Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Flight Sergeant

Unit:

No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron, Royal Air Force

Awarded on:

September 24th, 1943

Citation:
"One night in August 1943, this airman was the bomb-aimer of an aircraft detailed for an operation against Turin. Whist over the city the bomber was subjected to accurate bursts of fire from an enemy fighter. The windscreen was shattered, the front and rear turrets were put out of action while three engines were hit, one of them being rendered useless. The navigator was killed and the pilot was wounded and lay slumped over the controls. He was removed from his position and Flight Sergeant Larden coolly took over the controls. The aircraft was down to three thousand feet and the bombs were released. Flight Sergeant Larden realized that he would be unable to gain height sufficiently to cross the Alps so decided to make for North Africa without navigator and flying a crippled bomber. The situation was serious, but displaying outstanding skill and determination, this airman succeeded in reaching an airfield in Tunisia; although he had never previously landed an aircraft, Flight Sergeant Larden came down perfectly with the undercarriage retracted. In the face of extreme peril this airman displayed courage, coolness and resource of a high order."

According to research the plane was not hit by enemy fire but by friendly fire from the tail gunner of the plane that was flying in front of them. (Cooper, 2008)