“Unknown to them, the leather flying helmet that contained his intercom didn’t fit easily over the scientist’s large head, so he couldn’t hear them. Nor did Bohr, who could be remarkably unworldly, properly understand how to use the oxygen.”
BOAC flew unarmed Mosquitos between Scotland and Stockholm to haul ball bearings, 1,400 pounds a trip. The British minister in Stockholm wanted Dakotas flying anyway and called the loss of one or two crews acceptable. Niels Bohr rode out in a felt-lined bomb bay on October 6, 1943, missed the oxygen briefing because his helmet didn’t fit, and landed weak but alive. The Manhattan Project nearly lost its most famous recruit to a hat size.