Douglas Bader

Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, commonly Douglas Bader, (February 10, 1910-September 5, 1982) was a successful fighter[?] pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain of the Second World War. Bader is especially upheld as a British hero of the era not least because he fought despite having had two legs amputated.

Bader joined the RAF as a cadet in 1928. On December 14, 1931 he attempted some low flying acrobatics in a Bristol Bulldog[?] fighter, apparently as part of a dare. The tip of the left wing of the plane touched the ground, causing it to crash. Following the accident Bader had both legs amputated six inches below the knee. He left the RAF, but, equipped with artificial legs, learnt to fly again using artifical legs.

Upon the outbreak of war in 1939, Bader re-joined the RAF. By the summer of 1941, Bader had shot down 23 German planes, the fifth-most prolific record in the RAF. On August 9, 1941 Bader collided mid-air with another plane over Le Tourquet[?]. He was captured by German forces and sent to the Colditz prison. He remained there until the end of the war.

Bader was knighted in 1976.