"Happy Dog" wrote in message
...
"Michael Ash" wrote in
In rec.arts.sf.science wrote:
Douglas Bader lost both legs in a pre-WWII flying accident, and
re-enlisted at the start of the war. He claimed he could pull more g's
in his Spitfire, 'cause there was no place for the blood to pool!

Not to change the subject, but I'm curious as to how a legless pilot
fares
in combat conditions. Rudder control is pretty essential when flying,
particularly in powerful propellor-driven planes like WWII-era fighters,
and normally that's all done with the feet. Did he have something special
rigged so that he could operate the rudders with his hands?

Wondered about that too. I don't know that you could do a safe takeoff
without rudder in a Spitfire.

moo

Bader had artificial legs. They almost resulted in his death, when one or
both of them got hung when he was trying to escape a crippled Spitfire over
France. He managed to escape the aircraft leaving both (?) of the legs
behind. The Germans found his aircraft wreckage and returned the somewhat
worse for the wear legs to him..