MORE than 60 years ago, he was one of the enemy who helped rain death and destruction down on the beleaguered North-East and Yorkshire.

But the passing of the years has turned former combatants into friends - and former Luftwaffe pilot Willi Schludecker came back to the region as a tourist.

Now 87, he flew Dornier bombers in a total of 120 operational flights, seeing action over England, Russia and the Balkans.

He completed 32 missions against targets in England between April and July 1942 - including York, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Most of his missions were bombing raids, but also included mine laying sorties, and he was twice awarded the Iron Cross for his exploits.

During his wartime service, nine of his aircraft were so badly shot up that he was forced to crash land them.

And an accident in July 1942 was so severe that he spent six months recuperating in hospital. It was his last operational mission.

After the war, he developed a friendship with York historian Bill Norman and this week he visited the area for the first time on land.

In York, he met a witness who saw one of his bombs strike their target - a gasometer.

And later he visited RAF Linton-on-Ouse, a wartime bomber base, where he chatted to modern aircrews.

He showed them his original uniform with its medals before proving he still has the skills required of a military pilot in the flight simulator.

"This is the first time I have ever set foot on an RAF base and I think it is wonderful," he said.

"Everything is so well organised and if I could find a cure to reduce my age, I would apply to join tomorrow."

Linton pilot Flying Officer Jon Bond said: "Meeting Willi was an honour for me. To hear of the things he did and the problems aircrew on both sides faced during the war is very humbling."

Despite his age, Herr Schludecker still flies regularly with his friend and ex-pupil, Richard Flohr-Swann, who holds the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic from west to east in a single-engine monoplane, doing it in 17 hours and 37 minutes.

Last weekend, the pair even competed at the Goodwood air festival