Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance crew pay tribute to a famous Lancaster Bomber S-Sugar as part of the D-Day celebrations.
An air ambulance team has paid tribute to a special Lancaster Bomber as part of the D-Day celebrations.
After discovering the history behind its helipad site, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) decided to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day by sharing its story.
One of the team’s pilots, Cpt Tim Taylor, began to investigate the past of the LNAA’s former site at RAF Waddington, where its helipad is currently situated.
He uncovered that there was once a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron based there named the No 467 Squadron which flew for operations in Occupied Europe until the end of the Second World War.
It gained a reputation for its accurate raids on Germany, France and Italy between 1943 and 1945 and fourteen of the squadron’s Lancasters took part in the D-Day operations.
Each with its own disposal unit, the site at Waddington is believed to have housed the famous S-Sugar plane.
“The plane’s nose art depicted rows of bombs, one for each operation completed,” said Martin Willoughby, whose late father Ted served on the plane.
“Over the course of the war, the rows grew as Sugar consistently returned from each mission.”
On the night of May 11 and 12, 1944, the Lancaster completed its 100th mission and became the first allied bomber to reach this milestone.
“Prior to loading the bombs, Ted chalked ‘100 not out’ on one of them,” Martin added.
“Sugar returned - it had sustained attacks from two German planes for 10 minutes but cooperation between crews in the skies enabled this veteran plane to escape.”
The plane went on to complete 137 missions by the end of the war and took part in a raid of German coastal batteries as part of the D-Day operations on June 6.
“During the mid-1960s Ted embarked on his own mission to find his beloved plane,” Martin said.
“In 1969, he heard about a Lancaster which stood at the entrance to RAF Scampton that may be Sugar.
“Turning into the gates, the familiar nose art with the bombs came into view and Ted could not believe it.
“His Lancaster had survived everything, even the scrap yard, where so many Lancasters went to after the war.
“Thanks to Ted, Sugar was fully restored and today, this legend from the Second World War proudly dominates the entrance to Bomber Command Hall, RAF Museum Hendon.”