Flight Lieutenant David Morgan was just a third of the way through his training when he was called up for the Falklands War.

But his inexperience with the Sea Harrier jet didn't stand in his way - for he became the most successful pilot of the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross medal for his bravery as he shot down four enemy aircraft.

Now a commercial airline pilot, David Morgan recalls the events of the war with a mixture of emotions - fear, excitement and concern.

`I was a qualified Harrier pilot with the airforce,' explains David, `and I had been sent on an exchange with the navy to learn to fly the Sea Harrier. I was about a third of the way through that course when I got called up.

`The Sea Harrier plane is very different from the airforce Harrier. The airforce Harrier is more of a ground attack, so I had to learn about a whole new weapons system.'

David Morgan was sent to the Falklands War with the 800 Naval Air Squadron, on board the Hermes aircraft carrier. `Basically everyone who could fly an aircraft was sent - the fact I hadn't finished my training didn't matter.

`I was initially told I wouldn't be flying, but that I would go as a back-up ops man, then 12 hours later I was told I would be a pilot after all.'

David flew his jet from Yeovilton onto the aircraft carrier at Portsmouth and they sailed the next day.

`I was feeling a whole range of emotions,' he said, `I was very concerned on the one hand but on the other it was something I had been training for nearly 20 years.'

David was 35 years-old, married with two children. He had been in the services since 1966, flying helicopters as well as Harrier jets.

Because of his experience with airforce Harriers, David was asked to head a small ground attack team. Their mission was to destroy Stanley airport so that the Argentinian army could no longer use it.

`It took us about three weeks to get to the Falklands so we had time to carefully devise our attacks using cluster bombs. You can never be 100 per cent ready for something like that, but by the time we got to the Islands we were feeling very confident,' he said.

Their first attack on Stanley was on May 1. David recalled: `Nine of us went in and attacked the airport, while another three jets went off and bombed Goose Green. It was a very successful mission - only one of our planes got hit, and that was mine!'

David's jet was hit by a high explosive shell in the tail fin. Fortunately he managed to steer the aircraft back to ship. `The first my family saw of me was on the nine o'clock news. I was getting out of my plane with a big gaping hole in it - they were horrified!'

The British forces had 21 aircraft up against 400 enemy fighters - they knew they couldn't afford to lose any. By the next morning David Morgan's jet had been patched-up ready to go again.

That day he shot down two enemy helicopters. `When you are flying you are constantly being fired at by the enemy, but because you have gone through most things during training, when it happens for real it doesn't feel too bad,' he said.

`The first exposure to enemy fire cannot be simulated though - no matter how good the training - the feeling that this is for real and that someone is trying to kill you is frightening.

`But you soon accept it and deal with it accordingly. There are moments of great excitement and elation and moments of great panic.'

David Morgan was also present on the very last air raid. `I was sitting above Bluff Cove with a couple of minutes fuel left when I saw an enemy Skyhawk aircraft heading towards one of our landing craft.

`I chased him and shot him down and then another was coming towards me - I shot that down too.'

David was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the Royal Navy - he is one of only a handful of RAF officers to receive it, and he accepted it with great pride and honour.

He knows that he is very lucky to still be alive. `I know that I am very fortunate to be reaching my 50th birthday. Many of my pilot friends have died over the years - not only during conflicts but also in peace-time air accidents.

`Military flying is extremely hazardous,' he said.

David feels he will never be able fully to put the Falklands War behind him. `I still recall events and it is good to get together with ex-colleagues and talk about it. Under extreme circumstances such as war you make very deep friendships that last forever.'

David now works for a commercial airline and lives in Dorset.

Memories
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