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Douglas Bader |
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Name : Douglas Bader Died : 5th September 1982 Air Victories : 23.00 Awards : Distinguished Service Order with 1 Bar Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Bar Croix de Guerre |
Group Captain Douglas R.S.Bader CBE, DSO and bar, DFC and bar, Legion d'Honneur, Croix de Guerre, whose dazzling success as a fighter pilot with artificial legs made him a national hero, Bader was a legend in his own lifetime for the courage and style with which he defied disablement. Bader had an academic ability which won him a scholarship to St Edward's School and a cadet ship at the elite RAF College, Cranwell. Douglas Bader joined No 23 Squadron at Kenley in July 1930 to fly Gamecocks. Asked to give an aerobatic demonstration in a Bulldog by pilots at a flying club, he declined; whereupon someone made a comment he could not ignore and took-off. Unfortunately the Bulldog's wingtip touched the ground during a low pass and it crashed. Bader lost both legs and was invalided out of the RAF. When war came his perseverance got him accepted back into the RAF for flying duties in Spitfire I's in No 19 Squadron at Duxford. In June 1940, Bader was given command of No 242 Squadron. A Canadian unit, the only one in the RAF at the time, No 242 had been badly mauled in France, and its morale was low. Bader quickly transformed No 242 into a tight, tough squadron by his courage, leadership and uncompromising attitude toward his pilots, ground crews and the RAF high command, with whom he soon had a major brush. After taking charge of No 242, Bader soon discovered that the unit did not have the spare parts or tools to keep its 18 Hurricane fighters operational. After trying to sort out the problem through official channels, Bader signaled 12th Group Headquarters: "242 Squadron operational as regards pilots but non-operational as regards equipment." And he refused to announce his squadron as operational until its lack of tools and spares was rectified. It took a direct meeting between Squadron Leader Bader and Fighter Command's commander Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, to correct the mess. Within 24 hours, No 242 Squadron had all the tools and spares it needed, and Bader signaled 12th Group: "242 Squadron now fully operational." Early in 1941 he commanded the first Tangmere Wing and his tactics then were carried on by Fighter Command for some years. On 11th of August he baled out of his Spitfire, leaving his 'tin' right leg in the Spitfire, and became a prisoner of war for 3½ years, ending it in Colditz Castle after two attempted escapes. He retired from the RAF in July 1946 and rejoined Shell Oil, later being knighted. During only 15 months operations his official score was 22½ enemy aircraft destroyed, although his personal tally was 30! His courage and determination in war and his work for the handicapped in peace inspired others until he passed away in 1983. |
COMBAT REPORTS |
242 Squadron Operational Record Book – 9 September 1940 Sqdn Ldr Bader leading wing consisting of 242, 310 and 19 Squadrons patrolling over London encountered large formation of e/a. bombers and fighters. 242 Squadron led the attack and shot down 10 aircraft. No. 310 (Czech) Squadron shot down 7, and no. 19 Squadron 2. One pilot of 242 killed (PO Sclanders). 1 pilot (Sgt Lonsdale) baled out and returned to Squadron next day unhurt. Congratulations received from Air Officer Command and Chief of the Air Staff. 242 Squadron Operational Record Book, 11 July 1940 Dornier shot down by Sqdn Ldr Bader over sea on dawn patrol. PO Grassick crashed Hurricane – uninjured. |
Known Service Details : | |||||||
Squadron | Rank | Start of Service | End of Service | Known Dates | Aircraft | Airframes | Notes |
Squadron Leader | unknown | unknown | 11th July 1940 | ||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew |
  Clipped Signature - Douglas Bader. |   First of Many by Robert Taylor (B) |   Bader Bale Out by Frank Wootton. |
  Duel of Eagles by Robert Taylor. |   Spitfire by Robert Taylor. |   Tangmere Wing by Robert Taylor. |
Artwork featuring the mounted signature of this Pilot or Aircrew |
  Height and Sun by Robert Taylor. (AP) |   Adversaries by Ivan Berryman. (C) |
Artwork with companion print(s) featuring the mounted signature of this Pilot or Aircrew |
  Into the Fray by Richard Taylor. (C) |   The Greatest Day by Robert Taylor. (D) |
Known Individual Aircraft : | ||||||||
Type | Serial | Codes | First Flew | Squadron History | Aircrew History | History Notes | Engine | Factory |
D-B | - | no information | Merlin XII | Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory | ||||
D-B | 10/05/1941 | no information | Merlin 45 | Eastleigh | ||||
| Aircraft for : Douglas Bader | ||
| A list of all aircraft associated with Douglas Bader. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Hurricane 
Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1936 Number Built : 14533 | Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built. | |
Spitfire 
Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. | |
| Squadrons for : Douglas Bader | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Douglas Bader. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
No.19 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st September 1915 Possunt quia posse videntur - They can because they think they can | No.19 Sqn RAF o. 19 Squadron was formed from a nucleus provided by No. 5 Reserve Squadron at Castle Bromwich on 1 September 1915. It was almost a year later that the Squadron went to France, flying contact patrols with BE12s before re-equipping with French-built Spads. These were used to strafe ground troops during the battles at Arras, Messines Ridge and Ypres. Early in 1918, Sopwith Dolphins arrived and these were used in bomber escort duties. A year after the end of the War, the Squadron was disbanded reforming on 1 April 1924 at Duxford. The Squadron remained at Duxford throughout the inter-war years with a succession of fighters: Siskins, Bulldogs and Gauntlets receiving Spitifre on the 4th August 1938 The Squadron was stationed in the UK after the outbreak of the Second World War,the Squadron fought well over the evacuation at Dunkirk where they lost 4 aircraft for the destruction of 13 E.A.'s. The Squadron destroyed 2 He 111's on the night of the 19th of June 1940, and was part of No. 12 Group RAF, RAF Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain. 19 Squadron formed part of the Duxford Wing, 12 Group's 'Big Wing' formation. Later versions of Spitfires were flown until the arrival of Mustangs for close-support duties in early 1944. After D-Day, No. 19 briefly went across the English Channel before starting long-range escort duties from RAF Peterhead for Coastal Command off the coast of Norway. After world war two the squadron flew at first de Havilland Hornets and later a variety of jet fighter aircraft including the Hawker Hunter fighter then re-equipping with English Electric Lightning, (1962 - 1964) at that time 19 Sqdn was based at RAF Station Leconfield. The Squadron and the sister Squadron 92 were called upon as fast response interceptors during the "cold war", later being disbanded on 9 January 1992. Their final location before being disbanded was RAF Wildenrath in Germany near Geilenkirchen | |
No.242 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : August 1918 Fate : Disbanded 30th September 1964 Canadian Toujours pret - Always ready | No.242 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
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