Royal Air Force Bomber Command has lost 3,448 aircraft, about 1,600 of them to German night fighters and about 20,000 aircrewmen on night raids since the beginning of World War II
The aircrews of RAF Bomber Command during World War II operated a fleet of bomber aircraft carried strategic bombing operations from September 1939 to May 1945, on behalf of the Allied powers.
A total of 126 squadrons served with Bomber Command. Of these, 32 were officially non-British units: 15 RCAF squadrons, eight RAAF squadrons, four Polish squadrons, two French squadrons, two RNZAF/"New Zealand" squadrons and one Czechoslovakian squadron.
Most aircrew were aged between 19 and 25, although some were as young as 16 and at least one was in his sixties.
In the first half of the war completion of training at an OTU would mean each crew transferring to an operational squadron and beginning their operational tour. Assignment to a squadron was simply a process of making good recent losses and a squadron which had lost three or four crews in the previous week would expect the "feeder" OTUs to have replacement ready in the system to cover the losses. This effectively meant that any crew could go to any squadron within Bomber Command.
During 1942 particularly, any maximum effort attacks such as the 1,000 bomber attacks on Cologne on the night 30-31 May 1942 and Essen on 1-2 June 1942 required more aircraft and crews than Bomber Command had available in its operational squadrons so crews at OTUs who were near the end of their courses and were rated as efficient, participated in the operation.
Recreating the Past Crete to Cape Vintage Aircraft Rally
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