During this period he shared a bleak Nissen hut with his Canadian colleague, "Shady" Lane. The winter of 1942-43 was especially cold, and both men were anxious to avoid being the last into bed, and thus responsible for switching out the lights. Eventually Cribb circumvented this problem by shooting them out instead with his .38 revolver. Due to the cold and an alcoholic haze, he frequently missed. In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"

OMG that is fabulous. :D

May he rest in peace. At least now he'll be free of carrying the weight of his giant brass cojones around.

vossiewulf: Squadron Leader : It's perfectly ordinary banter, Squiffy. Bally Jerry ... pranged his kite right in the how's yer father ... hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie.

Bovril: No, I'm just not understanding banter at all well today. Give us it slower.

/oblig

Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
Grab your egg and fours and let's get the bacon delivered.

In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"


This guy was so awesome that he had his own goddamn Batman!

Dear American,

"a little how's-your-father" is a euphemism for sex.

Are you suggesting he secretly flew to Germany to make the two-backed beast with Hitler?

Petit_Merdeux: In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"


This guy was so awesome that he had his own goddamn Batman!

Yea, although he sounds a bit more like Alfred. Which, coincidentally, is how i heard "shall I reload, sir?" in my head.

Bungles: Dear American,

"a little how's-your-father" is a euphemism for sex.

Are you suggesting he secretly flew to Germany to make the two-backed beast with Hitler?

I believe subby was referencing the python bit known as 'RAF banter'... "bally jerry pranged his kite right in the how's your father". as referenced in the second post...

/banters not the same if you say it slower, squiffy.

From all of us...THANK YOU GOOD SIR!!!

Petit_Merdeux: In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"


This guy was so awesome that he had his own goddamn Batman!

Not only did he have his own Batman, the goddamned Batman was his butler!

Bungles: "a little how's-your-father" is a euphemism for sex.

What's a "sticky birdy" then?

/ don't really want to know

chaosweaver: Petit_Merdeux: In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"


This guy was so awesome that he had his own goddamn Batman!

Yea, although he sounds a bit more like Alfred. Which, coincidentally, is how i heard "shall I reload, sir?" in my head.

Actually his name was "Woodhouse."

Interesting. You hear about fighter aces all the time, but very rarely about master bombers, who are, IMHO, more interesting. Nice find, Subby.

dittybopper: Sofa King Smart: Bungles: Dear American,

"a little how's-your-father" is a euphemism for sex.

Are you suggesting he secretly flew to Germany to make the two-backed beast with Hitler?

I believe subby was referencing the python bit known as 'RAF banter'... "bally jerry pranged his kite right in the how's your father". as referenced in the second post...

/banters not the same if you say it slower, squiffy.

One might almost call it poetic, if poetry wasn't the last refuge of the bearded, cricket-hating sodomite.

OMG that was about the funniest thing i've seen in a year.

"Reverend, you got balls big as church bells." Right? Damn Right!

Magnificent bastard, indeed.

fascinating

Speedofdarkness: The winter of 1942-43 was especially cold, and both men were anxious to avoid being the last into bed, and thus responsible for switching out the lights. Eventually Cribb circumvented this problem by shooting them out instead with his .38 revolver. Due to the cold and an alcoholic haze, he frequently missed. In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"

Came here to post that.

Thank you for your service, good sir. I shall raise a glass to you later.

This guy's story deserves to be a movie.

Tachikoma: Petit_Merdeux: In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"


This guy was so awesome that he had his own goddamn Batman!

Not only did he have his own Batman, the goddamned Batman was his butler!

This!

/Where the hell are these guys today?

Almost as heroic is the fact that the article only spans ONE PAGE!

I like the British Bomber pilot that used try and bomb the Tirpitz in a Mosquito during his spare time. He had a dog too I think. What was his name?

lelio: Bungles: "a little how's-your-father" is a euphemism for sex.

What's a "sticky birdy" then?

/ don't really want to know

Dickie birdy; that's the line; a dickie bird, apparently, is a small bird, some what like a parakeet, or it can be used to describe small(read baby) birds.

Ex. When Elinor fed her dickie bird; the dickie bird trilled with delight.

2nd ex. Elinor saw 3 ickle dickie birds by the side of the road on her way home from work.

Ickle is british for cute I guess

Ni!: During this period he shared a bleak Nissen hut with his Canadian colleague, "Shady" Lane. The winter of 1942-43 was especially cold, and both men were anxious to avoid being the last into bed, and thus responsible for switching out the lights. Eventually Cribb circumvented this problem by shooting them out instead with his .38 revolver. Due to the cold and an alcoholic haze, he frequently missed. In the morning his batman would wake him with a cup of tea and inquire: "Shall I reload, sir?"

OMG that is fabulous. :D

OMG, cubed.

Godspeed Air Commodore Cribb. We'll not be seeing your like again anytime soon. And more's the pity.

P8ntfotch:
This!

/Where the hell are these guys today?

Well dead, mostly.

FTFA: On promotion to group captain at the age of 25

Holy carp.

Group Captain is the equivalent of a full Colonel or a navy Captain. Nowadays at age 25 most officers are Pilot Officers or Flight Officers - equiv. to 2nd Lieutenants (pronounced "leftenant", at least in civilized countries) or Lieutenants, respectively. A full four or five ranks below Group Captain.

This recounting of WWII actions begs the question: why can't we blast our enemies to kingdom come and get our boys and girls home safely?

threedingers: FTFA: On promotion to group captain at the age of 25

Holy carp.

Group Captain is the equivalent of a full Colonel or a navy Captain. Nowadays at age 25 most officers are Pilot Officers or Flight Officers - equiv. to 2nd Lieutenants (pronounced "leftenant", at least in civilized countries) or Lieutenants, respectively. A full four or five ranks below Group Captain.

Thus the traditional British military toast "Here's to a bloody wars and sickly seasons." Either meaning the death of many officers and therefore swift promotions for the survivors.

Cabbage crates coming over the briny?

"Determined not to miss this final attempt to eliminate Hitler, Cribb commandeered a Lancaster and some bombs..."

commandeered a Lancaster and some bombs

Outstanding. "I'll take that plane...um...those carts of ordnance (be a good chap and load those up, what)...and, let's see who's hanging around the O-club right now...hey, fellows, anyone want to join me on a jaunt to Berchestgaden? It should be a jolly smashing time!"

Love it. Godspeed bomby man.

Filled with cheeful murder, these fellows, and we live in a better world for it.

FTFA
Bad weather and a smoke screen severely hampered the low-level attack and the force returned the following day. As he approached in poor visibility, Cribb's Halifax hit the sea and the tail wheel was ripped off. After he had landed the intelligence officer asked him at what height he had delivered his attack. Cribb replied: "I don't know. The altimeter reads in feet, not fathoms."

Niiiiice. I picture him calmly putting his helmet under his arm, lighting up a cigar and walking away while his plane sits there with no rear wheel, the underside of the plane missing 3 square feet of metal, and possibly leaking something onto the runway. A fish falls out of the hole and starts flopping on the ground.

As he walks off, he doesn't merely WALK, but struts, a la John Travolta.

haha going off to bomb hitler is the best anything has ever tried to hide from their boss.

Dude was nothing short of aces.

threedingers: FTFA: On promotion to group captain at the age of 25

Holy carp.

Group Captain is the equivalent of a full Colonel or a navy Captain. Nowadays at age 25 most officers are Pilot Officers or Flight Officers - equiv. to 2nd Lieutenants (pronounced "leftenant", at least in civilized countries) or Lieutenants, respectively. A full four or five ranks below Group Captain.

There's a reason junior officers toast to "Bloody wars and sickly seasons".

There's also a reason one should RTFT...

But yes, these guys rose fast. The "Old Man" who commanded the Dambusters raid was all of 24.