192 AWARDED FOR VALOUR
Every other aerial Cross went to bomber missions, either for cumulative
command achievement, striking a high-profile target, or in connection with
actions that allowed crippled aircraft or wounded bomber crews to continue
their mission, thus validating the maxim that the bomber would always get
through.
Typical of the RAF Victoria Cross for the Second World War is the citation
of Squadron Leader Arthur Stewart King Scarf, including the posthumous
notation:
On 9 December 1941 in Malaya, near the Siam border, all available aircraft
had been ordered to make a daylight raid on Singora, in Siam. Squadron
Leader Scarf, as leader of the raid, had just taken off from the base at
Butterworth when enemy aircraft swept in destroying or disabling all of
the rest of the machines. The Squadron Leader decided nevertheless to fly
alone to Singora. Despite attacks from roving fighters he completed his
bombing run and was on his way back when his aircraft became riddled
with bullets and he was severely wounded. He managed to crash-land the
Blenheim at Alor Star, without causing any injury to his crew, and was
rushed to hospital where he died two hours later.^20
Even more to the point is the Victoria Cross granted to Squadron Leader
John Dering Nettleton for the 17 April 1942 daylight raid on the Maschinen-
fabrik Augsburg Nuremberg Gesellschaft – the famed Augsburg Raid.^21 Soon
after taking over Bomber Command, Harris was eager to prove that Britain
could best be served by bombing the means of production rather than
sending his planes after the products themselves. The proper role of Bomber
Command in the war effort was under debate in the spring of 1942. On
16 April the War Cabinet appointed an independent arbiter to evaluate the
RAF’s potential based on past experience with both German and British
aerial operations. Harris needed to demonstrate Bomber Command’s ability
to strike targets deep in enemy territory precisely and effectively. He sorted
through available high-profile targets and decided to hit Augsburg.^22 In this
instance, he wanted a surgical strike against the engine assembly building
where U-boat diesels were put together rather than continuing the coastal
raids on the U-boat bases.^23 The target was far beyond the range of a fighter
escort, but the operational order cheerfully explained that the new Lancasters
should expect little trouble:
The heavy bomber carries a powerful defensive armament, it is capable
of comparatively high speeds, and it has a long range. Operating in
lily
(lily)
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