"Ken Cranefield , who has died aged 94, dropped supplies to men of the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem, despite having been severely wounded and for his courage he won a DFC. Operation Market Garden, the capture of a series of key bridges in the Netherlands, began on September 17 1944. Cranefield was the pilot of one of 22 Dakota transport aircraft of No 233 Squadron that took off from an airfield near Swindon, each towing a Horsa glider carrying elements of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and the Border Regiment. Little opposition was encountered and all but one of the gliders arrived on Landing Zone “S”. As the situation on the ground at Arnhem deteriorated, the re-supply of the beleaguered positions became critical. The RAF suffered increasing losses as the enemy reinforced its anti-aircraft capability. On the morning of the 23rd, No 233 Squadron was given the task of dropping more supplies and 17 Dakotas took off. Cranefield was the pilot of one of them. Approaching the dropping zone, the Dakotas met heavy resistance. Later Cranefield remembered that the anti-aircraft fire “sounded like peanuts raking the length of the fuselage”. Then his wireless operator shouted over the intercom: “Skipper, the starboard wing is on fire.” A large hole had been torn in the wing, making it difficult to control, but Cranefield pressed on. Close to the dropping zone, his Dakota was again hit and he was badly wounded in the knee and thigh. Refusing treatment he remained at the aircraft’s controls and the panniers were dropped successfully. Only then did he allow the second pilot, Flight Sergeant Stapleford RNZAF, to take control and fly the aircraft back to base. A member of his crew tended to his wounds, using the flex from a microphone as a tourniquet. In hospital Cranefield met an RAF nursing sister who would become his wife. The citation for the award of an immediate DFC described him as “a courageous and resolute captain who set a very fine example”. His wounds were so serious that he was unable to return to flying duties. Knivett Garton Cranefield, always known as Ken, was born in Ealing on May 2 1922. He enlisted into the RAF in February 1941. He trained as a pilot under a joint US/UK Training Scheme. He completed his training in Britain on the Wellington bomber and ferried one to North Africa. En route, his aircraft was intercepted by three long-range German fighters, but he managed to evade them." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/10/18/ken-cranefield-pilot-wounded-dropping-supply-panniers-into-arnhe/
