Sergeant James Ward crawled out, at 10,000 feet, on the wing with a length of rope tied around his waist and a canvas cover to drape over the inferno in the engine. After extinguishing the flames he was pulled back into the Wellington bomber, over the North Sea.

When returning from a bombing run on Munster Germany, 1941, Co-pilot Sgt James Ward saved his stricken plane and crew by climbing on to the WING to put out an engine fire at 10,000 feet in act of heroism which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

 Sgt James Ward crawled along wing rope tied around his waist. Widdowson kept plane steady while Ward draped canvas cover over fire. After extinguishing flames Ward was pulled back into Wellington bomber by the rest of the crew who had been preparing to bail out over the North Sea. Sq Ldr Widdowson managed to fly the battered plane back to its base in Suffolk where it was only stopped from careering off the end of the runway by a barbed wire fence.

It was an incredible act of bravery that saw a wartime pilot save his stricken plane and crew by climbing onto the wing to put out a fire at 10,000ft.

The two pilots had been flying a Wellington bomber and its crew of six on a raid over Munster, Germany, in July 1941 when they were shot at by a Messerschmitt 110 nightfighter. Although rear gunner Sgt Alan Box shot the Luftwaffe plane down, the bomber was critically damaged with its starboard engine out of action and ablaze. Sq Ldr Widdowson instructed the crew to put their parachutes on in readiness to jump and then yelled out ‘…and see if you can put out that bloody fire’.

Full story in his own words at https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/11/03/pilot-saved-his-stricken-bomber-crew-by-climbing-on-to-the-wing-to-extinguish-the-fire-at-13000/