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William Reid

Уильям Рид

1921 – 2001

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Biography

Acting Flight Lieutenant William Reid earned the Victoria Cross for extraordinary courage during a bombing raid on Düsseldorf on 3 November 1943. His Lancaster was attacked twice by German fighters on the way to the target. The windscreen was shattered, the turret put out of action, the navigator killed, and Reid himself was wounded in the head, shoulder, and hand. Despite his injuries and the damaged aircraft, he pressed on to the target, bombed accurately, and flew the crippled Lancaster back to England, crash-landing at an American airfield. He later survived being shot down over France and spent time as a POW. After the war, he settled near Manchester and worked as an agricultural advisor.

Biography (Russian)

Лейтенант авиации Уильям Рид получил Крест Виктории за мужество во время бомбардировки Дюссельдорфа 3 ноября 1943 года. Несмотря на ранения в голову, плечо и руку, он продолжил полёт к цели, точно отбомбился и вернул повреждённый «Ланкастер» в Англию.