Picture of the day

[XRCD011]

Any video and picture I've seen shows prop blades with the same RH rotation on both engines.

Notice the Mosquito landing with the port engine not running and propeller feather at 3:10

 

[AP]

Notice the Mosquito landing with the port engine not running and propeller feather at 3:10

a ceiling of more than 36000ft ....geez...thats more than 4000ft higher than a Superfortress!

 

[M1-Garand]

Notice the Mosquito landing with the port engine not running and propeller feather at 3:10

Port engine running,starboard prop feathered.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Lancaster R5700:

Factory fresh.

Beat up, but home:

The damaged fuselage and mid-upper turret of Avro Lancaster B Mark I, R5700 ‘ZN-G’, of No. 106 Squadron RAF based at Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire, after crash-landing at Hardwick, Norfolk, following an attack by a German fighter over Essen. R5700, was among 60 aircraft taking part in one of the first “Oboe” raids on Essen, on the night of 13/14 January 1943, when it was twice attacked by a Focke Wulf Fw 190 “Wilde Sau” night-fighter shortly after bombing the target.

Repaired and put back in service.

Lost on ops 22/23 September 1943 with all crew.
Pilot - P/O Edward Crabtree, RAAF
FlEng - Sgt. Malcolm Macritchie, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - Sgt. George Sales, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - W/O2 Nelson Noble, RCAF
Wireless op - Sgt. Vincent Hirst-Gee, RAFVR
Air gunner - Sgt. Dennis Everett, RCAF
Air gunner - Sgt. Victor Lander, RAF

Manitoba boy.

Shot down by Fw. Hermann Wishnewski, who survived the war, having been shot down and wounded 29 July 1944. Sh!tty deal, war. In other times, these boys and the man who was directly responsible for their deaths might have gotten along very well.

 

[purple]

One of my sisters lives in Rhineberg, Germany. There is a Commonwealth war cemetery located nearby which contains the graves of many RAF/RCAF aircrew who were killed while bombing the Ruhr. I visited the cemetery again this spring. Its sobering to look at the numbers as well as the ages.

 

[Ganderite]

Yes, the ages. A 25 year old would be old. Many teenagers were fighting for their lives.

 

[caperaway]

Lancaster R5700:

Factory fresh.

Beat up, but home:

Repaired and put back in service.

Lost on ops 22/23 September 1943 with all crew.
Pilot - P/O Edward Crabtree, RAAF
FlEng - Sgt. Malcolm Macritchie, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - Sgt. George Sales, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - W/O2 Nelson Noble, RCAF
Wireless op - Sgt. Vincent Hirst-Gee, RAFVR
Air gunner - Sgt. Dennis Everett, RCAF
Air gunner - Sgt. Victor Lander, RAF

Manitoba boy.

Shot down by Fw. Hermann Wishnewski, who survived the war, having been shot down and wounded 29 July 1944. Sh!tty deal, war. In other times, these boys and the man who was directly responsible for their deaths might have gotten along very well.

I knew an older gentleman who also flew Lancasters that was also named Noble. Perhaps a relative.

 

[Sharps '74]

Yes, the ages. A 25 year old would be old. Many teenagers were fighting for their lives.

.... and ours.

I am currently reading "Dam Busters" by James Holland. Published in 2012, it is the latest and definitive book on the topic. There have only been a couple of other books on the raid and they were written before the ban was lifted on secret information. The movie by that name is what most of us know about the raid.

I've mentioned before that I was stationed for four years at Fort Henry near Soest. Our camp was 5 kms away from the Mohne Dam. It was quite a sobering experience to walk over the dam and see the twin flak towers that guarded it.

The book goes into great detail on the initial conception by Barnes Wallis and the uphill battle he fought with "Bomber" Harris to get the scheme approved and Lancasters diverted for modification to carry the "UPKEEP" bomb. You also get an insight into the nature and characters of the key players instrumental in the development and execution of the raid.

Under war time pressures, it was a monumental achievement.

 

[AP]

.... and ours.

I am currently reading "Dam Busters" by James Holland. Published in 2012, it is the latest and definitive book on the topic. There have only been a couple of other books on the raid and they were written before the ban was lifted on secret information. The movie by that name is what most of us know about the raid.

I've mentioned before that I was stationed for four years at Fort Henry near Soest. Our camp was 5 kms away from the Mohne Dam. It was quite a sobering experience to walk over the dam and see the twin flak towers that guarded it.

The book goes into great detail on the initial conception by Barnes Wallis and the uphill battle he fought with "Bomber" Harris to get the scheme approved and Lancasters diverted for modification to carry the "UPKEEP" bomb. You also get an insight into the nature and characters of the key players instrumental in the development and execution of the raid.

Under war time pressures, it was a monumental achievement.

In addition to the AA guns staionned down on either side of the resevoir .... which is exactly what the Lancasters flew directly into - slow and low. With their lights on!! AND circled to repeat the same approach ... several times just in case the German gunners needed to get the range right! Geez!!! Their balls were bigger than the bombs they dropped!!

 

[AP]

.... and ours.

I am currently reading "Dam Busters" by James Holland. Published in 2012, it is the latest and definitive book on the topic. There have only been a couple of other books on the raid and they were written before the ban was lifted on secret information. The movie by that name is what most of us know about the raid.

I've mentioned before that I was stationed for four years at Fort Henry near Soest. Our camp was 5 kms away from the Mohne Dam. It was quite a sobering experience to walk over the dam and see the twin flak towers that guarded it.

The book goes into great detail on the initial conception by Barnes Wallis and the uphill battle he fought with "Bomber" Harris to get the scheme approved and Lancasters diverted for modification to carry the "UPKEEP" bomb. You also get an insight into the nature and characters of the key players instrumental in the development and execution of the raid.

Under war time pressures, it was a monumental achievement.

In addition to the AA guns staioned down on either side of the resevoir .... which is exactly what the Lancasters flew directly into - slow and low. With their lights on!! AND circled to repeat the same approach ... several times just in case the German gunners needed to get the range right! Geez!!! Their balls were bigger than the bombs they dropped!!

Imagine doing a 'touch and go' on a very long runway (very slooow in order to hold speed, altitude and achieve the distance from the target required before pulling up) at night with lights on -- while you fly directly into very powerful searchlights ... with AA guns along either side of the runway and two big gun 'emplacements't at the end of the runway firing as fast as they can -- all trying to shoot you down.... while you calmly wait for the bomb release so you can pull up?...

Sharps - we lived on Roggenwinkel in Soest

 

[XRCD011]

Port engine running,starboard prop feathered.

Doh!

 

[Gibbs505]

.... and ours.

I am currently reading "Dam Busters" by James Holland. Published in 2012, it is the latest and definitive book on the topic. There have only been a couple of other books on the raid and they were written before the ban was lifted on secret information. The movie by that name is what most of us know about the raid.

I've mentioned before that I was stationed for four years at Fort Henry near Soest. Our camp was 5 kms away from the Mohne Dam. It was quite a sobering experience to walk over the dam and see the twin flak towers that guarded it.

The book goes into great detail on the initial conception by Barnes Wallis and the uphill battle he fought with "Bomber" Harris to get the scheme approved and Lancasters diverted for modification to carry the "UPKEEP" bomb. You also get an insight into the nature and characters of the key players instrumental in the development and execution of the raid.

Under war time pressures, it was a monumental achievement.

I also recommend Guy Gibson's book, "Enemy Coast Ahead." The uncensored reprint!

And "After the flood." by John Nicol. What the dam busters did next.

 

[wce323078]

I went to school with a guy who's Dad flew with the dam busters, His Dad came to the school and gave a little speech about it. Plus the school showed the movie to illustrate. I cannot picture any of the schools doing that sort of thing nowadays.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Quite a lot of RCAF presence on Op Chastise, including quite a few Alberta lads:

http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/damsraid15.html

Of the 133 airmen that set out on the raid, 30 were Canadian and six were from Alberta. Fourteen were killed during the raid and one became a Prisoner of War. Exactly 50% of the Canadians who took off did not return. Four of the Canadians who survived the Raid were killed in action later in the war.

IIRC, Bomber Command had the highest loss rate of any service from any nation during the war (52% killed or captured) with the notable exception of the Kriegsmarine U-Boat Corps, who lost c. 81% of their crews to death or capture.

The air war wasn't feckin' glamourous, and I can't imagine what it would have been like trying to find a hatch in a spinning Lanc in the middle of the goddamned night, but I imagine it would have been startling similar to drowning in a dark tube at the bottom of the ocean.

Nasty, all of it.

 

[rockport guy]

Lancaster R5700:

Factory fresh.

Beat up, but home:

Repaired and put back in service.

Lost on ops 22/23 September 1943 with all crew.
Pilot - P/O Edward Crabtree, RAAF
FlEng - Sgt. Malcolm Macritchie, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - Sgt. George Sales, RAFVR
Nav/Bombadier - W/O2 Nelson Noble, RCAF
Wireless op - Sgt. Vincent Hirst-Gee, RAFVR
Air gunner - Sgt. Dennis Everett, RCAF
Air gunner - Sgt. Victor Lander, RAF

Manitoba boy.

Shot down by Fw. Hermann Wishnewski, who survived the war, having been shot down and wounded 29 July 1944. Sh!tty deal, war. In other times, these boys and the man who was directly responsible for their deaths might have gotten along very well.

My father was a gunner in a Lancaster... they counted i believe seventy some holes in their plane.

 

[Sharps '74]

The Dam Busters might have suffered more casualties had the 88mm Flak guns not been removed to protect other targets.

The most amazing thing about the raid was the short time span the Brits had to get it all together and make it work. Shows that given enough money and resources, government CAN actually get things done!

It's all a matter of priorities.

 

[grelmar]

The Dam Busters might have suffered more casualties had the 88mm Flak guns not been removed to protect other targets.

The most amazing thing about the raid was the short time span the Brits had to get it all together and make it work. Shows that given enough money and resources, government CAN actually get things done!

It's all a matter of priorities.

It also required an obsessive eccentric inventor of a distinctly British variety. Barnes Wallis was just the man for the job.

Educated as a ship design engineer, promptly went to work designing a blimp on graduation (the R100), then took a hankering to work on aircraft, and was instrumental in the design of the Wellington bomber (among other craft). Then got all caught up with "interesting ways to blow things up" when war broke out. The bouncing bomb, the Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs... After the war went on to work on the practical aspect of making swing-wing supersonic aircraft actually practical...

"Hey boss, Wallis has an idea for..." (boss cuts off underling) "That's all I need to hear. Throw money at it, see what he comes up with."

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Barnes-Wallace was a feckin' genius, and a magnificent example of the great work done by "Men in Sheds" in the UK.

His "geodesic" structure in aircraft, most notably the Wellington, saved God knows how many men who would have been lost had they been in conventionally-built aircraft.

Pilot Officer Kennedy of No. 47 Squadron RAF Detachment inspects the damage to his Vickers Wellesley, K7715 'KU-H', at Agordat, Eritrea, after he was attacked by two Fiat CR 42s while on a bombing sortie over Keren on 25 March 1941. His air gunner, Sergeant German, was mortally wounded and the port wing was set on fire. Kennedy executed a vertical dive to put out the flames and returned to the Detachment's base at Agordat, where he crashed on landing.

An Australian Sprog massages the tail unit of a Wellesley:

 

[Sharps '74]

In the book I mentioned, it says that it took 50 men to keep one Lancaster airborne with it's seven man crew - fitters, "erks", armourer's, etc. That's a lot of back up and resources.
Boffins like Barnes Wallis were the right men in the right place at the right time. War seems to bring them out when the chips are down.

 

[grelmar]

Barnes-Wallace was a feckin' genius, and a magnificent example of the great work done by "Men in Sheds" in the UK.

His "geodesic" structure in aircraft, most notably the Wellington, saved God knows how many men who would have been lost had they been in conventionally-built aircraft.

Tallboy and Grand Slam don't get near the credit they deserve, in terms of the engineering difficulty in making them. Building a bomb aerodynamic enough (in the age before computers), to go supersonic using nothing more than the gravity drive (most bombs of the era wouldn't do this), and also tough enough to penetrate 20 meters of earth before going off... Understanding the physics of how it destroyed bunkers not by hitting them, but by "missing close" and causing a ground shockwave (they were nicknamed earthquake bombs) to collapse the bunker from the side and underneath it.

These are problems the modern military solves with teams of engineers and extremely powerful computers and simulations.

He did it all with slide rules and hand drawn blueprints.