"Captain Swales was 'Master Bomber'
of a force of aircraft which attacked Pforzheim on the night of
February 23, 1945. As Master Bomber he had the task of locating the
target area with precision and of giving aiming instructions to the main
force of bombers in his wake. Soon after he reached the target area he was engaged by an enemy
aircraft and one of his engines was put out of action. His rear guns
failed. His crippled aircraft was an easy prey for further attacks.
Unperturbed, he carried on with his allotted task; clearly and precisely
he issued aiming instructions to the main force. Meanwhile the enemy
fighter closed the range and fired again. A second engine of Captain
Swales’ aircraft was put out of action. Almost defenseless, he stayed
over the target area issuing his aiming instructions until he was
satisfied that the attack had achieved its purpose. It is now known that the attack was one of the most concentrated
and successful of the war. Captain Swales did not, however, regard his mission as completed. His
aircraft was damaged. Its speed had been so much reduced that it could
only with difficulty be kept in the air. The blind-flying instruments
were no longer working. Determined at all costs to prevent his aircraft
and crew from falling into enemy hands, he set course for home. After an
hour he flew into thin-layered cloud. He kept his course by skillful
flying between the layers, but later heavy cloud and turbulent air
conditions were met. The aircraft, by now over friendly territory,
became more and more difficult to control; it was losing height
steadily. Realizing that the situation was desperate Captain Swales
ordered his crew to bail out. Time was very short and it required all
his exertions to keep the aircraft steady while each of his crew moved
in turn to the escape hatch and parachuted to safety. Hardly had the
last crew-member jumped when the aircraft plunged to earth. Captain
Swales was found dead at the controls. Intrepid in the attack, courageous in the face of danger, he did his
duty to the last, giving his life that his comrades might live."
A brave ally,
Brian & Mel
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