An RAF helicopter pilot has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after steering his Chinook one handed when it came under fire in Afghanistan.
Flight Lieutenant Daniel Cullen won his DFC after being forced to fly solo after his co-pilot was shot in the foot and lay slumped across the controls.
He used one hand to prop him up while using the other to navigate the aircraft out of the area.
"I've been to Afghanistan a few times and been unfortunate to have been shot at and had the aircraft hit on a number of occasions," said Flt Lt Cullen.
"I think that had prepared me in some respects for taking rounds and knowing what to do."
Army explosives specialist Captain James Fidell has also been awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal .
He spent eight hours in a pitch-black tunnel under a road in Helmand Province, last August, defusing a massive Taliban bomb.
The space was so tight that Capt James Fidell could not wear a bomb disposal suit, helmet or body armour as he painstakingly deactivated the 110lb improvised explosive device by hand in sweltering heat.
Capt Fidell, 28, from York, then serving with 11 EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, decided to make the IED safe rather than blow it up.
"The road is an important route for locals and our forces," he explained. "It is a concrete surface and therefore very difficult for the Taliban to lay bombs on.
"Had we detonated the device, not only would it have hurt the local economy and our mission, it would also have made it easier for the insurgents to plant more IEDs.
"Because of this, I took the decision to crawl into the tunnel and deactivate the device. I was quite surprised by just how hot and humid it was in the tunnel, and it was so tight I had to go in without my protective gear."
As the 6ft 5in soldier crawled into the narrow Taliban-dug 45ft-long tunnel, the troops providing security for him came under fire from insurgents,
But he continued with his perilous task, constantly looking for hidden secondary devices planted to target anyone trying to defuse the bomb.
Capt Fidell said neutralising the huge IED was the most difficult task he performed on his tour of Afghanistan .
His medal citation states: "Fidell demonstrated exceptional gallantry, bravery, supreme professionalism and unwavering composure in the most dangerous of circumstances."
A total of 131 servicemen and women - most of whom served with 3 Commando Brigade in Afghanistan between April and October last year - have been recognised in the latest operational honours list.
