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Dam Busters

Chas

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On this day in 1943, the 617 Squadron of Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, carried out their 'Dam Busters' raid on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams.

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Couldn't think of a better way to commemorate Mark. I approve.
 
We will never stop it but war leads to a terrible waste of assets.

Thought you were going to say a waste of water then Pat :lol:

Seriously true though, and all the money and resources to rebuild, afterwards.

My father was a bomb aimer / co-pilot flying in a Halifax, in 1,000 bomber raids over Germany, completing 32 missions.

He reconned the bouncing bomb stunt was nigh on impossible to get right with any certainty, and apparently, the hundreds of practice runs they did to simulate it were the most dangerous part, those old technology planes were rather unpredictable at such low altitude. His idea of an understatement.

Hats off to all WWII flight crew, especially those lads who didn't come home.
 
Many of the practice runs were done over the dams at Derwent just a few miles from us. There was a big reunion a few years ago with the remaining 617 veterans in attendance plus the usual suits and dignitaries and 1000's of sight see'ers. There were fly by's from a couple of Spitfires, a Hurricane, a Lancaster, the Vulcan and a couple of modern fighter jets, Tornados I think. I still have the commemorative program somewhere.
 
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Many of the practice runs were done over the dams at Derwent just a few miles from us. There was a big reunion a few years ago with the remaining 617 veterans in attendance plus the usual suits and dignitaries and 1000's of sight see'ers. There were fly by's from a couple of Spitfires, a Hurricane, a Lancaster, the Vulcan and a couple of modern fighter jets, Tornados I think. I still have the commemorative program somewhere.

Brilliant, I'll bet that was a sight!

The old bombers look so slow in the air, you'd think they wouldn't even be able to fly at that speed, it's only about 200 mph cruising airspeed I think.

I wonder if there's any Halifax's still flying? It would be nice to think there are.
 
Many of the practice runs were done over the dams at Derwent just a few miles from us. There was a big reunion a few years ago with the remaining 617 veterans in attendance plus the usual suits and dignitaries and 1000's of sight see'ers. There were fly by's from a couple of Spitfires, a Hurricane, a Lancaster, the Vulcan and a couple of modern fighter jets, Tornados I think. I still have the commemorative program somewhere.
I've still got the video of two Lancs flying over Derwent somewhere.
 
I've still got the video of two Lancs flying over Derwent somewhere.

I filmed the fly by on a Sony Video 8 video camera and transferred it to a VHS tape which I still have somewhere even though we stopped using the VHS player years ago and relegated it to the loft!
 
I filmed the fly by on a Sony Video 8 video camera and transferred it to a VHS tape which I still have somewhere even though we stopped using the VHS player years ago and relegated it to the loft!
That's where my VHS is too.
 
I was working on our airbase at Whenuapai when a Lancaster arrived from French colony Tahiti.It was a gift to NZ from the French and is now in the museum of transport .We had a yarn with some of our airmen and they reckon it was lucky to get here as most of the rivets were loose and the French took them for a flight which was an experience they weren't keen to repeat.
An uncle of my wife was a pilot in bomber command and I asked him if he had thought about a career as pilot in civvie street and was told his last flight after the war was in a lanc from England to Yugoslavia and it was that boring that he preferred to go back to sheep farming.He told me that you would be bloody scared on bombing missions but there was also an underlying excitement
and great relief if you got back safely.
 
My Father's crew were lucky, they lost some, the navigator was vulnerable, he sat right against the fuselage, so very exposed to shrapnel and of course the rear gunner exposed to everything going.

At the end of the war, Dad wanted to go back to civvy street and his pilot on all 32 missions, only 26 yers old, decided to make a career as as a pilot trainer in the RAF.

My Dad, at that time an oldie for the forces at 39 years old, admired him immensely. His skill at flying the Halifax under all number of circumstances and conditions, limping back in storms, with one of the tail fins missing (and the rear gunner sadly), looping the loop to avoid fighters, imagine that in such an aircraft, many, many similar stories.

However, within 6 months of Dad leaving and his pilot taking up his new position, Dad got the news that he'd been killed in a training accident.

He was heartbroken.
 
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However, within 6 months of Dad leaving and his pilot taking up his new position, Dad got the news that he'd been killed in a training accident.

He was heartbroken.
That's awful, going through all that carnage unscathed and then to be killed in an accident.
 
Brilliant, I'll bet that was a sight!

The old bombers look so slow in the air, you'd think they wouldn't even be able to fly at that speed, it's only about 200 mph cruising airspeed I think.

I wonder if there's any Halifax's still flying? It would be nice to think there are.
I don't know if any are still flying Clive but these may be of interest.

 
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I don't know if any are still flying Clive but these may be of interest.

Interesting, I hadn't realised that the early versions had Merlin engines (or were they Kestrels?) !

In 1939 the Merlin was developing around 1,200 BHP, by the end of WWII they were up to 2,400 BHP (with two-stage superchargers). I guess at the time they were underpowered compared with the Bristol Hercules 18-cylinder radials.

Bob.
 
Yes they had Merlin engines. I found a huge pile in a scrapyard in 1963 together with hundreds of spares. They were not allowed to sell any bits so being a schoolboy I decided to borrow some. Very difficult walking calmly out with camshafts down your trousers and a tool box full of parts. In fact on another visit my older fried drove his mothers car in through the main gates and we loaded up the boot lol.
IMG_0633.JPG

There were 2 inlet tracts with 5 1/2 inch butterfly in each one. 1 pictured. The pistons were 5 3/8 diameter and I think 6 inch stroke. 4 valves per cylinder and sodium filled exhaust valves to keep the valve heads from overheating. Later in the war they had 150 octane petrol which gave more power than early on but less engine life.
 

This is a video of the engine development involving building huge factories. There's another one on the tube describing the engines made by Packard under licence. They show you the huge exhaust pipes exiting the engine testing dept.
 
Thanks for posting these vids, Frank and Chas.

Lovely to see the Halifax flying, not much is said about it for some reason, the Lancaster seemed to get much better publicity...

Rolls Royce precision, priceless!

Cheers guys.
 
There are numerous aircraft wreck sites in the Peak District, one of which is a Defiant which crashed high on Bleaklow back in the 40's. I remember first finding it back in the early 80's and most of the Merlin block was still there complete with pistons etc. It's almost totally gone now picked clean by souvenir hunters no doubt. There is also the remains of a B29 which crashed near the Snake summit back in the late 40's. Much of the 18 cyl Wright Cyclone engines is still visible.
 
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