A Pathfinder's War : An Extraordinary Tale of Surviving Over 100 Bomber Operations Against All Odds

Ted Stocker Lived A Charmed Life. Trained At Raf Halton As One Of Trenchard's 'brats', A Posting To Boscombe Down Saw Him Fly In Both The Prototype Stirling And Halifax Just As War Engulfed Europe For The Second Time. Qualifying As One Of The Raf's First Flight Engineers, He Flew Operations In 1941/42 With 35 And 102 Squadrons, A Contemporary Of Leonard Cheshire, Helping With The Often Hair-raising Task Of Converting Pilots From Two To Four Engines. On His Return To 35, He Became A Pathfinder And Flight Engineer Leader, Taking Part In Virtually Every Major Air Battle Of The War. Awarded The Dfc In 1943, He Was Posted To 7 And Then 582 Squadrons, Going On To Complete More Than 100 Bombing Operations , Often As A Master Bomber, And Flying With Some Of The Pathfinder 'greats', Including Don Bennett Himself. Although His Aircraft Was Frequently Hit, And He Survived A Crash Landing On Only His Second Trip, Ted Was Never Wounded. His Achievements Were Recognised With The Distinguished Service Order, The Only Known Dso Issued To A Flight Engineer During The War Or Since. After The War, He Flew With Bomber Harris On A Tour Of Brazil And Later Qualified As A Pilot, Introducing The Lockheed Neptune Anti-submarine Aircraft To The Raf For The First Time As A Flight Commander With Coastal Command. Ted Stocker With Sean Feast. Ted Stocker lived a charmed life. Trained at RAF Halton as one of Trenchards Brats, a posting to Boscombe Down saw him fly in both the prototype Stirling and Halifax just as war engulfed Europe for the second time. Qualifying as one of the RAFs first flight engineers, he flew operations in 1941/42 with 35 and 102 Squadrons, a contemporary of Leonard Cheshire, helping with the often hair-raising task of converting pilots from two to four engines. On his return to 35, he became a pathfinder and flight engineer leader, taking part in virtually every major air battle of the war. Awarded the DFC in 1943, he was posted to 7 and then 582 Squadrons, going on to complete more than 100 bombing operations , often as a master bomber, and flying with some of the pathfinder greats, including Don Bennett himself. Although his aircraft was frequently hit, and he survived a crash landing on only his second trip, Ted was never wounded. His achievements were recognized with the Distinguished Service Order, the only known DSO issued to a flight engineer during the war or since. After the war, he flew with Bomber Harris on a tour of Brazil and later qualified as a pilot, introducing the Lockheed Neptune anti-submarine aircraft to the RAF for the first time as a flight commander with Coastal Command. [Elib]

The only RAF flight engineer to be awarded a Distinguished Service Order recounts his prolific WWII combat career in this engaging military memoir. Flight Lieutenant Ted Stocker lived a charmed life. Joining the Royal Air Force as a teenager, he trained as one of the famous Halton Aircraft Apprentices known as Trenchard's Brats. Stationed at RAF Boscombe Down, he flew prototype Stirling and Halifax bombers just as the Second World War broke out. Qualifying as one of the RAF's first flight engineers, he went on to join Bomber Command's elite Pathfinder Force. Stocker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1943 and eventually completed more than 100 bombing operations, often as a master bomber. Although his aircraft was frequently hit, and he survived a crash landing, Stocker was never wounded. His achievements were recognized with the only known Distinguished Service Order issued to a flight engineer. In this candid and fascinating memoir, co-written by acclaimed aviation historian Sean Feast, Stocker relates his incredible tale of singular courage and miraculous survival.

Ted Stocker lived a charmed life. Trained at RAF Halton as one of Trenchard's 'Brats', a posting to Boscombe Down saw him fly in both the prototype Stirling and Halifax just as war engulfed Europe for the second time. Qualifying as one of the RAF's first flight engineers, he flew operations in 1941/42 with 35 and 102 Squadrons, a contemporary of Leonard Cheshire, helping with the often hair-raising task of converting pilots from two to four engines. On his return to 35, he became a pathfinder and flight engineer leader, taking part in virtually every major air battle of the war. Awarded the DFC in 1943, he was posted to 7 and then 582 Squadrons, going on to complete more than 100 bombing operations , often as a master bomber, and flying with some of the pathfinder 'greats', including Don Bennett himself. Although his aircraft was frequently hit, and he survived a crash landing on only his second trip, Ted was never wounded. His achievements were recognized with the... HISTORY / Military / World War II