To most people, a good luck charm consists of a rabbit’s foot or a four leaf clover but pilots in the Royal Air Force during World War II took good luck charms to another level. Bottle caps, tiny teddy bears, and charms made from bits of aircraft make up a small portion of the items carried by the pilots for a little bit of luck as they carried out their missions. When faced with danger every day, superstitions ran wild and men would do anything to make sure their plane landed safely on the ground. For instance, RAF pilot Geoffrey Wellum let his little stuffed Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh ride with him atop his map case on every flight and claimed that his little mascot made him fly with more confidence.  

Good luck charms were just a few of the things carried by the pilots of the RAF. To learn more about what men in the RAF carried with them on their flights, the new book from Shire Publications, What the RAF Airman Took to War, catalogues both standard issue and sentimental items toted by them.  

Bill Howard, author of What the Airman Took to War talks more about Geoffrey Wellum, who wrote the forward to this book, in his short video below.