Last of the Dambusters takes to the skies

STACY SQUIRES/The Press

LES MUNRO: Last of the Dambusters.

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The last Dambuster pilot still looks comfortable at the controls of a World War II plane.

Les Munro sat in the pilot's seat briefly yesterday, after a 30-minute flight over Christchurch in the Southern DC3 Trust's 1944 ex-air force Douglas Dakota.

Instead of bombs for payload, he had passengers – fellow World War II airmen of the Canterbury Brevet Club, and guests.

The former Lancaster bomber pilot and his partner, Christine Ross, are in Christchurch to attend the Mainland Arms and Militaria Gun Show at Riccarton Raceway today.

Munro, 91, is the last surviving pilot of 19 who took off on May 17, 1943, to bomb three dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley. His plane was one of 11 that returned. The raid became celebrated in print and film as The Dam Busters.

The retired farmer and local body politician of Tauranga said the DC3 flight was "very nice", mainly because he could "listen to the motors and get a sense of flying in a machine".

He had opted to fly bombers after pilot training because he was "of a conservative nature".

Fighter pilots were seen as more dashing and daring.

This nature showed when he turned his plane back to England after it was badly damaged by flak over the Netherlands on the Dambuster raid. All its communications systems were destroyed and the crew agreed they could not continue on to the target.

The responsibility to bring his crew of six home from each mission weighed heavily on him at first. However, he had become accustomed to it and "just got on and did the job". He felt leadership came to him easily.

Munro completed many missions and won the DSO and DFC for bravery. He once cited dropping of aluminium foil strips to block German radar before the D-Day invasion of Normandy as his most significant operation.

Munro has flown to England for several reunions with his old mates.

He will give a presentation and sign books at the gun show this afternoon.

- © Fairfax NZ News