On a Wing and a Prayer!

[Dave Homewood]

This Wellington caught fire and burned in combat, but Cambridge pilot Ken Law earned himself a DFM by managing to fly it home, saving his crew. Amazing story.

See the story on my website here (a page which is about to get a whole lot more added as i have had the priviledge of meeting his daughter and son in law, and scanned all his amazing photos).

www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Ken%20Law.htm

These photos come from Ken Law's collection:

[Bruce]

what amazing photos, and certainly brilliant airmanship to get that back safely. The Wellington was certainly a tough old bird!. These photos show the Geodetics in remarkable detail - from an engineering point of view this method of construction is difficult to visualise and it certainly says a lot for Barnes Wallis' incredible design skills. I bet the crew appreciated those skills as well!

[Dave Homewood]

Sadly four of the six crew were later to perish in other combat actions and never saw the end of the war. Ken himself died young too, aged just 41. I have not tracked down the fate of the sixth man yet.

[corsair67]

That's an amazing story, and a testament to the skill of the crew and the strength of the Wellington's airframe.

I bet the tailgunner had more than a few nervous moments during the flight back to England!