Ulric Cross: Difference between revisions

In 1941, aged 24, Cross left Trinidad to join Britain's [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF). He served with [[RAF Bomber Command]] during World War II, attaining the rank of Squadron Leader which he liked.<ref>Julien Neaves, [http://www.trinidadexpress.com/featured-news/A_Caribbean_veteran_remembered-124992729.html "A Caribbean veteran remembered"], ''Trinidad Express Newspapers'', 5 July 2011.</ref> In June 1944 he was awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] and in January 1945, he was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]]<ref name=CottonTree /><ref>[[Martin Francis]], ''The Flyer: British Culture and the Royal Air Force 1939–1945'', Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 59.</ref> in recognition of his "fine example of keenness and devotion to duty" and "exceptional navigational ability".<ref name=UWI /> He was a member of the elite [[Pathfinder (RAF)|Pathfinder Force]] that perfected techniques for precision main force bombing. In his own words: "We did a lot of low-level daylight bombing. We flew at just 50 feet instead of the normal 25,000 feet. We dropped four 500-pound bombs. You flew in to your target at 50 feet and as you approached it you went up to 1,200 feet. You then did a shallow dive onto the target and released your bombs. The bomb had an 11-second delay, so you shot up to avoid the bomb blast. We went over in formation and we bombed in formation, but we came back independently." Cross flew 80 missions over [[Germany]] and [[occupied Europe]] as Navigator of a [[Mosquito bomber|Mosquito fighter-bomber]],<ref name=Andre&Christian /> and was the model for the Black character, Squadron Leader Charles Ford, in [[Ken Follett]]'s novel ''[[Hornet Flight]]''.<ref>David Brewster, [http://ken-follett.com/bibliography/hornet_flight/interviews/040303_ulric_cross.html "Hornet Flight – The black hornet: UK war novel character inspired by Ulric Cross"]. ''Trinidad Express'', 25 January 2004, reprinted on Ken Follett website.</ref><ref>[http://www.militarian.com/threads/trinidadians-in-the-raf.2461/ "Black Hornet", Trinidadians in the RAF], Militarian.</ref><ref>[[Cy Grant]], [http://www.itzcaribbean.com/caribbeanaircrew_ww2_raf.php "WWII Caribbean Air Crew Archive, A Permanent On-Line Archive of Caribbean Air Crew in the Royal Air Force, WW II"]. ItzCaribbean.com.</ref>