Douglas Bader, the RAF ace of who took on the Luftwaffe with 2 prosthetic legs.
After joining the RAF in 1928, Bader had a special talent for flying, pissing off his command and non fuckery. Not believing in rules or safety, he often performed very dangerous maneuvers just because he lived on the edge.
Unfortunately, in 1931, while attempting some aerobatics, he crashed and lost both his legs. After been on the brink of death and receiving prosthetic legs, he recovered, retook flight training, passed his check flights and then requested reactivation as a pilot.
Although there were no regulations applicable to his situation, he was retired against his will on medical grounds.
After the outbreak of WW2, Bader returned to the RAF and was eventually accepted as a pilot.
He fought in every major air battle from Dunkirk to the Battle of Britain, scoring 22 aerial victories and even becoming wing commander.
It was thought that Bader's success as a fighter pilot was partly because of his having no legs; pilots pulling high g-forces in combat turns often blacked out as the flow of blood from the brain drained to other parts of the body, usually the legs. As Bader had no legs he could remain conscious longer, and thus had an advantage over more able-bodied opponents.
In 1941, he was shot down over France and was immediately captured by the enemy.
The Germans treated Bader with great respect. When he bailed out, he had lost his right prosthetic leg, so a German General notified the British of his missing leg and offered them safe passage to drop off a replacement. Hermann Göring himself gave the green light for the operation.
The British responded on 19 August 1941 with the "Leg Operation" — an RAF bomber was allowed to drop a new prosthetic leg by parachute to St Omer, France and was escorted by 6 other bombers. The Germans were less impressed when, task done, the British bombers just kept flying and bombed a power station near by.
While in captivity, he made so many escape attempts that the Germans threatened to take away his legs. Finally, he was sent to Colditz until the end of the war.
Bader survived the war and passed away in 1982. #hardfuck #ww2