Johnstone, From Bomber Command to Royal Command

A Lancaster Pilot's Autobiography. Thousand Bomber Raid’s to Civil Aviation Trailblazer

Although he was employed in a vital wartime industry, Albert Meagherknown to everyone as "Johnny"volunteered for pilot training and was called up in July 1941. He duly completed his training as an RAF bomber pilot and joined No. 61 Squadron, equipped with Avro Lancaster bombers, in June 1942. Johnnys first combat missionan attack on Brementook place on the 25th of that same month. Over the following six weeks, Meaghers crew attacked eleven other cities, including Frankfurt, Munich, and Kiel, as well as industrial targets in the Ruhr region. On January 16, 1943, Bomber Command attacked Berlin; for this mission, the prominent American NBC reporter Stan Richardson was assigned to Meaghers unit. After 34 missions over Germany, one might assume that Squadron Leader Meagher would have sought a less perilous assignment. Yet nothing could have been further from his mind. Instead, he flew another 20 missions before finally leaving the front lines to serve as a flight instructor. Meaghers peacetime career proved no less exciting. He joined BOAC in 1946 and, in early 1950, conducted proving flights to Africa aboard the Handley Page Hermes. In June 1951, following the nationalization of the Abadan oil refinery, Meagher flew to Iran to evacuate expelled British nationals. This mission was overshadowed by an engine failure immediately after takeoff and a perilous subsequent flight to Cairo. In January 1952, he was selected as one of the first pilots for the de Havilland Comet; in January 1954, he commanded the Comet "Yoke Peter," flying it from Karachi to Rome. There, he handed the aircraft over to a new crew, who perishedalong with their twenty-nine passengersshortly after takeoff. In the years that followed, Meagher planned and oversaw the introduction of the Bristol Britannia airliner into scheduled service with BOACan achievement for which he was awarded the "Queens Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air." In 1958, he commanded the flight that carried the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on a state visit to Ethiopia. In 1961, he once again accompanied the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on a six-week state visit to India, Pakistan, and Iran. The Queen personally expressed her gratitude by conferring upon him the title of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). In this fascinating autobiography, Johnny Meaghers remarkable career unfolds in his own words.