06/01/2025
On this day, 83 years ago, on May 30, 1942, Flying Officer Leslie Thomas Manser, 20 years old, was the captain of an Avro Manchester bomber with No. 50 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was assigned to take part in Operation Millennium, the first 1,000-bomber raid by the Royal Air Force, targeting the German city of Cologne.
Manser’s aircraft, Avro Manchester L7301, took off from RAF Skellingthorpe at 11:01 p.m. His target was the heavily defended industrial and urban area of Cologne. As his bomber approached the city, it was caught in a cone of searchlights and became the focus of concentrated anti-aircraft fire. Manser held course, maintaining altitude and speed despite the pressure. At approximately 7,000 feet over the target, the aircraft released its payload.
During the bombing run, the bomber sustained heavy damage. Flak tore through the fuselage and wings. The rear gunner was wounded. Smoke filled the forward cabin. The port engine was hit and began overheating. Manser flew the aircraft through this and exited the target area still under fire. He was forced to drop to a lower altitude to evade further hits.
After clearing Cologne, the situation onboard worsened. The port engine caught fire. Flames spread along the wing. Manser continued flying, descending to below 1,000 feet to avoid further ground fire. He managed to extinguish the flames, but the engine failed completely, and the aircraft began losing speed and altitude. He struggled to gain height, and for a few minutes, the aircraft climbed to about 2,000 feet before the power loss forced another descent. The plane was now flying low and unstable. Every mile flown brought it closer to the German-Belgian border.
Over Belgium, knowing the bomber would not stay airborne much longer, Manser gave the order to bail out. There were six other crew members aboard. One by one, they exited through the hatch. One of the men tried to hand Manser a parachute. He refused it. He stayed in the cockpit, holding the controls steady, making sure the plane did not roll or dive while the others escaped. He understood that if he left the controls, the aircraft could enter a spin or nose-dive, killing those still trying to jump.
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on May 31, the bomber crashed near Bree, Belgium. Manser was still at the controls when it went down. He was killed instantly. The wreckage scattered across the area. Of the seven-man crew, six survived. One was captured by German forces. The other five evaded capture with help from Belgian civilians and later made it back to Allied lines.
Their testimony confirmed that Manser remained in the aircraft to give them time to escape, choosing to die rather than risk their lives by abandoning the controls early. For his actions that night, Flying Officer Leslie Manser was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. He is buried in Heverlee War Cemetery, near Leuven, Belgium. His medal is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London. His actions were direct, deliberate, and taken in full knowledge of the cost.
