The Churchill Series - Nov. 18, 2005

(One of a series of daily posts about Winston S. Churchill.)

On the morning of May 26, 1943 Churchill left Washington. He'd completed a successful conference with President Roosevelt during which the two leaders reached a number of agreements, including one to share information and materials that each country would use to develop an atom bomb.

Churchill traveled by flying boat, first to Newfoundland where the plane refueled, and then on to Gibraltar. From there, he planned to cross to Algiers where he would talk to Eisenhower about future military operations aimed at putting Italy out of the war.

Accompanying Churchill were a number of aides as well as his bodyguard, Inspector Thompson, whom we met for the first time last evening. Also on the flight was US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.

Their flying time would be about 17 hours, with the refueling in Newfoundland adding a few more hours to the flight.

On the Newfoundland to Gibraltar leg, it was dark and Churchill decided to sleep.

Martin Gilbert, on whose Winston S. Churchill: Road to Victory, 1941-1945 I've relied for the information above let Churchill tell what happened next.

From Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 4. (p. 727):

The large double bed ... was most comfortable and I slept for a good many hours. All at once there was a sudden shock and bump. I awoke. Something had happened. There were no consequences, which after all are what is important in air journeys. Nevertheless, being thoroughly awake, I put on my zip suit and went forward.
...

I sat in the co-pilot's seat. It was by now a lovely moonlight night. After a while I asked the pilot what caused the bump.

"We were struck by lightning," he said, "but there's nothing wrong."

That was good news. We had not caught fire or broken up in the air; there was no need to make a forced landing a thousand miles from anywhere.

I had always wondered why aircraft did not mind being struck by lightning. To a groundsman it would seem quite a dangerous thing.

Afterwards I learned that there had been a good deal of anxiety.

It was a serious incident but could you keep from smiling as Churchill let us know the pilot hadn't fooled him?