How to see the flight marking 80th anniversary of Scot's heroic mission in World War Two 'flying boat'

The efforts of Flt Lt John Cruickshank, who is now 104 and the only surviving holder of a Second World Word VC, will be marked with a fly-by of his home in the Aberdeen on Wednesday.

The flight in a 1944 Catalina will also mark 80 years since the posthumous VC award to Canadian airman and Catalina pilot Flt Lt David Hornell, based at RAF Wick, who died in action near the Faroe Isles. The commemorative flight will also pass Hornell’s final resting place at Lerwick New Cemetery in Shetland.

The flight began on Tuesday at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and will also take in several RAF Coastal Command stations, including Wick, Invergordon, Alness, Inverness and Oban.

Pilot and flight organiser Jeff Boyling, director of Catalina Aircraft Limited (CAL), which owns the aircraft, said he did not want the history of the two men to be lost.

He said: “Their bravery and the bravery of their crews gives me the freedom that I enjoy today and the freedom that a lot of us enjoy and I am mindful of recognising those who contributed to our freedom. I want to ensure that the history, which is 80 years old, is not forgotten.

“John Cruickshank was only 24 at the time, so a young man. What he did was amazing. And the fact that he is still alive is even more amazing.

“Cruickshank was hit in 72 places with two serious wounds to his lungs and ten penetrating wounds to his lower limbs.

“He refused morphine so that his judgement would not be affected. The second pilot brought the aircraft back to Sullom Voe; a journey lasting five-and-a-half hours during which time Cruickshank lapsed in and out of consciousness.

“He returned to the cockpit and took command of the aircraft. After another hour, Cruickshank landed the aircraft and ran it ashore to stop it from sinking.

“He needed a blood transfusion before he could be taken to hospital. For his actions in sinking the submarine and saving his crew, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Amazingly, John was 104 on 20th May. He is the last surviving WW2 VC holder.”

Mr Hornell died after spending 21 hours on open water following the successful sinking of the German submarine U-1225.

Mr Boyling said: “The Catalina was badly damaged in the engagement, but despite the aircraft being on fire and losing the starboard engine Hornell managed to land it on a heavy swell.

“The crew took to the only serviceable dinghy and then took turns in the cold water. By the time they were rescued 21 hours later, the flight engineers had died and Hornell died shortly afterwards.”

Mr Boyling described the Catalina as “hands on” aircraft to fly.

He said: “You can’t sit back and fold your arms, she has a mind of her own, but she is much happier flying over water. She is much smoother than when flying over land because you have much more of a constant temperature when flying over water.

Mr Boyling added: “The Catalina was probably one of the most versatile aircraft of World War Two because it was used for convoy protection, it was a sub hunter and used for air sea rescue or inserting extracting or inserting commandos . So they had a multitude of roles.”