Resupply Flights
He was 30 years old, and a Flight Lieutenant in 271 Squadron, Royal Air Force during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
On 19 September 1944 during the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, the British 1st Airborne Division was in desperate need of supplies. Flight Lieutenant Lord, flying Dakota III KG374 through intense enemy anti-aircraft fire was twice hit and had one engine burning. He managed to drop his supplies, but at the end of the run found that there were two containers remaining. Although he knew that one of his wings might collapse at any moment he nevertheless made a second run to drop the last supplies, then ordered his crew to bail out. A few seconds later the Dakota crashed in flames with its pilot and six crew.
Only the navigator, F/Lt Harold King survived, becoming a prisoner of war. It was only on his release in mid 1945 that the story of Lord's action was known, and David Lord was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. David Lord is buried alongside his crew in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, near Arnhem.
Read more about this topic: David Lord, Battle of Arnhem
Famous quotes containing the word flights:
“A noble soul is not the one that can manage the highest flights but the one that rises very little and falls very little but always dwells in a free, resplendent atmosphere and altitude.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)