VR makes a WWII radio broadcast feel real — and raises some questions

On the night of September 3, 1943, hundreds of Royal Air Force pilots and crew prepared themselves and their planes for the long flight across the North Sea to conduct a night-time raid over Berlin. One of over 350 raids carried out over the German capital during the war, what made this a significant date was the cargo being carried on board one Lancaster bomber in particular — “F for Freddie.” Taking off from RAF Langar in Nottinghamshire, F for Freddie was equipped with an additional weapon beyond its usual payload of machine guns and bombs: a journalist.

BBC reporter Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and his engineer, Reg Pidsley, joined the RAF crew to record and broadcast the night’s events through radio, as the aircraft flew its mission over enemy occupied territory swarming with hostile fighters. In his own words, watching the bombs drop  “was like watching somebody throwing jewellery on black velvet, winching rubies, sparkling diamonds all coming up at you.” It was possibly the most hazardous eye witness account given on the radio during the whole war.