On our seventh op in a Wellington over Essen, we were attacked by a fighter that shot out our starboard engine and hydraulics. Jimmy McLean, rear gunner, shot down the fighter (confirmed) over target. On our way home, the feathered propeller flew off. I drew a course for the nearest airfield I could find in Norfolk, as we were slowly losing altitude. It took the whole runway to land and we jumped a 20 foot fence at the end. There was no damage on landing to the aircraft or ourselves. The pilot was awarded the DFC for this and other examples of exceptional flying.
On August 31, 1943 flying out 30th op in Halifax T-Tommy (a spare), we were attacked near Osnabruck on our way to Berlin. We were in 10/10 cloud and were fired on by a cannon from directly below. Our starboard wing caught fire and we turned west and jettisoned our bombs. There was another attack, this time from above and the wing broke off and we were in a spin. Also, the intercom was dead. I found out later that our attacker was a JU88 night fighter equipped with upward  firing, radar-controlled guns. Just before the aircraft hit the ground I was able to free the escape hatch under my folding seat in the nose(Nav. compartment.) I baled-out and seconds later landed in a woods. I heard explosions from our crashed aircraft in the distance and motor vehicles driving toward it. I buried my chute and with my escape kit map walked west toward Holland. I evaded for seven days, walking at night mostly in the rain in low wet country. It was slow going. At the heavily guarded Dutch border. I climbed into an open coal car on a train crossing the border. At dawn, I was spotted from above by a trainman in a switch-tower. He stopped the train and I was captured. The bomb-aimer had jumped out the rear open door of the aircraft where he had been throwing out bales of “window” . He was captured immmediately. We met in POW camp. The six crew members mentioned above died in the crash.
I found out only recently where they are buried.