Norman Cyril Jackson Norman Cyril Jackson VC ( 8 April 1919 – 26 March 1994 ) was a sergeant in the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) who earned the Victoria Cross during a Second World War bombing raid on Schweinfurt , Germany in April 1944 . Early life . Born in Ealing , Middlesex , Jackson was adopted as a weeks - old baby by Mr . and Mrs . Edwin Gunter . The Gunters also adopted Geoffrey Oliver Hartley , who would himself be awarded the George Cross as a Federation of Malaya police lieutenant for protecting his party , which included a woman and three children , from bandits in 1951 . Upon this occasion , Mrs . Gunter said , " We adopted two of the finest sons any parents could wish for . " Jackson qualified as a fitter and turner . Although he was married and in a reserved occupation at the outbreak of the Second World War , he enlisted in the RAF . Military career . He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1939 and originally served as a Classified Fitter IIE ( engines ) . In January 1941 , he was assigned to a Sunderland flying boat squadron based in Freetown , Sierra Leone . He applied for retraining as a flight engineer and returned to England in September 1942 . On 28 July 1943 , he joined No . 106 Squadron which operated Avro Lancaster bombers . Jackson completed his tour of 30 missions on 24 April 1944 , but , as he had flown one sortie with a different crew , he chose to fly once more so that he and his original aircrew could finish their tour together . Jackson ' s 31st mission was a raid on the German ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt on the night of 26 – 27 April . Having bombed the target , Jackson ' s Lancaster ( serial ME669 ) was attacked by a German night fighter and a fuel tank in the starboard wing caught fire . Jackson , already wounded from shell splinters , strapped on a parachute and equipped himself with a fire extinguisher before climbing out of the aircraft and onto the wing , whilst the aeroplane was flying at , in order to put out the fire . He gripped the air intake on the leading edge of the wing with one hand , and fought the fire with the other . The flames seared his hands , face , and clothes . The fighter returned and hit the bomber with a burst of gunfire that sent two bullets into his legs . The burst also swept him off the wing . He fell , but his smouldering and holed parachute worked well enough to save his life . He suffered further injuries upon landing , including a broken ankle , but managed to crawl to a nearby German village the next morning , where he was paraded through the street . He spent 10 months recovering in hospital before being transferred to the Stalag IX - C prisoner of war camp . He made two escape attempts , the second of which was successful as he made contact with a unit of the US Third Army . Jackson ' s exploit became known when the surviving crewmen of his bomber were released from German captivity at the end of the war . He was promoted to warrant officer and his Victoria Cross ( VC ) award was gazetted on 26 October 1945 . When he went to Buckingham Palace to receive his VC from King George VI , he was accompanied by Leonard Cheshire who was also due to receive his on that day . Group Captain Cheshire insisted that , despite the difference in rank , they should approach the King together . Jackson remembers that Cheshire said to the King , " This chap stuck his neck out more than I did - he should get his VC first ! Of course the King had to keep to protocol but I will never forget what Cheshire said . " Victoria Cross citation . Extract from Fourth Supplement , " The London Gazette " No 37324 of Friday 26 October 1945 : The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery : 905192 Sergeant ( Now Warrant Officer ) Norman Cyril Jackson R . A . F . V . R . , 106 Squadron . This airman was the flight engineer in a Lancaster detailed to attack Schweinfurt on the night of 26th April 1944 . Bombs were dropped successfully and the aircraft was climbing out of the target area . Suddenly it was attacked by a fighter at about 20 , 000 feet . The captain took evading action at once , but the enemy secured many hits . A fire started near a petrol tank on the upper surface of the starboard wing , between the fuselage and the inner engine . Sergeant Jackson was thrown to the floor during the engagement . Wounds which he received from shell splinters in the right leg and shoulder were probably sustained at that time . Recovering himself , he remarked that he could deal with the fire on the wing and obtained his captain ' s permission to try to put out the flames . Pushing a hand fire - extinguisher into the top of his life - saving jacket and clipping on his parachute pack , Sergeant Jackson jettisoned the escape hatch above the pilot ' s head . He then started to climb out of the cockpit and back along the top of the fuselage to the starboard wing . Before he could leave the fuselage his parachute pack opened and the whole canopy and rigging lines spilled into the cockpit . Undeterred , Sergeant Jackson continued . The pilot ( Tony Mifflin ) , bomb aimer ( Maurice Toft ) and navigator ( Frank Higgins ) gathered the parachute together and held on to the rigging lines , paying them out as the airman crawled aft . Eventually he slipped and , falling from the fuselage to the starboard wing , grasped an air intake on the leading edge of the wing . He succeeded in clinging on but lost the extinguisher , which was blown away . By this time , the fire had spread rapidly and Sergeant Jackson was involved . His face , hands and clothing were severely burnt . Unable to retain his hold he was swept through the flames and over the trailing edge of the wing , dragging his parachute behind . When last seen it was only partly inflated and was burning in a number of places . Realising that the fire could not be controlled , the captain gave the order to abandon aircraft . Four of the remaining members of the crew landed safely . The captain and rear gunner have not been accounted for . Sergeant Jackson was unable to control his descent and landed heavily . He sustained a broken ankle , his right eye was closed through burns and his hands were useless . These injuries , together with the wounds received earlier , reduced him to a pitiable state . At daybreak he crawled to the nearest village , where he was taken prisoner . He bore the intense pain and discomfort of the journey to Dulag Luft with magnificent fortitude . After ten months in hospital he made a good recovery , though his hands require further treatment and are only of limited use . This airman ' s attempt to extinguish the fire and save the aircraft and crew from falling into enemy hands was an act of outstanding gallantry . To venture outside , when travelling at 200 miles an hour , at a great height and in intense cold , was an almost incredible feat . Had he succeeded in subduing the flames , there was little or no prospect of his regaining the cockpit . The spilling of his parachute and the risk of grave damage to its canopy reduced his chances of survival to a minimum . By his ready willingness to face these dangers he set an example of self - sacrifice which will ever be remembered . Postwar and personal life . After the war , he worked as a traveling salesman of Haig whisky . He and his wife Alma had six children . Legacy . In April 2004 , Jackson ' s VC medal was sold at auction to Lord Ashcroft for £235 , 250 ( GBP ) against a pre - auction estimate of £130 , 000 . His family were upset because the medal went to a private bidder rather than the RAF museum at Hendon . They had planned to give their father ' s medals to the museum , but found they could not do so under the terms of their mother ' s will and the museum was outbid . His VC is now on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum , London . Norman Jackson ' s son appeared in the episode on his father ' s crew in Lord Ashcroft ' s documentary series " Heroes of the Skies " ( broadcast on Channel Five on 4 October 2012 ) , as well as the Discovery Channel ' s " Air Aces " ( premiering October 2013 ) .