Six out of every 10 men who flew were killed and only those who were brave enough to volunteer as air crew in the face of unspeakable danger were trained.

Launceston’s Max Sanders was one of those courageous young men, who at age 18, left Tasmania to join the Royal Australian Air Force.

Mr Sanders was part of a 419 (Moose) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force, based at Middleton St George, the northernmost Bomber Command airfield in the UK.

He was the navigator of his crew and the only Australian, flying with three Canadians and three Englishmen.

“I went to Glen Dhu Primary School and then went to technical college and that’s where I learnt all my geometry and drawings and that was the education that led to my navigation,” Mr Sanders said.

“I love geometry and I don’t know why, but I could draw plans and I reckon that’s what helped me a lot … we didn’t have the navigation aids that they have now that are all computerised.”

He was required to meticulously plan flight paths over the border into Germany in 1944 and took part in 31 trips, one more than was required for his tour because a navigator on another crew was ill.

Mr Sanders said there was little recognition for members of Bomber Command at the end of the war, with public outcry about choices to bomb particular locations.

“We were treated the same as the Vietnam vets, people just didn’t want to know us and you can’t understand it. I’ve talked to quite a few Vietnam vets and I know what they went through,” he said.

“It was a bugger of a job. It was a thankless job, but you’re told to do it so you do it.”

The 92-year-old was awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal for “acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy” but only discovered his eligibility for the French Legion of Honour in the past few years.

The order of distinction was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1802 and is the highest decoration bestowed by the French.

The award is so signifcant it is decided by the President of the French Republic, subject to a very strict examination.

Mr Sanders said he did not want a grand ceremony to receive the medal, which recognises veterans who fought for the liberation of France.

Instead, the award arrived in the post on Monday.

But one of his proudest achievements remains his family, with three children, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.