Description
Mr. Taschuk recalls his welcome to Bomber Command being a shocking one. He also describes how necessary it was to learn to control ones own terror.
Neil Taschuk
Mr. Taschuk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father, a Russian immigrant, fought for Canada in the First World War. Mr. Taschuk joined the air force along with many others from the community, and was sent overseas as soon as he had earned his wireless air gunner (WAG) wings. He was assigned to a Lancaster in Bomber Command's 434 Squadron. Given the casualty rate at the time, it was a near death sentence. Against huge odds and having experienced numerous near misses, he and the rest of his crew were one of few in bomber command who were never injured in any action, training, or other mishaps.
Transcript
But my first day at 434 Squadron, it was like a welcome to bomber command, which was almost, I'm not bragging, a death sentence. So this first, I see this Murray Simes (sp), I was in Kelvin High School with him, and I said, "Hi Murray." And this guy walked by me, he was as white as a sheet and he had somebody with him, think it might have been an orderly you know, a nurse. I said, "Murray? " And he says, "Oh he's, he's out of it," he said, " he had a rough trip." But he's just completely blank. So that was bad enough, so I had my dinner and I walking around the station and I see this Johnny Cliche (sp) an old neighbour of mine he's ground crew. He looked at me he says, " Neil what did you do? " You know I looked at my uniform, "What do you mean? " "You joined aircrew? " I says, "Yeah." Know what he said to me? "You'll never see Winnipeg. Never see it again." I says, "Why? " He said, "You haven't heard the losses in bomber command? " I said, "No." A few more things were said and that was my welcome to the squadron. One guy who doesn't know me and another guy who says you'll never see Winnipeg again.
Interviewer: As I understand you didn't have a good chance to come back when you went out at night on bomber command.
Ah, the losses were fifty percent. Over the whole, the whole start of the war, it was pitiful. I have a tape here too bad you don't have a VCR here, TV. But ah, it was just about a death sentence, in fact, when they were flying these old Wellingtons at the start of the war, those old bloody canvas covered Wellington's, they were just, they'd, ya struck a match in there and they'd start on fire themselves. Well they shot them down by the dozens, you know. Yet these Englishmen kept joining up, joined the RAF as bomber command, which I give them credit for. And there was about fifty thousand British airmen killed in bomber command. Fifty thousand is a lot of men.
Interviewer: How did that make you feel to, to realize what you were getting in, getting yourself into.
Well I'll tell ya, I call it control terror. When the time you got in the Lancaster and those four motors, those four Merlins started up, you ah, worried, you know. And especially when you're starting down the runway, you know you've got about six, seven tonnes of bombs under ya, and 1200 gallons of gasoline on the wings. Then you start full throttle, I'm looking out the astrodome and I said, "If one of those motors quits we've had it, a tire blows we've had it. "and all these things to worry about you know. But you learned to control your fear, I can't explain it but you know you're facing death, you know, anything could happen, and you learned to control it.
Interviewer: What scared you the most while you were up there?
Everything.......but you know what, none of us crew, none of our crew was religious, and yet our whole crew, the whole seven of us, not one of us was ever in an accident in training, on AFU Advanced Flying Unit, OTU, Operational Training Unit, on the squadron, not one of us was ever in a bad accident, not one. Other crews, oh my god, there'd be times they were, they had just made it back to England you know got shot up, and had to bail out over England and they come back to the squadron and go out again, and the next trip they have a crash landing you know. Our crew was just, just blessed.