A CORNISHMAN who flew thousands of miles over Europe during 40 Allied bombing missions in the second world war has now settled closer to his roots and is enjoying the quieter life in Okehampton. John Mann, 82, was born in Fowey, but moved to Okehampton 12 months ago, where his daughter currently lives. His wife Rosie says John is very modest about his wartime experiences, but you don?t have to listen to John for very long to realise just how heroic his exploits were. John won the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) after displaying great courage when the Lancaster bomber in which he was a rear gunner, often known as a ?Tail End Charlie?, was hit by a German plane in a daylight raid near Dortmund on March 24, 1944. John said he felt lucky to have lived to tell the tale of the plane receiving a direct hit from the Germans in that raid. ?We were very lucky the machine kept flying, it certainly took some punishment. I was OK, apart from a few minor oil burns,? he said. John signed up at the age of 17 and a half years-old and he said the crews he flew with were all made up of young men. ?At the time, anyone over 25 would have been considered old,? he said. Growing up on the Cornish coast, boats were around John all the time and he had considered joining the Navy, but his father, who had been a pilot during the First World War, suggested he might join the air service instead. During his service, John was based at RAF Kirmington, the operational base for 166 squadron. John carried out 40 missions over European skies over an 18 month period towards the end of the war. After a 30 flight tour of duty, recruits were entitled to return to England to become training instructors, but John said the camaraderie and team spirit in the forces was such that he volunteered to become re-attached to a squadron and went on to make ten more flights. John said his family were very proud of him for winning the DFM but he just saw the decoration as part of his duty in serving his country. ?What can I say, you don?t look to acquire awards. It happens if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,? he said. John only made one more flight after his close call on that ill-fated raid in March 1944. ?Among the squadrons, there was a saying at the time: ?Flight will pass off regardless? but we used to say rewardless, because you would be flying sometimes for six or seven hours at night, at 40C below zero, with icicles hanging off your instruments.? John said how airmen coped with the frightening aspects of the missions depended on their emotional make-up. ?A lot went down with what was called LMF (lack of morale fibre). It all depended what sort of character you were. ?I think if you got past your first five ops, you got more experience and knew what to expect better, whereas inexperienced crews got into panic stations,? he said. John said in a combat situation, the British airmen tended not to think about the ordinary lives of their German counterparts. ?We were fighting for survival. It was them or us. If we could have met them over a pint of beer, we might have got along, but it was no holds barred when you were in the sky. It was a big game of hide and seek really, in the dark. If you saw them, you were probably going to be OK, if you did not see them at all, more often that not you would be shot down,? he said. Sadly, John sold his medal and log book after the war, though he does now own a replica of the DFM. John said he would like to be able to show the medals to his grandchildren, but it was sold at the time through necessity. ?Times were hard after the war and if you can?t pay the rent, there?s not much point in having a medal on the mantlepiece,? he explained. After the war John worked in engineering in the new town of Bracknell for Sperry Gyroscope Company and was involved in the Blue Streak missile development programme in the mid to late 1950s. The programme was eventually cancelled as it was left behind by technological advancements in the US and the Soviet Union. John said the Lancaster was a ?marvellous airplane? which ?flew like a bird?. John said one of the good things about flying in a Lancaster was that they were the only planes which could do a corkscrew ? a very useful manoeuvre if you were coming under attack from a German plane.
