Page 7 - Edward 'Ted' Cachart

Ted Cachart, the crew's Wireless Operator continues:

ʻWe were about 30 miles North North East from Berlin when an almighty impact suddenly
shuddered throughout the aircraft tipping me out of my seat. My helmet and oxygen mask were
ripped away as I dived for the astrodome, just in time to see a large piece of the starboard wing
complete with engine disappear. With no intercom or oxygen I grabbed my chute but became
stuck to the main spar by the G-force as Johnny and Allan Vidow our Flight Engineer fought to pull
'Nan's' nose up. Eventually I slid over the spar and got down to the tail where both gunners stood
waiting with the door open. The well-practiced drill for abandoning the aircraft from the rear was: I
would go aft and check the mid-upper gunner was out of his turret and whilst he opened and
clipped back the door I would help the rear gunner out of his turret. I would be No. 1 to jump.
Unable to communicate without my helmet and with both gunners standing ready by the open
door, instinct took over, I remember sitting on the step and rolling out, then hanging in my chute
watching the aircraft flying away into clouds and wondering if I was supposed to have jumped or
not. It would be two days before I knew the rest of the crew had jumped!ʼ

Incredibly, all the crew managed to get out safely, but the skipper who was the last to leave did
dislocate his shoulder on landing.

On opening his parachute, Allan Mahony had another shock:

ʻI looked down and all I could see in the semi-darkness was a large area of black. I thought ‘My
God’ it's the sea and this being January there would be no chance of survival. The wind was
blowing a gale and making the parachute oscillate violently but as I neared the ground, I realised
the blackness was in fact a forest and moments later I was crashing through branches. My fall was
halted as the chute snagged on the tree tops and I remained suspended some thirty feet from the
ground. After releasing my harness and in attempting to climb down, I fell and hit the forest floor
injuring my back.ʼ

In fact the fall had broken Sgt Mahony's back and it was never reset properly resulting in Spud
having to wear a support harness for the rest of his life. This modest Australian airman who
remarkably survived two horrendous accidents has been left with a terrible legacy of war.