Author(s): Mike Rossiter

Military

Flying Lancaster bombers on raids into Germany was one of the most dangerous missions of the war. Casualties in Bomber Command were shockingly high, there was statistically only a 17% chance of a bomber crew surviving a full tour of operations. Night after night Flight Sergeant Geoffrey King and the crew of C Charlie risked their lives. Together they faced incredible dangers, near misses, close encounters with the fighter planes of the Luftwaffe, and crash landings. Against this background a friendship was formed that bound the crew of C Charlie together against all odds. Between May 1943 and May 1944 Geoffrey King and his crew flew thirty missions over Germany, hitting Frankfurt, the Ruhr, and bombing Berlin ten times. They trusted each other so much that they were determined to stay together after their full tour. They refused to take leave and be split up, instead they volunteered immediately for another tour. As King says ‘We believed in ourselves so much, no one ever panicked, even when the situation lo