PD377

A Lancaster of No. 9 Squadron in which Flight Sergeant George Thompson flew against the Dortmund–Ems Canal on New Year’s Day 1945. After bombing, the aircraft was hit by two shells and set ablaze. Thompson, the wireless operator, twice went through the burning fuselage to drag the mid-upper and then the rear gunner clear of their blazing turrets, beating out the flames on their clothing with his bare hands and suffering terrible burns himself. Both gunners survived; Thompson died of his injuries three weeks later and was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.