A DISTINGUISHED wartime pilot who flew 59 missions with Bomber Command has passed away aged 90.
Captain James Bowman, known as Jim, was one of the few survivors of the Second World War campaign, and prior to his recent death, was believed to be one of the last veterans in his area of bomber command.
Jim won the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, receiving it from King George VI at Buckingham Palace.
He successfully ditched or crash landed three times, firstly after fog enveloped his airfield in North Africa in 1941 and also during August 1943, when a German night fighter shot out the hydraulics, radio and electrics of his Halifax but, he managed to bring it safely home.
And, after being hit by flak in 1943, he managed to ditch in the North Sea at 3am in thick mist.
His missions included attacking the V1 and V2 sites and he finished the war as a Flight Lieutenant on Mosquito bombers with the elite pathfinder force.
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/1 ... r_captain/
Tom
