Raf Pilots facts
While investigating facts about Raf Pilots Ww2 and Raf Pilots Ww2 Names, I found out little known, but curios details like:
A Polish pilot who, after being shot down during the Battle of Britain, landed in a country club and proceeded to play and win a game a tennis before an RAF truck came to pick him up.
how much do raf pilots earn?
Ewan McGregor's brother is a pilot in the RAF, and his callsign is "Obi-Two"
What percentage of the raf are pilots?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what rank are pilots in the raf. Here are 50 of the best facts about Raf Pilots Salary and Raf Pilots Armstrong And Miller I managed to collect.
what do raf pilots do?
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Colin McGregor, brother of Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor, is a British RAF pilot and goes by the call-sign "Obi Two"
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RAF pilot Cyril Barton. During a raid over Germany, his plane was strafed repeatedly causing three of his crew to bail out. He dropped the bomb himself, flew the heavily damaged bomber home, crashed landed it and saved the lives of everyone onboard. He however would succumb to his injuries.
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Ray Holmes, an RAF Pilot who intentionally rammed a German Bomber with his Fighter to stop it bombing Buckingham Palace, bailed out, then went drinking.
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Polish exiles were not only the best-performing RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain, but also very successful with women; "they always have a girl on each arm. They say the girls cannot resist the Poles, nor the Poles the girls".
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RAF pilot John Cruickshank who was shot 72 times and still managed to sink a U-boat with his flying boat. With his navigator dead and him slipping in and out of consciousness, he flew his plane back for 5.5 hours, waiting for an hour for the sea to calm down before landing.
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A RAF pilot accidentally took off with a woman sitting on the tail of the aircraft. After a brief flight, the aircraft, pilot and "passenger' landed safely.
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During WWII, when he realised his guns had malfunctioned, an RAF pilot prevented a German bomber from bombing Buckingham Palace by cutting the German plane in half with the wing of his Hawker Hurricane.
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Alan Pollock, a former RAF pilot who, in 1968, flew a Hawker Hunter jet fighter through London's Tower Bridge to protest the Ministry of Defence's failure to commemorate the RAF's 50th anniversary.
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In WWII two German pilot PoWs almost escaped by flying home in an RAF plane, unwittedly aided by RAF ground staff. Twice.
What is true about raf pilots?
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Adolph Malan, a South African flying ace, led the No. 74 Squadron RAF during the battle of Briton, known for sending bomber pilots home with dead crews as a warning to other German crews. When he returned home, he considered apartheid a Nazi ideal, and got involved in anti-apartheid movements. - source
Gp. Capt. Sir Douglas Bader, the legless WWII RAF flying ace, was known for his uncensored and often humorous opinions. Once on a visit to Munich some years after the war, he walked into a room full of ex-Luftwaffe pilots and said, "My God, I had no idea we left so many of you bastards alive!" - source
In 1968 RAF Pilot Alan Pollock, in protest against the RAF's 50th Anniversary not being adequately celebrated, flew his Hawker Hunter into Central London. Flying over key landmarks, Pollock eventually flew through between the road and the upper walkway of Tower Bridge, a gap of less than 20m.
Douglas Bader was a legless flying ace (RAF) in WW2 . His success was partly because of his having no legs; pilots pulling high "g-forces" in combat often "blacked out" as the flow of blood from the brain to other body parts, usually the legs. As he had no legs he could remain conscious longer. - source
What do raf pilots do when not flying?
WW 1 RAF pilots reported the existance of gremlins that accompanied them on flights, and helped them along the way. Pilots both before and after have reported sightings as well, including Charles Lindbergh.
How much do raf pilots get paid?
A WWII RAF pilot that was so respected by the Germans they allowed the allies to airdrop him a new artificial leg.
The accidental fighter pilot. In 1966 a RAF Mechanic accidentally took off in a fighter jet while performing runway tests. The ejection seat was locked so he had to try to land the jet instead.
British RAF pilot Walter Anderson and observer John Mitchell were hit by Soviet Anti-Aircraft fire but still landed, rescued two other British pilots, and then took off again with Mitchell hanging on the wing and his fingers plugging their leaking fuel tank.
During World War 2, RAF Northolt was so well camouflaged, that some allied pilots had difficulty finding it.
The USAF and the Royal Air Force (RAF) flew a combined 2,326,406 tons of supplies in nearly 280,000 flights, comprising the vast majority of the flights, but French, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African pilots also flew supply missions.