Reddit reviews BOMBER BOYS

My grandfather served with Bomber Command, the RAF's equivalent, so I've read a little about it and listened to his stories. More than half of those who served were killed - it was indeed one of the most dangerous jobs you could do. In 1943 you had a 1 in 6 chance of surviving your first tour, and 1 in 40 of making it through a second.

All RAF bomber crew were volunteers. My grandfather himself signed up because he was in the queue for the Navy and saw an RAF recruiting poster which made it sound glamorous.

Some men did break under the strain and they would be declared LMF - lack of moral fibre. They wouldn't be shot or imprisoned, although they would often be branded a coward and would immediately be moved away from the squadron to menial duties or something else out of the way. The exact details, of course, varied by case.

I asked my grandfather how he stood it and he said he always thought 'it would never happen to him' despite the odds; he was known as 'Lucky Smith'. This sort of youthful belief in immortality and superstition has I guess sustained combatants in dangerous situations throughout history.

This page has more on LMF, and if you would like to get more into what life was like on Bomber Command I highly recommend this book.

Other than info I can get from my father, I have only read this book. I remember it saying they were trained to do it because of the problems of hearing names wrong or crew with the same name.


No doubt many crews did refer to each by names and not roles though. It probably differed from plane to plane and squadron to squadron.