Hero’s Spitfire dream comes true..at age 98
WW2 pilot Bernard treated to flight in legendary fighter
A HERO fighter pilot has fulfilled a lifetime’s dream by taking the controls of a Spitfire for the first time.
Flying Officer Bernard Gardiner, 98, flew 71 missions in Hurricanes and Typhoons during the Second World War.
He took part in dangerous low-level dive-bombing raids, attacking German V-1 and V-2 rocket sites in Europe.
But he never got the chance to fly a Spitfire, which even back then was considered an iconic aircraft.
Fg/Off Gardiner enjoyed a 30-minute flight in a two seater Supermarine Spitfire PT462 at IWM Duxford, Cambs.
The surprise flight was conducted by Paul Bonhomme, a three-times Red Bull Air Race champion. For a few minutes mid-flight, Fg/Off Gardiner took over the controls – the first time he had flown a plane in 38 years. They had been cruising at 5,000ft but the veteran’s instinct was to drop to a lower altitude as that is where Typhoon pilots would operate.
At one point he waved to the crowd on the airfield below and after landing he said: “It was an amazing experience and totally unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I must say that the Hurricane is a nicer aeroplane to control.
“I soon got the hang of it. I’m truly thankful to have been given this opportunity.” He told the crowd: “You’ve made an old fighter pilot very happy.” Mr Bonhomme said: “You could tell he flew Typhoons. As soon as I let him have control he wanted to be down on the deck, when we started at 5,000ft.”
The flight was arranged by the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Trust, a charity which is trying to raise £5million to restore a Hawker Typhoon RB396.
It wanted to do something special to thank Fg/Off Gardiner for his ongoing support. He was born in Moose Jaw, Canada, in 1922. Inspired by the heroics
of ‘ The Few’ during the Battle of Britain, he joined the RAF in October 1940.
In late 1944 and early 1945 he carried out dive-bombing raids on German railway lines to stop missiles reaching the Dutch coast. One logbook entry says: “Close air support. Attacked a train. Beat up a barge. Flak was heavy. 20 minutes.”
Fg/ Off Gardiner later became a commercial pilot, retiring in 1982. The grandad of two lives in Jersey. His wife of 69 years, Jean, died a few years ago.