Hello Researcher111,
This is a subject I am found as well. There are quite a lot of experts here on the Forum, who will add much more than my humble small knowledge, but I suggest you some excellent material for Reading:
1- BLACK LYSANDER (by John-Nesbitt Dunfort, DSO, DFC) here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...wnigelperri-21 (this one I DO NOT HAVE YET)
2- WE LANDED BY MOONLIGHT (by another decorated flyer, Hugh Verity, DSO, DFC) here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Landed-Mo...dp/0947554750;
3- AIRBORNE ESPIONAGE (here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Airborne-Esp...ations+ww2+SOE)
4- SOE IN FRANCE (by M R D Foot)
I do remember by heart, that Hugh Verity's book is amazing....full of details, etc...The navigation was (if memory does not fail me) done on 1,250:000 maps (folded) and one had to pinpoint the major landing marks on the grounds. Of course, the selection to be "part" of either 138 or 161 Squadron was strict...the pilots had to have at least 500 hours and some "hundreds of ours" by night...no unexperienced airmen were allowed to join....believe me! I do not have the book at hand now...so I can not inform precisely, but this is a "MUST HAVE" on the shelve...believe me!
YES, there were accidents...but I do not remember one of the members being captured. Some needed to "run" and werer rescued by similar rescue operations on another landing grounds...There is a list of all Allied aircraft lost on this kind of operations (on PDF format). I will have a check on my files to dig this out for you.
From what I have read and researched, they wouldn't take off if the conditions were below minimums IFR, because they wouldn't have how to return home. However, those were long missions and the weather do change quite a lot during this time, this is why some of those airmen had narrow missings with death, while landing at below minimums conditions...there were crashes and deaths, due to fog, etc...
It is really SAD that NO BOOK has appeared about 138 and 161 Squadrons yet...I mean a full Squadron History, etc...with Logbooks, etc....I do have the GREATEST Admiration for those SD Airmen and aircrew....and guys, those were times with NO GPS....just stick and ruder, and dead reckoning navigation....
I do humbly hope this is of interest. I do apologize if "I am raining on the wet"....I mean, if you already know this and are looking for a deeper information.
Yours,
Adriano S. Baumgartner
Adriano S. Baumgartner