his training and was commissioned as a pilot officer in December that year. He subsequently served as a flying instructor in Southern Rhodesia. In May 1944 Raw became engaged to Dorothy Maggs, whose family lived in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. In mid-1944, Raw was transferred to Egypt and undertook an operational conversion course that prepared him to fly Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers in combat. In July that year he was posted to No. 178 Squadron RAF, a British B-24 Liberator unit based near Foggia in southern Italy. While serving with this squadron, Raw took part in operations in the eastern Mediterranean region as well as Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. During one of his first combat operations, a raid on an oil refinery near Ploiești in Romania, Raw successfully bombed the target despite heavy anti-aircraft gunfire and later evaded an enemy fighter. In August 1944 the long-range bomber units controlled by No. 205 Group RAF, including No. 178 Squadron, took part in the Warsaw airlift to supply the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw uprising. These missions were very challenging due to the long duration of the flights, adverse weather and German opposition. The bomber units involved suffered heavy casualties. Raw made three flights to Warsaw. His bomber was the only aircraft to deliver its cargo to Warsaw during a mission on 16 August; Raw received the Polish Cross of Valour in February 1945 for this achievement. One of his other flights to Warsaw took place on 1 September, but due to bad weather Raw was unable to see the city at the time he dropped the load of supplies. During a raid on the northern Italian city of Verona on 12 October 1944, Raw's aircraft was hit by two anti-aircraft shells that destroyed its hydraulics system and an engine, wounded the radio operator and opened 166 holes in the fuselage. Despite this damage, Raw was able to return the B-24 safely to its base. He suffered frostbite to his feet, as damage to the plane's nose caused icy winds to enter the cockpit. In December 1944, Raw was promoted to flight lieutenant. He assumed command of No. 205 Group Communication Squadron in 1945. On 20 February that year, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for having "completed a notable tour of operational duty" in which he displayed "exceptional skill and devotion to duty" and developed a high-performing