A truly remarkable story

 After our doggie walk this morning I had my routine diabetic retinal screening test.
Back home for a spot of lunch then out to the caravan accessories shop to see about an awning for Phoebe, on our way we passed this huge mural in Carnaby, 

Royal Air Force Carnaby or more simply RAF Carnaby is a former Royal Air Force emergency landing strip that offered crippled bombers a safe place to land near the English coast during the Second World War. It was situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire.

THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF
SGT. SMITH
On the of 8/9th April 1945, a Halifax Ill bomber from No 58 Squadron, skippered by F/Lt Lawson was
sent on a bombing mission. Their target was a merchant ship just off the Norwegian coastline. After
bombing the ship, the photoflash bomb exploded immediately under the aircraft, destroying their H2S
navigation equipment and leaving a 12-foot hole in the fuselage, badly damaging the aircraft. Crew
member WOP/AG Sgt Frank Smith fell through the hole and was presumed missing, lost at sea.
With the aircraft badly damaged and no sign of Sgt Smith, there was little that the skipper or crew could
do to save their colleague. They had no choice but to head for home. The skipper knew he would
struggle to make it back to their own base and so altered course, setting his astro compass up on
Polaris, and headed for RAF Carnaby.
They called up RAF Carnaby when they reached the Yorkshire coast but due to a fog bound runway
were advised to go elsewhere. With fuel gauges on zero, F/Lt Lawson had no choice but to make an
emergency landing. RAF Carnaby then relented and ordered FIDO to be turned on to aid a safe landing
for the distressed aircraft.
The Halifax approached the runway with no flaps and at a speed of 140 knots. Flanked by rows of
burning fuel they touched down in the middle of the 3,500-yard runway, braking hard. Once down,
FIDO was immediately extinguished, and they sat in darkness for a few minutes until the emergency
crew arrived,
Upon disembarking, they discovered their missing crew member, Sgt Smith, suspended beneath the
aircraft, saved by the D-ring on his parachute harness, which had elongated by 50%. He had spent
over three hours dangling perilously under the aircraft whilst flying back over the icy cold North Sea. Sgt Smith was apparently still smiling upon being rescued! He made a good recovery after spending 48 hours in the Station's Sick Quarters.