Bader Bail Out

Description

On the 9th of August 1941, Group Captain Douglas Bader was leading his Wing of Spitfires from Tangmere over France just south of Le Touquet at 28,000 feet, when he sighted twelve Messerschmitts ahead and below. Being in the ideal position, he dived to the attack, but his excessive speed carried him right through the German formation. Pulling out at 24,000 feet, he encountered six more Messerschmitts and shot one of them down, but the rest turned on him furiously. He felt something hit his aircraft, which slewed violently round and began to spiral down at frightening speed. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the entire rear part of his Spitfire behind the cockpit had been shorn away. He jettisoned the canopy and began to bale out. At this critical moment, his artificial right leg became trapped, and the upper half of his body was pinned against the fuselage by the fierce slipstream. After a struggle, he succeeded in tearing himself free, leaving his right leg behind as he left the cockpit. A moment later, at 4,00 feet, his parachute cracked open and he began to float safely down.