published 26/12/2013 at 06:00 PM GMT
Ron Clark was a pilot whose Lancaster, Phantom of the Ruhr, was one of just 35 – out of 7,373 – to survive 100 flights in the war.
Ron Clark, who has died aged 92, was a Lancaster pilot during the Second World War. During the dedication of the Bomber Command Memorial in June 2012, he flew in a Lancaster of the Battle of
Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) bearing the name of his wartime bomber.
Clark was a young sergeant pilot when he and his crew joined No 100 Squadron in May 1943. They were allocated a Lancaster III newly delivered to the squadron from the factory. The crew named the
bomber Phantom of the Ruhr, and the flight engineer, “Bennie” Bennett, painted the Grim Reaper on the nose — a cloaked and hooded skeleton figure hurling bombs towards the enemy. Bennett also
started a mission tally, with bomb symbols for raids on Germany and ice cream cones for sorties to Italian targets.
Clark and his crew flew 24 of their 30 operations in Phantom, including four raids during the Battle of Hamburg and three to Berlin. They were also on the famous raid to attack the German
experimental rocket testing facility at Peenemunde.
After Clark and his crew were posted elsewhere, Phantom flew on to complete 121 operations. Almost half of all Lancasters delivered during the war (3,345 out of 7,373) were lost on operations,
with the loss of more than 21,000 crew members. Phantom of the Ruhr was one of only 35 to become a Lancaster “Centurion”.
The BBMF’s Lancaster, one of only two airworthy in the world, wore the markings of the Phantom of the Ruhr for a number of years. On June 28 2012 it made a fly-past to mark the unveiling by the
Queen of the RAF Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park. Clark joined the crew to make the poppy drop during the ceremony.
It was 67 years since he had last flown in a Lancaster, and he took the second pilot’s seat for the fly-past.
Some years earlier Clark had donated his original battledress tunic to the BBMF. It still fitted him and he wore it during the flight over London.
Ronald James Clark was born on April 18 1921 in West Cumbria and attended Whitehaven Grammar School. Aged 18 he joined the RAF and trained as a pilot in the United States under the US-UK
bilateral Arnold Scheme.
After returning to Britain he completed his training as a bomber pilot and joined No 100 at Waltham, near Grimsby. He flew his first operation on the night of June 11/12 1943, when he attacked
Düsseldorf at the height of the Battle of the Ruhr.
On July 11 Clark and his crew completed their longest bombing sortie when they attacked Turin. They landed back at Waltham after being airborne for 11 hours. Two weeks later Bomber Command
launched the first of four raids over a 10-day period against Hamburg. Clark flew on all four attacks, which resulted in a devastating firestorm destroying most of the city.
On August 17 Clark flew in the second wave of bombers that attacked Peenemunde on the Baltic coast. This was the first time Bomber Command employed a “Master of Ceremonies” (later known as the
“master bomber”) and the site was badly damaged, delaying the work on the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket.
On the night of September 23, Clark (now a warrant officer) and his crew took off for their 24th operation in Phantom to attack Mannheim. Over the target area at 20,000ft the Lancaster was
illuminated by searchlights and subjected to heavy fire from ground defences. Clark took evasive action as he pressed on to bomb the target. A shell hit the bomber, almost severing the controls.
The aircraft went into a steep dive, but Clark managed, with the aid of Bennett, to regain control, despite the aileron control snapping. At the same time a night fighter attacked them, and
cannon shells raked the fuselage, causing damage to the port wing, the aircraft’s flaps and the tailplane. Clark finally managed to evade the enemy fighter and escape at 4,000ft.
He flew the crippled bomber back to base and made a safe landing without the use of the flaps. He was awarded an immediate DFC. Bennett received a DFM.
After a further five operations Clark and his crew were rested, and he became an instructor at a bomber training unit. In 1945 he was posted to No 7 Squadron, which was earmarked for Tiger Force,
Bomber Command’s contribution to the attack against the Japanese mainland. Before the force could deploy to the Pacific, however, the atom bombs were dropped, bringing the war to an end.
Clark was loaned to BOAC, and he joined the company after leaving the RAF in 1946 as a flight lieutenant. Initially he flew flying boats from Calshot before flying converted Halifax bombers and
the York transport. After transferring to Heathrow he flew the Argonaut and the Douglas DC 7; he spent his final years as a senior captain on the VC 10 before retiring in 1976.
A passionate gardener and cyclist, Clark was in great demand at book signings and was a keen member of the 100 Squadron Association. When the squadron’s standard was laid up in Ripon Cathedral in
2011 he was invited to address the large congregation. At his funeral in the RAF’s church, St Clement Danes in London, members of the BBMF acted as his pall-bearers.
Ron Clark married, in 1950, Molly Fowler, who survives him with their two daughters.
Ron Clark, born April 18 1921, died September 29 2013