Norman Cyril Jackson

Climbed onto a burning bomber wing to save his fellow airmen

Norman Cyril Jackson was born in Ealing, Middlesex, on 8 April 1919 and adopted in infancy by the Gunter family. He grew up in Twickenham, attended Archdeacon Cambridge School and trained as a fitter and turner. Although engineering was a reserved occupation, he volunteered for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in October 1939. He served as an engine fitter with No. 95 Squadron's Sunderland flying boats at Freetown, Sierra Leone, before returning to Britain in September 1942 to train as a flight engineer. That December he married Alma Lilian Peake.

Promoted to sergeant, Jackson joined No. 106 Squadron in July 1943. Flying Lancasters with Flying Officer Frederick Mifflin's crew, he operated from Syerston and then Metheringham against targets including Berlin. He completed thirty operational sorties on 24 April 1944, but one had been flown with another crew. He volunteered for an additional operation so that his regular companions could finish their tour together.

On the night of 26/27 April 1944, their Lancaster was attacked after bombing Schweinfurt. Already wounded, Jackson climbed outside with a fire extinguisher to tackle a blaze on the starboard wing. His parachute opened inside the aircraft and his companions held its rigging lines as he moved aft. Severely burned, he was swept from the wing and descended beneath the damaged parachute. The aircraft was lost. Jackson and four other crewmen survived; Mifflin and the rear gunner died.

Captured after reaching a village, Jackson spent ten months in hospital before transfer to a prisoner-of-war camp. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, he eventually escaped and reached American troops. He returned to Britain in 1945 with lasting damage to his hands. His surviving crewmates' evidence brought his action to official attention. His promotion to temporary warrant officer had taken effect on 19 June 1945. His Victoria Cross was announced on 26 October 1945. King George VI presented the decoration at Buckingham Palace on 13 November, when Leonard Cheshire also received his VC.

Released from full-time RAF service in May 1946, Jackson worked as a travelling salesman for Haig whisky. He and Alma raised four sons and three daughters. Despite his damaged hands, he helped build their home at Hampton Hill. He attended Victoria Cross and George Cross Association reunions and signed aviation prints to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund. When Alma became disabled following a stroke in the late 1970s, he and their family helped her continue attending reunions with him. Jackson died at Hampton Hill on 26 March 1994, aged seventy-four, and was buried in Twickenham Cemetery.

Official Victoria Cross citation London Gazette, 26 October 1945, issue 37324, page 5233

Air Ministry, 26th October, 1945.

The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the under-mentioned airman in recognition of most conspicuous bravery:

905192 Sergeant (now Warrant Officer) Norman Cyril JACKSON, R.A.F.V.R., 106 Squadron.

This airman was the flight engineer in a Lancaster detailed to attack Schweinfurt on the night of 26th April, 1944. Bombs were dropped successfully and the aircraft was climbing out of the target area. Suddenly it was attacked by a fighter at about 20,000 feet. The captain took evading action at once, but the enemy secured many hits. A fire started near a petrol tank on the upper surface of the starboard wing, between the fuselage and the inner engine.

Sergeant Jackson was thrown to the floor during the engagement. Wounds which he received from shell splinters in the right leg and shoulder were probably sustained at that time. Recovering himself, he remarked that he could deal with the fire on the wing and obtained his captain's permission to try to put out the flames.

Pushing a hand fire-extinguisher into the top of his life-saving jacket and clipping on his parachute pack, Sergeant Jackson jettisoned the escape hatch above the pilot's head. He then started to climb out of the cockpit and back along the top of the fuselage to the starboard wing. Before he could leave the fuselage his parachute pack opened and the whole canopy and rigging lines spilled into the cockpit.

Undeterred, Sergeant Jackson continued. The pilot, bomb aimer and navigator gathered the parachute together and held on to the rigging lines, paying them out as the airman crawled aft. Eventually he slipped and, falling from the fuselage to the starboard wing, grasped an air intake on the leading edge of the wing. He succeeded in clinging on but lost the extinguisher, which was blown away.

By this time, the fire had spread rapidly and Sergeant Jackson was involved. His face, hands and clothing were severely burnt. Unable to retain his hold, he was swept through the flames and over the trailing edge of the wing, dragging his parachute behind. When last seen it was only partly inflated and was burning in a number of places.

Realising that the fire could not be controlled, the captain gave the order to abandon aircraft. Four of the remaining members of the crew landed safely. The captain and rear gunner have not been accounted for.

Sergeant Jackson was unable to control his descent and landed heavily. He sustained a broken ankle, his right eye was closed through burns and his hands were useless. These injuries, together with the wounds received earlier, reduced him to a pitiable state. At daybreak he crawled to the nearest village, where he was taken prisoner. He bore the intense pain and discomfort of the journey to Dulag Luft with magnificent fortitude. After 10 months in hospital he made a good recovery, though his hands require further treatment and are only of limited use.

This airman's attempt to extingush the fire and save the aircraft and crew from falling into enemy hands was an act of outstanding gallantry. To venture outside, when travelling at 200 miles an hour, at a great height and in intense cold, was an almost incredible feat. Had he succeeded in subduing the flames, there was little or no prospect of his regaining the cockpit. The spilling of his parachute and the risk of grave damage to its canopy reduced his chances of survival to a minimum. By his ready willingness to face these dangers he set an example of self-sacrifice which will ever be remembered.