A Second World War veteran told King Charles that critics of RAF Bomber Command “would never have come into existence if we had lost the war”.

       The comments were made as the King visited veterans at the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the famous Dambusters raid.

       Among the men were several bomber pilots and crew who flew countless missions over Germany in a campaign credited with seriously damaging the Nazi war machine despite subsequent controversy over the cost of civilian lives.

       One veteran the King spoke to at the BBMF museum in Lincolnshire, which hosts aircraft including the Lancaster Bomber, used in the 1943 Dambusters Raid, highlighted the criticism RAF Bomber Command had been subjected to for targeting German cities during the war.

       Colin Bell, a former flight lieutenant who flew Mosquito bombers with 608 Squadron, known as the Pathfinder Group, said: “We’re criticised by people who would not have come into existence if we had lost the war.

       “And this is the most important thing, the objective of Bomber Command was to destroy the German capability of attacking us, that and nothing more.”

       The 102-year-old veteran, who only stopped working as a chartered valuation surveyor when he was 99 years old, added: “We weren’t interested in killing civilians, we were only interested in destroying their cities that were producing armaments and other weapons to be used against us.

       “And by and large, I think Bomber Command did a very good job.”

       The veterans spent Monday having afternoon tea in a giant hangar. When the King arrived, many of the elderly men in their late 90s and some aged more than 100 joined the guests in standing.

       The King told some of the modern crew that the machinery in the Second World War planes was incredibly simple compared to 21st-century military aircraft.

       But then, turning towards some of the veterans, he said: “Thank God for all these men: people like you who looked after us.”

       The 74-year-old monarch recalled struggling to fly a Shackleton bomber when he was younger and spoke to Bomber Command veterans about their experiences of flying missions over enemy territory.

       “Being shot at all the time,” he said. “The horror of it.”

       The King also met 100-year-old George Pritchard, a pilot in the RAF’s Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, who went on to develop the cardiac pacemaker in a career in medical electronics after the war.

       “We had the highest rate of attrition in the war. A lot of my comrades were murdered in France, shot as spies on Hitler’s orders, after being shot down,” he said.

       The King also spoke with Eddie Habberley, also 100, and a Spitfire pilot who flew in Burma.

       The monarch sympathised with Mr Habberley.

       “My great uncle Lord Mountbatten got you to fly in the Monsoon period,” he said to the veteran, who pulled a face and later recalled that three of his squadron were killed during that period.

       “Bet you got tossed about a bit in the plane,” said the King. “It’s hard enough being shot at.”