| Accession Number | S00113 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Sound |
| Measurement | 16 min 49 sec |
| Object type | Oral history |
| Physical description | audio cassette; brand unknown C 60; mono |
| Maker |
Herman, Joseph Bernard Petersen, Jack |
| Date made | 5 March 1980 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Joseph B. Herman as a Flight Lieutenant pilot, 466 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), relates his experience of bailing out of his Halifax aircraft without a parachute during air operations over Germany in 1944.
Description
Recording of the audio of a story broadcast on the television current affairs program "Today Tonight". Narrated by Jack Petersen from the Queensland Air Museum and Aviation Historical Society of Australia. Joe Herman relates falling from his 466 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Halifax bomber without a parachute; aircraft disintergrates around him and he falls 12,000 feet; flying Halifax bomber at 7.30pm on 32nd operation; target Ruhr Valley; Joe didn't put on his parachute; dropped bombs on target; flying 18,000 feet; aircraft takes a direct hit; bomber on fire, hit a second time; tells crew to bail out; conscious during descent; hits mid-upper gunner during fall at about 5,000 feet; gunner is unconscious and Joe clings to his legs for descent to ground; evades Germans for four days; capture by Germans and 6 months as a prisoner of war (POW); enlisted RAAF in 1941; flew commercial aircraft postwar and crop dusting. END TAPE
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Listen to
Joseph B. Herman as a Flight Lieutenant pilot, 466 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), relates his experience of bailing out of his Halifax aircraft without a parachute during air operations over Germany in 1944.
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