I can recall two instances from my tour of operations. The first occured prior to takeoff on a trip to Berlin.
I asked the bombaimer to pass me my parachute, he unfortunately grabbed the release string, so the parachute became a bundle of silk. I bundled the chute up and stuck it under my seat. I hate to think what would have happened, if we had to bail out, with me, trying to hold the chute while I cleared the aircraft.
The night of Feb 20, 1944, was Bomber Command’s first trip to Leipzig, and the air time was just as far as Berlin. On Feb 23rd we were to commence a week’s leave, and not scheduled to fly on the 21st. Since the
operation was to be Stuggart in Southern Germany, and the majority of the flight would be over France, we were pencilled in for the operation. As we approached the target, the engineer switched to the full gas tanks.
The next thing the pilot knew, all the engines had ceased to function and he immediately ordered us to bail out. Bombaimer was gone within seconds.
This was aircraft JP121 (U), first operational flight, as it was recently delivered from the factory. A quick air test was conducted in the afternoon. Our normal aircraft HR988 (T) had not been re-service from the previous night..
Fortunately, all the crew except the rear gunner bailed out. The rear gunner crashed with the aircraft, and probably because of the winter conditions, (heavy snow and pine forests) survived the ordeal.
We discussed, what went wrong, after we returned to England. Our conclusion “Water in the Fuel Tanks”.
I landed in the heart of the Black Forest, in snow up to my knees, without the benefit of one flying boot.
I was loose for two days, having found an empty chalet, with no food, except for some old potatoes. On the second day, I looked out the window, and the field was alive with young boys and men (armed), following my tracks in the snow. I waited until they arrived at the door of the chalet, and then stepped out. I was taken to a house and given a slice of bread and treacle. The police came and I spent the night in a civilian jail in Freiburg. The next morning I was taken to the railway station for the journey to Frankfurt.