Matt Braddock
Encyclopedia
Matt Braddock, VC
and bar, is a fictional World War II bomber
pilot
who appeared in the pages of the Victor and Rover comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his stories were published in book form as I Flew With Braddock.
Braddock was known for his fearless nature, superb piloting skills and no-nonsense attitude. He had no time for petty rules and regulations, and remained at the rank of sergeant
, refusing to be promoted to an officer
rank
. However this didn't stop him from standing up to incompetent superiors, or defending other enlisted men from overzealous courts-martial. He spent almost as much time clashing with superior officers as the Germans, and on two occasions in I Flew With Braddock he came fairly close to being court-martialled for assaulting a superior officer (although one incident was a misunderstanding and the other was under severe provocation). The narrator of these stories was his hero-worshipping navigator
, George Bourne.
Braddock was so highly regarded that he had carte blanche to pick his own flight crew, and was frequently called upon to advise high ranking commanders of the RAF
. Braddock flew several types of aircraft
, but his most prominent command was the Lancaster Bomber
"F Fox". At the start of I Flew With Braddock the crew was Braddock and Bourne, 'Ham' Hancox Co-pilot and Flight engineer
, Tom Tanner Bomb aimer, 'Nicker' Brown Radio operator, 'Hoppy' Robinson Mid-upper gunner, and Les Howe Tail gunner
. Les Howe clashed with Braddock early on and was replaced by 'Baa' Lamb, and later 'Hoppy' Robinson was badly injured in a raid and replaced by Arthur Atkins.
Some of Braddock's more outstanding exploits included:
I Flew With Braddock also included some genuine episodes in the British bomber offensive against Germany e.g. the first thousand bomber raid on Cologne
, and developments such as the GEE
navigation system, Pathfinder
units and the "Pink Pansy" incendiary bomb.
Braddock, in addition to his piloting abilities, was a skilled boxer
and champion level darts
player.
The author of these stories was not clearly stated (I Flew With Braddock just gave the author as "George Bourne", the fictional narrator) but is believed to be Gilbert Lawford Dalton
.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
and bar, is a fictional World War II bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
who appeared in the pages of the Victor and Rover comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his stories were published in book form as I Flew With Braddock.
Braddock was known for his fearless nature, superb piloting skills and no-nonsense attitude. He had no time for petty rules and regulations, and remained at the rank of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, refusing to be promoted to an officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
. However this didn't stop him from standing up to incompetent superiors, or defending other enlisted men from overzealous courts-martial. He spent almost as much time clashing with superior officers as the Germans, and on two occasions in I Flew With Braddock he came fairly close to being court-martialled for assaulting a superior officer (although one incident was a misunderstanding and the other was under severe provocation). The narrator of these stories was his hero-worshipping navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
, George Bourne.
Braddock was so highly regarded that he had carte blanche to pick his own flight crew, and was frequently called upon to advise high ranking commanders of the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Braddock flew several types of aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, but his most prominent command was the Lancaster Bomber
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
"F Fox". At the start of I Flew With Braddock the crew was Braddock and Bourne, 'Ham' Hancox Co-pilot and Flight engineer
Flight engineer
Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
, Tom Tanner Bomb aimer, 'Nicker' Brown Radio operator, 'Hoppy' Robinson Mid-upper gunner, and Les Howe Tail gunner
Tail gunner
A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun emplacement on either the top or tail end of the aircraft with a generally...
. Les Howe clashed with Braddock early on and was replaced by 'Baa' Lamb, and later 'Hoppy' Robinson was badly injured in a raid and replaced by Arthur Atkins.
Some of Braddock's more outstanding exploits included:
- Sinking a U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
with a rocket armed MosquitoDe Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
fighter-bomberFighter-bomberA fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
. - Bombing PeenemündePeenemündeThe Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
, severely setting back German rocketry experiments. - Successfully transversing the AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
to attack an ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
port, after the entire raid had been scrubbed due to hazardous weather. - Shooting down a German fighterFighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
with a flare gunFlare gunA flare gun is a firearm that launches flares. It is typically used for signalling, as distress signalling, at sea or from the ground to aircraft...
. - Sinking the Degen, a German aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. This was notable in that Braddock successfully bombed the ship after his plane was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, destroying the bomb sight and knocking out his bomb aimer. Braddock himself took the responsibility of dropping the bomb, and managed to score a direct hit with the naked eyeNaked eyeThe naked eye is a figure of speech referring to human visual perception unaided by a magnifying or light-collecting optical device, such as a telescope or microscope. Vision corrected to normal acuity using corrective lenses is considered "naked"...
.
I Flew With Braddock also included some genuine episodes in the British bomber offensive against Germany e.g. the first thousand bomber raid on Cologne
Bombing of Cologne in World War II
The City of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II, including 31 times by the Royal Air Force . Air raid alarms went off in the winter/spring of 1940 as enemy bombers passed overhead. However, the first actual bombing took place on 12 May 1940...
, and developments such as the GEE
GEE (navigation)
Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.Different sources record the name as GEE or Gee. The naming supposedly comes from "Grid", so the lower case form is more correct, and is the form used in Drippy's publications. See Drippy 1946....
navigation system, Pathfinder
Pathfinder (RAF)
The Pathfinders were elite squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing...
units and the "Pink Pansy" incendiary bomb.
Braddock, in addition to his piloting abilities, was a skilled boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and champion level darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player.
The author of these stories was not clearly stated (I Flew With Braddock just gave the author as "George Bourne", the fictional narrator) but is believed to be Gilbert Lawford Dalton
Gilbert Lawford Dalton
Gilbert Lawford Dalton was a prolific writer of stories for British boys' comics.He wrote under several pseudonyms so the extent of his writing may not be entirely clear, but is believed to include Wilson the Wonder Athlete, Alf Tupper and Matt Braddock.Clive James wrote that he enjoyed the...
.