Beating the Odds: Superstition and Human Agency in RAF Bomber Command, 1942–1945

Abstract

Scholars have tended to ignore superstition among RAF Bomber Command aircrews in the Second World War. Among those who have mentioned the subject, furthermore, there has sometimes been a tendency to dismiss charms, talismans, mascots, and rituals as completely irrational and highly regressive. This article argues that at least some common aircrew practices and beliefs were not as irrational as they might superficially appear. It also makes the case that superstitious beliefs and practices helped men to keep flying despite the heavy odds against survival, and that this was why no effort was made by the authorities to curtail them.