Some dudes are just born to be hardfucks.
On 15 September 1940, Flight Sergeant John Hannah was the wireless operator and air gunner in a Hampden bomber that was carrying out a raid on German invasion barges at Antwerp, Belgium.
After releasing its bombs, the plane quickly came under attack from AA guns. It took a direct hit, which started a fierce fire that soon engulfed the whole fuselage.
The rear gunner bailed out after the floor melted beneath him in the intense heat. Surrounded by flames, Hannah would have been justified in following him, but instead, he began trying to put out the fire with the aircraft’s two fire extinguishers.
When those were empty, he used his log book and then his own hands to stop the spread of the blaze. He worked for 10 minutes in the blistering heat, as ammunition exploded around him.
Hannah managed to stop the fire, but suffered burns to his eyes and face in the process. He then crawled through to the pilot to tell him the inferno was out. On discovering they were the only two left on board, Hannah took over the navigation while the pilot flew the badly-damaged bomber back to their base.
Hannah was taken to hospital for emergency treatment where he learned on 1 October that he had been awarded a Victoria Cross.
He was just 18 years old at the time.
Hannah recovered and remained in the RAF, but contracted tuberculosis and was discharged in 1942. He died just five years later and is buried in Leicester. At his funeral, his balls had a separate eulogy. #ww2 #uk #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #raf #skymiles