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The Ace of World War II ace pilots have no legs
World War II saw the first major air-only war campaign in history with the Battle of England.
During this time the larger RAF force intercepted the wave of German Air Force fighters and bombers.
It was during the Battle of England that many British flying aces were made.
After the fall of the European continent, Britain was almost alone against the overwhelming power of the Axis faction.
Among the British Air Force's flying aces was a man named Douglas Bader.
Bader differs from any other pilot in that he is severely disabled: no legs.
However, as Bader and the other pilots will come to watch, his disability is not a hindrance and has more advantages.
Join RAF and lose leg
Douglas Bader joined the RAF in 1928 and graduated from the flying academy in 1930.
At the age of 21, Bader was appointed to a squadron at Woodley Airport in Reading, where he flew a Bristol Bulldog airplane.
While on a practice flight, Bader went against his Commander's orders to perform acrobatics and must not fly below 2,000 feet.
He tried to pull a stunt to show off his skills but his Bulldog fell to the ground.
Both Bader's legs were trapped and crushed under the wood, canvas, and metal of his plane.
With no way to save them, Bader's leg was amputated.
Bader's doctors are not hoping that he will be able to walk without a cane.
Determination, persistence and a second chance
Assembled with prosthetics and transferred to RAF Uxbridge, Bader was determined to prove his doctors wrong.
During his time at RAF Uxbridge, Bader learned to drive a specially modified race car, golf and tennis, and he even learned to dance.
It was during his time at RAF Uxbridge that Bader met Thelma Edwards - the woman he would love and marry.
In June 1932, Bader was given the chance to retry by Air Force Minister Philip Sassoon.
Sassoon arranged for Bader to pick up an Avro 504 that he has mastered very well, and a follow-up medical examination proved he was fit for active service.
However, the RAF, which dismayed Bader's, reversed their decision in April 1933, citing that he was not covered by the Rules of the King.
In May of that year, Bader signed a contract with the RAF and took a job at the oil and gas company that is now Shell.
Stress increases and requires repetition
As tensions continued to mount in Europe from 1937 to 1939, Bader repeatedly asked to rejoin the RAF.
Although allowed to rejoin the RAF, he was only assigned a "basic job" because the RAF chief believed they could not fulfill his disability status as a pilot.
Air Force Lieutenant Marshall Halahan, commander of RAF Cranwell during Bader's days there, personally asked Bader to be allowed to enter Central Flight School to test his abilities.
During his training, Bader couldn't help but perform a stunt on his Avro tutor plane.
Bader walks past the academy in flying colors, and it also gives him the chance to get acquainted with a new fighter model.
Bader's day's seaplanes are over, replaced with significantly upgraded low-wing hovercraft like the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire.
It is in these planes that Bader's reputation as an excellent pilot will be forged.
The fake war and the Battle of France
In 1940, Bader was added to the 19th Squadron, and into the cockpit of a Spitfire.
During his time with the 19th Squadron, Bader mainly performed convoy patrol missions during the Fake War and did not take much action.
However, he was later transferred to Squadron 222, where he witnessed the action during the Battle of France and the Dunkirk Evacuation (Operation Dynamo).
Bader helped protect the British Navy as they evacuated more than 300,000 besieged soldiers from French beaches.
During the Battle of France, Bader is credited with knocking down a Messerschmitt Bf 110, damaging another and also damaging a Heinkel He 111 bomber.
After the Battle of France and Operation Dynamo, Bader was transferred to the 242th Squadron as Commander in Chief.
This was a Hawker Hurricane squadron comprised of most of the Canadian pilots, who suffered high losses during the Battle of France and were in very low morale.
Leading the 242 Squadron and Bader's Distinct Advantage
After the initial transfer, the 242 Squadron of Bader did not greet their new commander very much.
They are puzzled by his disability and why he is allowed to serve, let alone lead.
However, as Bader began to realize, his disability is a great advantage any fighter pilot has.
When making sharp turns in a fighter jet, the pilot feels an increased G force pushing down on them.
If a pilot experiences too much G-Force, they can go black and lose consciousness.
This is because the blood rushes from the pilot's brain and into other parts of their body, such as their legs.
As a result, the effects of G-Force make him less likely to go black, and Bader can perform tighter turns and maneuver sharper, being able to easily knock his opponents without defects.
Battle of England
With Hitler and the Axis forces in force in the early stages of Operation Sea Lion, the German Air Force attempted to establish air superiority over Britain against a ground invasion.
This period, from June to October 1940, was known as the Battle of England.
Bader led his squadron in a number of combat missions across England, inspiring them with their own courage and skills, rebuilding their unit's morale and turning them into a force.
Squadron No. 242 saw fierce action during the entire Battle of England.
On 30 August 1940, they took part in their biggest battle, flying against a large force of German Air Force bombers and fighters.
Squadron No. 242 defeated a total of 12 aircraft, two of which were defeated by Bader himself.
By the end of 1940, when the Battle of England was about to end, Bader's squadron had 65 confirmed killings and lost only 5. Bader, so far, has scored more than 5 kills and
He received an Order of Excellent Service on September 14, 1940.
Battle of England Day
On 15 September 1940, the German Air Force launched an all-out attack on London.
It lasted from dawn to dusk, and more than 1,500 German aircraft flew over England that day.
Bader had performed a number of different missions that day, mission after mission, all heavy air combat.
Before the end of September, Bader was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and in December 1940 he was awarded the Medal of Excellence for his services in the Battle of England.
Leader of the Wing
On 18 March 1941, Bader was promoted to Wing Commander and became one of the RAF's first "Wing Leaders".
With three squadrons currently under his command, Bader led his Spitfires on sweep and escort missions over Europe and the English Strait during the summer campaign of 1941.
As the Leader of the Wing, Bader was allowed the privilege of having his initials painted on the face of his warriors.
During the summer campaign, Bader shot down 10 more planes, bringing his total down to more than 20 during the war.
The last flight
On 9 August 1941, Bader and four other Spitfires were on an assault patrol over the English Channel when twelve Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters flew below and towards them.
Bader turned his face towards them and rushed into the enemy formation.
After diving too quickly, Bader realizes that he has lost his squadron and considers returning home via the Channel.
However, he came across three pairs of Bf 109s flying below and in front of him.
He closed in on them and destroyed one with a quick burst of fire, before continuing to fire and knocking down the second.
When the pair on the left turned to fight him, Bader made the mistake of turning right and hit one of the Bf 109s in midair.
The clash causes him to lose control and gradually decrease.
The rush of air began to suck him out of the cockpit, but then one of his prostheses got stuck.
Half in and half out of the cockpit, Bader crashed with the plane for a while before attempting to drop his parachute.
The resulting dynamics pulled off the lanyard on his prosthesis and he came out of the wreck of the plane and crashed into the ocean.
When he parachuted into Nazi-occupied France, a Bf 109 caught up with him before he landed.
Before today's end, Bader was a German POW, and he flew the last flight of the war.
A respected prisoner
Bader is treated with great respect and admiration by the German captors.
He was visited quite often by the German Air Force General and pilot Adolf Galland, whom Bader had met and encountered many times in the air.
Galland wrote to the RAF, suggesting that they enter safely into German-run territory if they release a prosthetic leg instead of Bader.
Hermann Göring personally, the head of the German Air Force, authorized this.
The RAF initiated the so-called "Operation Legs," in which an RAF bomber drops a new leg to Bader on a parachute at St Omer, a Luftwaffe-occupied air base in France.
When the war ended, Bader continued to repay Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a comrade with an arm amputated, when he arrived in England as a prisoner of war in the German Air Force.
With the newly fitted prosthetic, Bader has made it his personal mission to be the thorn of his very accommodating captors.
He attempted to escape several times, though was repeatedly arrested until the Germans threatened to take his legs.
In August 1942, Bader was transferred to the "escape" Colditz Caste, where he spent the remainder of the war until liberation by the Americans in April 1945.
A peaceful life with a good income
After the war, Bader continued to serve in the RAF briefly, before leaving permanently in 1946.
He continued his career at Shell and lived a peaceful life with his wife Thelma.
Throughout his civilian life, Bader campaigned for the rights of people with disabilities and was awarded a BA in the Queen's Birthday Title in 1976 "for services to the disabled".
Bader will also continue to fly until he is 69, when he is stopped due to poor health.
Douglas Bader died in 1982, aged 72 years after a heart attack.
