Shot down by elf ‘n’ safety: Hero Spitfire pilot is refused the chance to get back into the cockpit in case he hurts himself

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:05 AM on 9th January 2012


Hero: Pilot Eric Carter risked his life daily against the Luftwaffe in his Spitfire, yet over zealous elf 'n' safety officials stopped him from sitting at the controls, deeming it 'too risky'

Hero: Pilot Eric Carter risked his life daily against the Luftwaffe in his Spitfire, yet over zealous elf ‘n’ safety officials stopped him from sitting at the controls, deeming it ‘too risky’

At the tender age of 21, Eric Carter risked his life daily at the controls of a Spitfire as the Germans tried to shoot him down.

Yet 70 years later he was deprived of the chance to climb back into the cockpit – by health and safety concerns.

Mr Carter merely wanted to reacquaint himself with the interior of the iconic fighter plane on a visit to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

He was invited there to look at the Spitfire model he flew during the war, a XVI LF RW388, and because he trained as a pilot in the city.

However, worried officials refused his request to sit at the controls because it was ‘too risky’.

‘You couldn’t make it up,’ he  said at his home in Chaddesley  Corbett, Worcestershire. ‘I used to fly those things every day fighting the Germans. Now that really was a health and safety concern, let me tell you!

‘I had to laugh to think that I couldn’t sit in a stationary Spitfire in case I got hurt. I think they had their reasons, and they were probably just trying to be extra careful.

‘I just wish the Luftwaffe had been so caring.’

The 91-year-old is the last surviving member of a task force sent to keep the port of Murmansk open at any cost to protect crucial supply lines to Soviet Russia following the German invasion of 1941.

The clandestine operation, known as Force Benedict, remained classified for decades because Stalin did not want to admit he had asked for help from Churchill.

It was revealed in full after the chance discovery in 2009 of a medal awarded to Force Benedict’s Wing Commander, Group Captain Henry Neville Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood. He was one of only four non-Russians awarded the nation’s highest military award, the Order of Lenin, which was sold at auction at Sotheby’s for £46,000.

Flying squad: Mr Carter helped carry out 365 sorties during a four-month sty in Murmansk, shooting down 11 Messerschmitts and three Junkers bombers. He is pictured here on the wing of a Hurricane

Flying squad: Mr Carter helped carry out 365 sorties during a four-month sty in Murmansk, shooting down 11 Messerschmitts and three Junkers bombers. He is pictured here on the wing of a Hurricane

The task force, 151 Wing, carried out 365 sorties during a four-month stay in Murmansk, shooting down 11 Messerschmitt fighters and three Junkers 88 bombers before handing the secured port back to the Russians on October 13, 1941.

By then there was heavy snow and the German army’s advance stalled within sight of Moscow.

Although the actions of Force Benedict are little known in Britain due to the secrecy surrounding the mission, widower Mr Carter is a national hero in Russia. He is granted an annual budget to visit the country as thanks for his  heroism. He has met numerous Russian leaders, including Boris Yeltsin, and was one of the guests  of honour when the Queen made her first State visit to the country  in 1994.

Decorated: Mr Carter is considered to be a national hero in Russia following his actions in the clandestine operation known as Force Benedict

Decorated: Mr Carter is considered to be a national hero in Russia following his actions in the clandestine operation known as Force Benedict

He is also one of the only Westerners ever allowed into a Russian nuclear submarine, in the heavily guarded port city of Vladivostok.

Mr Carter said he lied about his age so he could join the war effort. ‘I was young and must have been mad, but perhaps we were just a tougher generation.

‘The average lifespan in the air was just 15 minutes, but I was determined to volunteer after hearing about the atrocities the Germans had carried out on the Russians.’

Mr Carter will never forget the dark winter days of 1941 as he and his comrades protected Murmansk. ‘The Russian soldiers didn’t bother to ask who you were – they just killed you on sight if they didn’t like the look of you,’ he said.

‘We were issued with special passes and had to hold them in front of us as we walked anywhere or else we would have been shot.

‘It was absolutely freezing. Our aircraft and transport vehicles had to be started up every 20 minutes to prevent them from freezing for good.’

A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent city council said: ‘The Spitfire cockpit had recently been painted with paint containing radium, which is radioactive, and there is no proper seat in the Spitfire itself at the moment. I am told the people on the day thought it best he did not sit in the plane for those reasons because of his age.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
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The comments below have not been moderated.

He doesn’t want to fly the damned thing, he wants to SIT AT THE CONTROLS! Have we gone completely insane?
– Reubenene, Somewhere In The World,
YES ! It started under the last labour dictatorship and has got the the lunacy we have now. We have a bevvy of ministers spouting off about putting this nonsense to an end an even the PM got in on the act this week telling us he is going to stop it.
it begs the question
WHEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually this reminds me of the Australian cricketer Keith Miller who was a pilot in Britain in the last war .
When asked was he feeling the pressure in a test match , said ” that wasn’t pressure ” – having a Messerschmitt up your behind was pressure !!

May I say thank you to Mr Carter a grand old Knight of the sky. Per Ardua Ad Astra.

These people will stuff Britain quicker than anyone – I can just imagine what they look like – probably were bullied at school because they didn’t have a spine – so now they want the rest of us to suffer !!

Oh for goodness sake, astronaut John Glenn blasted off on the space shuttle Discovery in 1998 on a 9-day mission. He was 77 years old. Let Mr. Carter sit in the cockpit!!!

For Christ sake, get this gentleman in that cockpit safely, using what ever it takes. This man, a hero, and others like him, saved your country from speaking German!
All he wants is a picture and to re-live some memories before he leaves this world a better place. We owe him this, and much more!

Nothing to do with elf and safety, more a case of (JOBSWORTH) its more than my jobs worth to let you sit in there.
I wonder if elf and safety would exist if the brave Eric Carter hadn’t risked his life for the likes of spineless elf and safety wet behind the ears jobsworth.

‘elf ‘n’ safety’ *sigh* you managed to write the whole lot correctly the other day so now you have ZERO excuse for this idiotic spelling (not that you could have had an excuse in the first place seeing as how you are supposed to be journalists with access to dictionaries etc)

Picture of a Hurricane? Title says Spitfire? Do people not know the difference?
– timbo, essex, 9/1/2012 1:34
—————– Yes Timbo, it is a picture of him sitting on a Hurricane and he was a Spitfire pilot as well. These facts are not mutually exclusive. He’s also got a thicker moustache and no longer uses Brylcream.
As regards the safety aspect it’s not easy to get into the cockpit of a fighter aircraft at the age of twenty. If there wasn’t even a seat fitted noone would want to risk this old gentleman hurting himself.

All the best mate, I hope they let you in next time. Maybe you should have pointed behind the OHS ppl and said, “look at that”: When they turned around you make a dash for the ladder !!! LOL ………I don’t know, OHS, just trying to justify their own existance.

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