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Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett
Born in Australia, Bennet had joined the RAF before the war. He became widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and heavy bombers commanding 77 squadron, flying Halifaxes. In 1942, whilst commanding 10 Squadron, he was shot down on one of the attacks on the Tirpitz, but evaded capture and returned to England. Widley regarded as a navigation expert beyond comparison, he was personally selected by Arthur Harris to form the Pathfinder Force and his uncompromising attitude and ceaseless devotion to his men made him a legendary figure in WWII history. He died 15th September 1986.
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| Text for the above items : |
Halifax Legend by Robert Taylor RAF Pathfinder founder and Commander signs print featuring the four engined Halifax bomber. |
The Hard Way Home by Robert Taylor. The Battle of Britain had been won by the young fighter pilots of Fighter Command, but now it fell to another band of young men to wage total warfare against the Nazi war machine - the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command. And like the fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain, the young men who flew with Bomber Command came not just from Britain, but from all over the Commonwealth, and from the countries of occupied mainland Europe. Every man was a volunteer, prepared to endure the deadly flak and prowling night fighters, to say nothing of the savage and bitter cold, in order to wage their relentless attack on the military and industrial targets of the Third Reich. The aircraft that carried these young men to war were numerous, but bearing the brunt of the RAFs incessant campaign were two heavy bombers, the stalwarts of Bomber Command - the Lancaster and the Halifax. Between them they accounted for over three quarters of all the bombs dropped by the RAF, and Halifaxes alone accounted for a total of 73,312 operations, nearly a fifth of all missions carried out by Bomber Command. |
| Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett Aircraft details |
 Halifax Manufacturer : Handley Page Built : 6177 | Halifax Royal Air Force heavy Bomber with a crew of six to eight. Maximum speed of 280mph (with MK.VI top speed of 312mph) service ceiling of 22,800feet maximum range of 3,000 miles. The Halifax carried four .303 browning machine guns in the tail turret, two .303 browning machines in the nose turret in the MK III there were four .303 brownings in the dorsal turret. The Handley Page Halifax, first joined the Royal Air Force in March 1941 with 35 squadron. The Halifax saw service in Europe and the Middle east with a variety of variants for use with Coastal Command, in anti Submarine warfare, special duties, glider-tugs, and troop transportation roles. A total of 6177 Halifax's were built and stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1952 |
| Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett Squadron details |
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