Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC, Part 2

Plane Tales

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9M ago 20:56

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This Tale is a continuation of the interview of World War II pilot Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC. At the age of 103, Colin recalls with perfect clarity what it was like to fly his De Havilland DH 98 Mosquito bomber into action as part of a Pathfinder Squadron. This Tale is the second part of the interview with Colin, the opportunity for which I have to thank my old friend Bob Judson. Having had a high ranking career in the RAF, Bob is now a consultant in the field of psychological, life and executive coaching and has a podcast, Leading 4 Life, which explores leadership in the stories of his own life and those told by his many illustrious guests, such as Colin. Bob was kind enough to allow me to share in this opportunity to interview Colin. If you want to take advantage of Bob’s services or listen to his free podcast then check out his website, here: https://www.leading4life.co.uk/ and his great podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227500

The Nissen Hut was wartime emergency accommodation with a single coal burning heater. It was notoriously cold in the winter.

A No 608 Squadron Mosquito, B Baker March, takes off from RAF Downham Market

Bomber Command aircrew mission briefings

RAF Bombers attacking Berlin with Pathfinder flares below them

Most of Colin’s bombing attacks were made as individual aircraft

Colin Bell talking to us during his interview

Hanover under attack from US forces during a daylight raid

Germani Anti Aircraft Artillery

A Mosquito formation

A period description of how OBOE functioned

The bar of the Crown Hotel Downham Market

A Focke Wolf FW190A similar to the type that employed the Wild Boar tactic

Jimmy Stewart who flew the B17 and B24 in operational missions and became a Brigadier General in the USAF

Colin stands beside one of the few remaining Mosquitos

Images shown under a Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Mark Vickers, Colin Bell, the RAF, Bert Verhoeff, the Australian War Memorial collection, the IWM, RAF Bomber Command, German Federal Archives, the USAF and the USAAF.

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