Jamie Heffer@JHeffer92
Sergeant Arthur Aslett suffered horrendous injuries while serving at Bircham Newton with No. 235 in November 1940. It was on the 23rd, as Wireless Op of one of the Squadron's Blenheims. Arthur had been part of an action against German E-boats spotted refueling off the Danish coast.
Arthur's aircraft, along with the squadron's formation, bombed and strafed the enemy ships. Arthur's aircraft took AA fire, the nose was damaged, and hydraulics took a hit, making the undercarriage unserviceable. Arthur had suffered a wound to his leg, but not serious. After a tense return flight, with navigation temporarily disrupted and radio comms down, Arthur managed to make contact with Bircham Newton and fix a correct course for home.
This is where the serious trouble began. As Arthur's aircraft came in to make a wheels-up landing, the ground station at Bircham Newton informed them they had a live bomb hanging under the aircraft and instructed them to make for the Wash to try and get rid of it. After attempts were made, the pilot of Arthur's aircraft, John Davison, figured he had managed to ditch the bomb and returned to Bircham Newton.
When they came in to land for a second time for the wheels-up landing, no warning was given and as the aircraft landed, the bomb that Davison had been unable to ditch detonated as the aircraft touched the ground, blowing the aircraft in two. John Davison and the Observer, Geoff Braizer, managed to jump away and run clear of the aircraft with minor injuries. The aircraft was on fire, with ammunition beginning to cook off. Arthur was trapped semi-conscious, hanging from the aircraft, his legs caught in twisted metal. John and Geoff, realizing Arthur was not with them, rushed back to save him from the wreckage, pulling him free and saving his life from a perilous situation, both suffering burn injuries while doing so. John Davison was awarded the GM and Geoff Braizer the BEM for their bravery in saving their fellow crew member's life.
Arthur had been aware in his semi-conscious state that his left arm had nearly been severed, his flying suit had literally held him together. He was rushed into the station sick quarters at Bircham Newton, stabilized, and immediately crammed into the back of an ambulance and rushed to Ely Hospital.
In the hospital, Arthur's wounds were noted as being: shrapnel and bullet wounds to the legs, two broken legs, left arm severed at the elbow, virtually blind in his right eye, both legs were in plaster up to the hips into which fluid was seeping from open wounds, and an arm in plaster up to the shoulder. Arthur claimed it was Squadron Leader Dick, the Orthopedic Surgeon, to whom he owed his arm being saved.
Sight returned to his eye, and despite earlier assessment, he regained most of the movement in his arm where it had been severed in the crash. He was hospitalized until March 1941, after further convalescence. Arthur was put on light duties and teaching wireless op courses.
He was eventually cleared again for flying, returning to Bircham Newton to serve with No. 279 Air Sea Rescue Squadron.
He served for the remainder of the war with 279 and other units, with some further close calls, finishing his service with the RAF in 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant, and lived a full life.
