Squadron Leader Douglas Bader

Commanding Officer of 242 Squadron, seated on his Hawker Hurricane at Duxford, September 1940.

Douglas Bader graduated from RAF College in 1930 but in 1931 he crashed during practice at Woodley aerodrome and had both of his legs amputated. His new prosthetic legs earned him the nickname ‘Tin Legs’.
Bader returned to the RAF in 1939 and in June 1940 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and given command of 242 Squadron, leading large formations.
In August 1941 he was forced to bale out of his Spitfire during a raid and lost his prosthetic right leg. He was taken as a POW (Prisoner of War) but a spare leg was flown to him and dropped by parachute. Bader attempted to escape prison many times until the camp was liberated in April 1945.