John Anthony Logan Currie, DFC (7 December 1921 – 19 October 1996) was an officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and an author.

After he left the service he wrote a number of books on the RAF, three of which described his own experiences as a bomber pilot.

He completed his initial training in England, undergoing dual instruction on Tiger Moths at RAF Ansty.

Near the end of his Basic course he was flying low over a river when he discovered a second Stearman trainer coming up on him from behind.

Thinking it rather bold for another student to attempt to gain a firing position, Currie put his airplane through a sharp, climbing turn.

With that Currie put in a series of hard maneuvers, finally gaining the upper hand.

At the completion of his training Currie was rated "above average" and offered a commission in exchange for staying on in Georgia as a pilot instructor.

This struck the review board as odd, so as an excuse for declining the commission he claimed he felt he was too young to be an officer.

[1] Currie earned his wings and returned to the United Kingdom in late 1942, being posted to Bomber Command as a sergeant pilot.

He had been removed from his first crew and placed on disciplinary duty for 6 months after he punched his pilot for drinking alcohol too near to their flight time.

Three days later Currie piloted his own aircraft and crew on their first operation together, laying mines in the Bay of Biscay.

[7] Following these two shake down flights Currie and his crew began regular operations with the rest of 12 Squadron.

Thinking about the principles he learned in flight school, he realized by increasing the power to the outer engine he could use the torque of the propeller to lift the wing and bank the aircraft.

Reaching England, he doubted he could maintain adequate control of the aircraft to land safely, and advised his crew to bail out.

[9] With no aileron controls the wings continued to rock and dip up and down, and with no flaps the landing speed had to be high to avoid stalling.

The squadron commander immediately recommended Currie for a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, but this was turned down.

The mid-upper gunner, George Protheroe, put a stream of .303 machine gun fire into one and may have shot him down.

As Currie's total trips approached the magic mark of 30 he began to wonder if they would in fact beat the odds and survive their first tour.

Furious that his final mission was back to one of the continent's most distant and dangerous targets, Currie went to argue with his flight commander, but he could make no odds.

After a period of leave Currie was posted to 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit based at RAF Blyton and qualified as an instructor flying the Handley Page Halifax.

Though no posts were coming open, a navigator who was an officer asked if he would want to apply for the Pathfinder Force.

While living in Newark he became involved in the town cricket club and the Robin Hood Theatre at Averham, where he participated in a number of theatrical productions, notably playing the king in the Newark Amateur Operatic Society's 1961 production of The King and I.

[1] In 1970 he moved his family to London to take up a position as south east area secretary in organising small scale air shows.

Over time these grew and developed into the RAF Benevolent Fund's annual Royal International Air Tattoo.

[7] In the 1970s and 1980s Currie wrote a number of books detailing the experiences of the crews who took part in the RAF's bombing campaign.

[7] In those books that related his personal experience he provided the reader with a first hand account of just what it was like to fly from Wickenby on some of the war's most difficult raids.

It was said in the press that "he wrote with a warmth and humour that belied the extreme peril he and his crew faced on a daily basis.

"[1] Through his writing he was asked to participate in a number of BBC television documentaries on the Royal Air Force, which he narrated.

[1] A highlight of his later years was when he was asked to join the RAF crew of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster, and took the controls while over Lincolnshire.