What a man. Grp Cpt Mike Stephens

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/britain-at-war/9334990/Medals-of-the-ace-who-never-knew-he-was-beaten.html

Squadron Leader Mike Stephens was climbing out of his burning Hurricane high above the Western Desert. He had been injured in both feet and much of his fighter’s engine and half the cockpit had been shot away by an enemy aircraft.
But when the Luftwaffe pilot who had attacked him flew past, Stephens climbed back into his plane and shot the enemy Messerschmitt down.
It was only then that he jumped to safety, and by that stage he was on fire himself. He beat the flames out as he parachuted to the ground, landing just 300 yards from the German front line. He hobbled towards friendly lines in the Western Desert before being picked up by Polish troops.

Returning from his final sortie in France he had 6in shot off one of his propeller blades but landed the unsteady machine at the airfield.
When told that he could not take off with the propeller damage and the plane would have to be destroyed, he had 6in taken off the other end of the propeller and flew it back to Britain.

He wrote: “Squirting 109 good and proper, got him smoking when a Spit (Stead) pulled up in front of me, so had to stop. Shot the port wing off another at 7,000, then later was bounced by a 109 who damaged my engine. Flew on a little way and then had to bail out. Trouble with dinghy, picked up after 3 hours. Moral – know your dinghy drill!”
He did not add that the dinghy operation was made especially difficult by the fact that he kept his left hand in the air throughout because he was wearing a watch that his parents had bought him and he did not want to break it.

😀