Leslie Manser first tried to join the army in the late 1930s but was rejected. An application to the Royal Navy achieved the same result. Undaunted, he applied to the RAF and was accepted for training as a pilot. He was commissioned in May 1941 and after completing his initial training converted to Hampdens before joining 50 Squadron. After flying six operations he was sent to be an instructor but re-joined 50 in April 1942, just as the unit was converting to another twin-engined bomber, the Manchester. Manser and his crew completed six 'ops' before joining 15 other crews from the squadron for a special briefing on May 30,1942. They were informed that 1,000 bombers would attack Cologne, the first 'Thousand Bomber Raid1. Initially, Manser and his men were detailed to be a spare crew but their names were soon added to the battle order. (The aircraft allocated, L7301 was on charge with 106 Squadron, but had been borrowed by the fellow Skellingthorpe-based unit to make up the numbers - ed.).
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