Hi Anne,
it is very difficult and very wide theme...
From my experience, books and meetings with veterans, there is a lot of stories, just few examples:
- a Spitfire pilot leaving for leave was asked by mechanic to test his Spitfire. Why returning he recognized that the squadron is leaving for escort and one Spitfire returned for engine problem. He joined his unit, was shot down and parachuted to the safety in the uniform with Czechoslovakia flashes and pocket full of IDs..
- one bomber airman was going for his 13th sortie and the unit was sending 13 planes - he told to his comrade that he does not like the number 13... This night the unit lost 13 men, he was one of them...
- there was a one air gunner who on Refresh course said to the course leader that he is leaving for his unit that the plane he was ordered in for training will crash... when he got to his unit his CO was informed that the plane really crashed...
- the same AG than was flying with different crews time to time changing them... some captains asked him to join them but he refused few times - those crew did not returned...
- Squadron CO flying on the first patrol on Liberator after re-arming did not returned and when his room was opened there was lying an envelope inscribe "my last will". His batman told that this was for the first time the CO done this...
And there are many more stories like those...
Generally some of them have really bad feeling that something will happened on the particular night and they were right.
Pavel
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