Wing Commander Percy Reynolds, Bomber Command pilot who survived a fiery crash and won two DFCs

Wing Commander Percy Reynolds, who has died aged 102, had a distinguished career as a bombing leader after recovering from severe burns and injuries because of an earlier aircraft crash.

On August 29 1941, Reynolds and his crew took off from Oakington, near Cambridge, in their Wellington bomber of 101 Squadron to attack Hamburg. It was Reynolds’s first operation as the aircraft captain. As the Wellington became airborne the port engine failed and caught fire: Reynolds attempted to keep the bomber flying, but it crashed seven miles from the airfield, and a fierce fire broke out. One crew member was killed, a second died from his injuries, and Reynolds was trapped in the cockpit.

A member of the Salvation Army witnessed the crash and rushed towards the burning aircraft, smashing the canopy and managing to drag Reynolds clear. Immediately after the crash he was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for initial resuscitation and, when stabilised, he was transferred to RAF Ely Hospital, one of the four new satellite burns units which Archibald McIndoe, the pioneering plastic surgeon treating burns, had set up at well-established RAF hospitals.

Reynolds’s injuries and burns to his face and hands were extensive and required numerous skin-grafting operations. He was treated by a junior surgeon, Mr Bentley, who grafted skin to give Reynolds a new nose, which was always known thereafter as “Bentley’s Patch”.

After a year in various hospitals, Reynolds returned to flying duties.

He was born in Bermondsey on October 23 1921 and joined the RAF in June 1940. He trained as a pilot and was commissioned in July 1941.

After training to fly bombers, he joined 101 Squadron on July 15 1941 and, two weeks later, was the second pilot of a Wellington. On the return from attacking Hamburg, the aircraft crash-landed in a field near Ashford in Kent. The crew escaped with minor injuries. Just three weeks later, however, Reynolds was less fortunate when his Wellington crashed.

After being declared fit to resume flying, he became a flying instructor at a bomber training unit. He returned to operational flying in early October 1944, when he joined the newly formed 186 Squadron to fly Lancasters. He was appointed as the senior flight commander.

Reynolds flew his first fresh operation on October 18. The target was Bonn, and Reynolds was the first of the 12 bombers to take off before they formed up and headed for the target. The following night he attacked Stuttgart, dropping his bombs from 17,000 feet.

Over the next few weeks, Reynolds attacked targets in the Ruhr. He was beginning to establish himself as a forceful leader, and the squadron diarist recorded that in “what was becoming the norm, the first away was the irrepressible Squadron Leader Reynolds at the controls of his regular Lancaster”.

On October 31, the target was the synthetic oil plant at Bottrop. Such facilities had become a prime target for Bomber Command and Reynolds would attack several similar plants in the following weeks. Other primary targets were road and rail communications, in particular marshalling yards. While the Germans were attacking through the Ardennes, Reynolds bombed troop positions at St Vith.

The squadron’s Lancasters began being fitted with the Gee-H device during the latter part of 1944, a new radio navigation and “blind-bombing” system enabling them to bomb accurately when cloud covered the target. In early 1945, marshalling yards and oil facilities remained the primary targets.

On February 1, Reynolds flew his first operation as Gee-H (radio navigation) leader. Other bombers flew in formation on his aircraft and released their bombs as Reynolds dropped his load. The rail yards at Mönchengladbach were the target, which was covered completely by cloud, but the Gee-H marking was accurate.

Reynolds was on leave at the time of the attack on Dresden, but returned to lead the squadron to Chemnitz on February 14. Two days later it was announced that he had been awarded the DFC.

On March 1, the target was the synthetic oil plant at Kamen; 151 Lancasters were tasked, and Reynolds was appointed to lead them. It was the first time the responsibility had been given to 186 Squadron. Poor weather over the target hampered the attack but the plant was damaged.

While Reynolds was attacking Dessau on March 7, a German Me 410 night-fighter almost collided with his Lancaster, which had its radio aerial torn away. After two more sorties as Gee-H leader, Reynolds flew his final sortie on March 18, when he led the squadron to attack the blast furnace and steel works at Hattingen. His aircraft was damaged by flak, but he returned safely. Later in the year he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. The citation commented on his “leadership and outstanding qualities of determination and courage proving invaluable in maintaining the highest standard of efficiency in his squadron”.

Reynolds remained in the RAF and continued to serve on heavy bombers, converting to the US-built B-29 Washington. After attending the RAF Staff College, he served on the RAF administration staff in Hong Kong.

In 1958 he returned to flying duties and converted to the twin-engine Canberra jet bomber. In March 1959 he assumed command of 12 Squadron based in Lincolnshire. The squadron was developing a new bombing technique by approaching the target from low level before pulling up into a looping manoeuvre to “toss” the bomb forward, allowing the bomber to avoid flying over the target before escaping at low level.

After a Nato appointment in Germany, Reynolds commanded the administration wing at Coltishall, a fighter base where the Lightning supersonic fighter could be found, and the home of the RAF’s Historic Flight, which included a Lancaster, and later became the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. He retired in 1968.

He and his wife moved to Norfolk, where they renovated a house and a large garden and became self-sufficient, their land including a small vineyard. He was active in the local community.

Reynolds remained fiercely independent and active until his last day, on which he baked two loaves in his breadmaker, laid out his evening meal, poured himself a glass of wine and dressed smartly for dinner.

Percy Reynolds’s wife Mary, a WAAF officer whom he married in 1944, died in 2007, and he is survived by their son and daughter.

Percy Reynolds, born October 23 1921, died July 14 2024