Star Trek icon's horrific WW2 injury - and how he hid it on sci-fi set

One Star Trek legend suffered a horrific injury in World War 2 that he tried his best to hide while starring in the hit sci-fi show. James Doohan found fame as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott on the programme alongside stars like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, but before turning to acting he was involved in the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.

James, who originally hailed from Canada, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery in 1939. By 1940 he had been promoted to lieutenant and sent to Britain to train for Operation Overlord. He then travelled to Juno Beach in 1944 as part of the D-Day landings, managing to take out two snipers while doing so.

Doohan bravely led his men through a field of anti-tank mines, managing to survive the "baptism of fire". But later that night, a forgotten password led to friendly fire aimed at Doohan and his team by a "highly strung sentry armed with a Bren Gun".

Six bullets hit the actor, with four rounds passing into his leg and one severing a finger on his right hand. The remaining bullet thankfully hit a cigarette case rather than entering his chest.

Doohan was quickly escorted to the nearest first aid post, with his bloody hand bandaged. He was then evacuated to England, where his right middle finger had to be amputated. After the war, the injury meant he struggled to find work as a labourer - so turned to acting instead.

In Star Trek, Doohan hid his missing finger diligently - sometimes by keeping his hand out of frame, and other times wearing a flesh-coloured glove so nobody would be alerted to the missing digit.

He also had a stand-in for episodes requiring close-ups of Scotty's hands, including in the episodes Wolf in the Fold and That Which Survives. But at times, the missing finger is visible on-screen, including in The Lights of Zetar and The Trouble with Tribbles.