Thanks to a body part donation from another Lancaster called Lady Orchid, one Canadian Lancaster bomber is still flying. And the man indirectly responsible was Lady Orchid’s pilot, Ron Jenkins. His daughter Deb explains the fascinating chain of events.
Bomber crews who flew toward the end of the war, when there were fewer German fighters in the air, were sometimes considered to have an easier ride. But not always, as told in this hair-raising excerpt from Leo Richer’s own memoir.
“I won’t go! I’m not going!” Lancaster pilot Edmund Kluczny (nicknamed “Captain Cool” by his crew) was horrified when he heard his bomb aimer’s outburst. Tonight’s target would take them deep into Germany’s heavily-defended industrial area. The pilot needed his crew inside their Lancaster and ready for takeoff, but the bomb aimer was refusing to get on board. This was a problem that Captain Cool needed to solve, and fast.
