Was Douglas Bader Shot Down?

In the ensuing close engagements, Wing Commander Bader was 'downed'. Exactly what happened to Bader remains a mystery to this day. Bader maintained that he had a mid air collision with a Bf 109. The Luftwaffe's JG 26's Kommodore, Oberst Adolf Galland, maintained that Bader had been shot down by one of his pilots.

Was Douglas Bader shot down by own side?

No there isn't, absolutely none from the German side,” says US writer Donald Caldwell. “It's my belief that Bader came up with the theory that he had collided when he was in PoW camp as a sop to his ego. He was violating standing orders by flying inland by himself, which he should not have done.

Who shot Bader down?

RAF combat records indicate Bader may have been shot down by Flight Lieutenant "Buck" Casson of No. 616 Squadron RAF, who claimed a Bf 109 whose tail came off and the pilot baled out, before he himself was shot down and captured.