history · 30 March 1944 · 80 years ago
On the fatal Nürnberg, Germany raid, one of the aircraft was flown by British Pilot Officer Cyril Barton of 578 Squadron. Badly shot up on the way to the target, his Halifax bomber managed to bomb the target and made its way back to England before his fuel ran out. Barton sucessfully crash-landed his aircraft on dead engines, thus saving his crew, but was so fatally wounded himself that he died on his way to hospital. Barton was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
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