biography
| name: |
Bader, Sir Douglas (Robert Stuart)
|
pronunciation:
[bahder]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1910–82)
|
| biography:
| Wartime aviator, born in London, UK. Commissioned from Cranwell in 1930, he lost both legs in a flying accident in 1931 and was invalided out, but overcame his disability and returned to the RAF in 1939. He commanded the first RAF Canadian Fighter Squadron, evolving tactics that contributed to victory in the Battle of Britain, but was captured in August 1941 after a collision with an enemy aircraft over Béthune. A great pilot and leader of what Churchill called ‘the Few’, he set an example of fortitude and heroism that became a legend. He was knighted in 1976. |
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