanes again. With his discipline and his tendency to lead
from the front, Bader soon had the squadron in tip-top shape and morale was high. He shot
down a lone Dornier after being alerted to a suspicious aircraft over England. He’d
gone up himself as the weather was so bad. This was soon followed by another Dornier
kill near Yarmouth. Bader’s first major battle was on 30th August
1940. 242 squadron was scrambled and their 18 Hurricanes intercepted over 100 German
aircraft, mainly bombers. In the ensuing battle, Bader registered two kills and the squadron
had downed 12 aircraft in total, without any damage to a single Hurricane.
Bader discussed and tried out new tactics for the air battle. He came up with a new
formation, where five squadrons would fly together, called “12 Group Wing”.
The wing was a success and they managed 52 kills in one day at their peak. Bader was
awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal. When the Battle of Britain was over, the 12
Group Wing had shot down 152 enemies whilst losing 30 of their own pilots. By the end
of 1940, 242 squadron had one DSO and nine Distinguished Flying Crosses, one of which
was awarded to Bader. Next Bader was chosen to fly in a secret operation
called “First Offensive Sweep”. He was to be part of three fighter squadrons supporting
bombers flying into France to bomb German ammunition dumps. The mission was a success
and soon Bader was told to leave 242 squadron as he was put in charge of three Spitfire
squadrons ready to continue these fighter sweeps into enemy territory. He’d been promoted
to Wing Commander. The sweeps into France continued. Often the
three squadrons would fly alone. Sometimes they’d join other fighters in a “beehive”
formation, which consisted of 100 or so fighters surrounding and protecting a bomber.
Bader led the wing on every raid and had 20½ confirmed enemy aircraft destroyed. He had
a veil of invincibility but then one day the unthinkable happened. Whilst dog fighting
with some Messerschmitts, something hit his aircraft. It must have been an enemy fighter
as when he turned around the rest of the aircraft was missing. He tried to get out of the cockpit
but his metal leg was trapped. Luckily he could unclip it. Having legs would have sent
him down with the Spitfire but instead he was parachuting down to France and was knocked
unconscious on landing. He was soon discovered by three German officers
and was taken to a nearby hospital in Saint Omer. He asked the Germans to recover his
leg, which they did, but the leg was damaged so he asked them to repair it, which they
also did. He knew that once he was transferred to a
prison camp in Germany it would be extremely difficult to escape. He enlisted the help
of a French nurse at the hospital, who gave him a note from a local French couple, saying
their son would be waiting outside the hospital gates between midnight and 2am each night
to help him, if he managed to escape. When it was announced he was being transferred
to Germany the next day, that evening Bader tied together 15 bed sheets from his ward
and descended on them after clambering out the window.
After meeting the couple’s son, he was taken to the nearby French family home but was discovered
by the Germans hiding in the shed when they came to search the property.
This time the Germans took no chances. They took Bader’s metal legs and drove him to
Brussels, where he was put on a train and guarded whilst it travelled to Germany.
Bader spent the next few months in various prisoner of war camps. One of the largest
was Warburg, which consisted of a huge cage that held 3,000 men, a quarter of a mile square.
Once in Germany they had given him his legs back, but the living conditions were dire.
Here Bader was part of several plans to escape, including digging tunnels and picking locks,
but none of them were successful for him. The most extravagant plan came later at another
camp, when he was involved in making a glider to escape, flying from the high castle walls
of the camp he was in at the time. They intended to use bed boards to build the frame, with
sheets for wings and glue made out of potatoes, but they never got to finish it.
Eventually, after three and a half years in captivity, with a final night consisting of
the constant noise of non-stop shelling, he was greeted at dawn by the view of American
soldiers entering the camp and German guards handing over their rifles, one by one. He
was now free. He caught a lift with a young American pilot
to Versailles where he spoke to his wife on the phone,. From there he was driven to Paris
and then flown to London where, after a medical, he drove to Ascot to be reunited with Thelma.
On 15th September 1945, Bader was given the role of organising and leading a victory flypast
over London to celebrate peace. Over 300 aircraft took part. He finished the war with 22½ official
kills, two DSOs and two DFCs. He is seen by many as the best fighter leader and tactician
from the Second World War.