BOB TUCK RAF FIGHTER ACE SHOT DOWN AND CAPTURED 1942

Roland Robert Stanford Tuck: Royal Air Force Ace and Prisoner of Stalag Luft III: One of the early leaders along with Squadron Leader Roger Bushell of The Great Escape. Roland Robert Stanford Tuck was a Wing Commander at the age of 25. Bob Tuck saw his first combat action as Flight Commander of 92 Squadron during the Battle of France, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI on June 28th 1940. In January of 1941 Tuck was honoured with the Distinguished Service Order. During the Battle of Britain he was promoted to Squadron Leader as commander of 257 Squadron and was awarded two Bars to his Distinguished Flying Cross. In July 1941 he was promoted to Wing Commander and made Wing Leader at RAF Duxford, leading fighter missions into northern France. Robert "Bob" Tuck was a National Hero. His performances during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain solidified his skill and admiration. As a frequent visitor to Buckingham Palace he was always in the spotlight - until the day he was not. On 28 January 1942 the British ace with 27 victories (also credited with the probable destruction of eight others) was brought down after his Spitfire was hit by enemy ground-based flak near Boulogne France forcing him to crash land. Tuck was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag Luft III in Sagan. While at Stalag Luft III Wing Commander Tuck participated in the early stages of the Great Escape. Suspected of being a ringleader, he was transferred to Belaria, which Tuck credited with saving his life. Bob eventually managed to escape on 1 February 1945, during the evacuation of the camp, with the help of Polish RAF pilot Zbigniew Kustrzyński. Both made it to the Russian lines. In 1946 Tuck was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross by the United States on 14 June 1946. After his retirement from the RAF on 13 May 1949, Bob served as a technical advisor on the movie "Battle of Britain" in 1969 and went on to farm mushrooms. Roland Robert Stanford Tuck passed away on 5 May 1987 at the age of 70 years old. He lies in rest at St Clements Church in Sandwich, Dover District, Kent England. Lest We Forget. This film follows Bob Tuck from crash landing near Boulogne Norther France to his escape from a forced March in 1945. If you would like to support my channel buymeacoffee.com/gullperch    / @gullperchhistoricalarchives