My dad was a mechanic and part-time radar operator in the RAF. He didn't join up 'till late and was involved in the Hamburg airlift. He said he cried when he first saw what had been done to Hamburg and he wasn't the only one either.
The war was over by then, of course, and the only fighting he was involved in was boxing for his squadron. One of his jobs in Hamburg was to drive the radar wagon to the end of the runway and guide the planes in. One of the freighters was flying blind in the fog, wasn't paying attention to his instruments, and took the aerial off the roof of my dad's wagon. My dad was put on fatigues because he took the aerial and showed the pilot of the freighter what he could do with it.
From the stories he tells (often) it sounds like he was a bit of a joker too and had several deals going with the local Germans, one of which made him an ashtray for his wedding present. Strange really as my dad has never smoked - must have been the language barrier.