Dudley Archer was an outstanding navigator who flew two tours with the Pathfinders (see his impressive decorations in THE PATHFINDER EAGLE). He was on the 582 Squadron crew of Ted Swales on the operation in which Ted Swales won a posthumous VC; the rest of the crew, including Archer, survived. The date was 23 February
Up until at least the end of 1943, carrier pigeons were carried on all operational bomber aircraft (and also on Coastal Command long-range sorties) as a back-up system in addition to a wireless SOS when an aircraft was either abandoned in flight or had to be ditched. Every Bomber Station had an NCO ‘pigeon keeper’ who came
