It was Tuesday, 17 October 1939. Britain had been at war with Germany
for more than a month and for only the second time the Luftwaffe had
dared to enter British airspace - and at last James 'Jim' Bazin's chance
had come.
After joining the RAF in 1935, Jim was an experienced pilot when war
broke out and he was eager to test his skills against the enemy. This
first combat was the start of a career which saw Wing Commander Bazin,
as he was to become, being posted to France with 607 (County of Durham)
Squadron. He fought there until the last days of the Battle of France.
In the course of the campaign, Bazin had battled his way to becoming an
ace. He was also shot down behind enemy lines, but successfully evaded
capture to return to his squadron and resume the fight.
There was no respite for Bazin as he was once again in the air defending
Britain's skies in his trusty Hurricane as the Luftwaffe sort to destroy
Fighter Command in the summer of 1940. With ten 'kills' to his name, Jim
Bazin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in October that year.
But merely driving off the Luftwaffe was not enough for him. He was
posted to Inverness where he served as a Controller in 14 Group's
Operations Room, which gave him a taste for offensive operations.
In time, Bazin volunteered to move to Bomber Command. He duly undertook
a conversion course in 1943, eventually joining 49 Squadron as a
Lancaster pilot to take the war to the very heart of the enemy.
After commanding 49 Squadron, including taking part in Bomber Command's
support of the D-Day landings, Bazin was promoted to Wing Commander,
leading 9 Squadron on many attacks on special targets such as U-boat
pens, viaducts, refineries and, most notably, operating with the famous
Dambusters against Hitler's great battleship Tirpitz.
Unrelenting in his efforts against the enemy, Jim Bazin was involved in
operations against targets in Poland and Germany right up until the end
of the war. This culminated in the last major RAF operation of the
Second World War when, on 25 April 1945, Bomber Command attacked the
Berghof, Hitler's Alpine retreat, and other targets in Berchtesgaden.
Jim Bazin was awarded the DSO in September 1945 - rightful recognition
for a man who had done so much to bring about the defeat of the enemy.
