Bale Out 1943

BAIL-OUT - BALE-OUT

PLEASE NOTE THIS PAGE IS ADDED TO ON AN IRREGULAR BASIS

This section of the website is dedicated to those aircrew who did not use ejection seats to egress from their aircraft. They used conventional bail outs using parachute and ripcord. Most were successful, for some the outcome was fatal. The performance dynamics of their aircraft made successful escape without mechanical assistance less certain. Assisted escape systems were needed to give the maximum chance of survival.

Date	crew who bailed out	position	notes	status	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	mission	cause	crashed
2nd January 1943	Anton “Toni” Hafner	pilot	bailed out hit the rudder of his plane, sustained splinter fracture of his hand	wounded	Luftwaffe	Bf 109 G-2	(WkNr. 13 985)	II./JG 51		Combat - probably shot down by Robert Oxspring 72 Sqn RAF	Mediterranean


23rd / 24th January 1943	Sgt R.M.Kidd RNZAF (1207)	pilot	bailed out	Evaded Links	RNZAF	Short Stirling Mk.1	R9248 AA-H	No. 75 Sqn Newmarket	Mission to bomb U-boat pens in Lorient	Combat - hit by anti aircraft fire on return from bombing raid. All control surfaces on Port wing shot away.	Saint-Thégonnec Finistère, 11 km SE of Morlaix. France
23rd / 24th January 1943	Six of the crew were KIA Full crew details				RNZAF	Short Stirling Mk.1	R9248 AA-H	No. 75 Sqn Newmarket	Mission to bomb U-boat pens in Lorient

6th March 1943	Starshii Leitenant Ivan Kholodov	pilot	bailed out	OK	Soviet	LaGG-3		32 GIAP, VVS		In combat rammed Bf 109 G-2 (W.Nr. 14236) “Yellow 4” flown by Leutnant Beisswenger who was killed	Eastern Front, near Lake Ilmen, Russia

19th March 1943	Guards Senior Lt. Tamara Pamyatnykh	pilot (female)	bailed out attempted to slice into a bomber when her ammunition ran out	slightly wounded	Soviet Air Force	Yak-1		568th IAP Pridacha, Voronezh		Combat with German Do-215 and Ju-88 bombers attacking railway junction - hit by heavy machine gun fire.	Kastornoye Railway Station, Russia
?? May 1943	Chief Test Pilot Bernard Wilson	pilot	bailed out	OK	Lockheed Corporation	Lockheed Thunderbolt			Test flying		Lockheed Corporation, Liverpool Airport, England
After September 1943 ????	Gruppenkommandeur Hauptmann Barkhorn	pilot	bailed out shot down nine times in his combat career. Baled out once	OK / wounded ???	Luftwaffe			II./JG 52
photo Michael Matthews via Mrs. F. "Paddy" Matthews The crew of RAF Bomber Command Stirling III LJ454, 623 Sqn Downham Market - all parachuted safely and became PoWs
18th/19th November 1943	crew above				RAF	Stirling III	LJ454 IC-E	623 Sqn Downham Market take-off 17:15		Hit by Flak over target at 19:00 - Flew on for a couple of hours crashing in a field near Mönchengladbach at 20:00	Mannheim Germany
	P/O H A Gourlie RCAF	co-pilot	bailed out	POW
	Sgt Les S Milnthorp		bailed out	POW
	Sgt Les C Ashplant		bailed out	POW
	F/O C Ray Bennett RAAF	pilot	bailed out	POW
	Sgt Frank K Matthews	air gunner	bailed out	POW
	Sgt William "Bill" E Hutchings		bailed out	POW
	P/O John "Johnny" H. Smyth (South African)		bailed out	POW
18th December 1943	Oberleutnant Franz Eisenach	pilot	bailed out seriously wonded	wounded	Luftwaffe	Fw 190A-6 "Yellow 3"	W.Nr. 530 391	3./JG 54		Combat with Il-2 Sturmoviks when he was hit by flak	possibly near Krasnogvardeisk on the Eastern Front
8th March 1943	Lieutenant M. Bentel	pilot	bailed out		RAF South African Air Force	Airspeed AS.10 Oxford	No 70	Flying Squadron, No. 44 Air School Grahamstown South African Air Force	Training Night High level bombing	could not land owing to low cloud	Abandoned A/C over Riebeek West
	Goodman		bailed out
	Currie		bailed out
Date	crew who bailed out	position	notes	status	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	mission	cause	crashed