On this day in history

[Brian S]

5 Jan 1922

Sir Ernest Shackleton, British Antarctic explorer, died of a heart attack off South Georgia. At his wife's request he was buried there. It was his fourth expedition, aimed at circumnavigating the Antarctic in what he described as the one remaining object of Antarctic journeying; the crossing of the continent from sea to sea, via the pole.

 

[Brian S]

5 Jan 1941

Amy Johnson, record-breaking English aviator, died whilst flying an aircraft from Blackpool to Kidlington (Oxfordshire) in foggy conditions as her role in the Air Transport Auxiliary that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK departments. Her plane was found, 100 miles off course, in the muddy water of the Thames, but her body was never recovered. Reportedly out of fuel she had been seen alive in the water, but a rescue attempt failed and the incident also led to the death of her would-be rescuer, Lt. Cmdr. Walter Fletcher. Amy Johnson was the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and she also set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s. She was born on 1st July 1903 at this house (see

picture) on St. Georges Road in Hull which has a commemorative blue plaque. (see

picture)

 

[Brian S]

Nothing changes then

5 Jan 1971

One-day cricket was born when 46,000 turned up to watch England play Australia at Melbourne. The test match had been rained off for several days previously. Australia won by 5 wickets (with 42 balls remaining)

 

[Brian S]

6 Jan 1066

The coronation of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England, succeeding Edward the Confessor. He reigned for ten months before he died at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror. Harold was the first of only three Kings of England to have died in battle; the other two being Richard I and Richard III

 

[Brian S]

Can't argue that

6 Jan 1960

Nigella Lawson, TV chef, writer and daughter of Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, was born. Renowned for her flirtatious manner of presenting, Lawson has been called the 'queen of food porn'. Chef, Gary Rhodes, spoke out by suggesting that her viewers were attracted to her smile rather than the cooking itself!

 

[Brian S]

Mr J Thaw Esq

6 Jan 1987

The first episode of TV's Inspector Morse was broadcast. It was based in Oxford. See -

picture of All Souls College - Oxford.

 

[Brian S]

I hope he used the QWERTY keyboard

7 Jan 1714
Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later)

 

[Brian S]

Another of our unsung backroom Heroes

7 Jan 1889

Birth of Arthur Clifford Hartley, the English inventor of World War II’s PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean), a series of 21 undersea pipes used to transport oil from Britain to continental Europe. He also invented FIDO (Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation) which is credited with bringing 2500 aircraft and 10,000 aircrew safely home during the war.

 

[Brian S]

£15 for 3 mins , I'd of been getting on to Ofcom (my wages as an Apprentice in 1969 was £4 10s)

7 Jan 1927

A telephone service began operating between London and New York. A three-minute call cost £15. Nevertheless 31 different people made a call on the first day.

 

[Chas]

Bugger, missed it by one day.

ON THIS DAY, 9th JAN 1941 - MAIDEN FLIGHT OF THE LANCASTER BOMBER

The aircraft, which was initially designated Avro Type 683 Manchester III but was later rename...d the Lancaster, took to the air for its first flight from Woodford, Manchester on 9th Jan 1941
READ: http://bit.ly/2Fk2Md9

 

[Chas]

1863, On 10 January, The Metropolitan Railway opens the world's first underground railway, between Paddington (then called Bishop's Road) and Farringdon Street

 

[BobMurphy]

ON THIS DAY, 9th JAN 1941 - MAIDEN FLIGHT OF THE LANCASTER BOMBER

The aircraft, was initially designated Avro Type 683 Manchester III but was later renamed the Lancaster.

The Avro Manchester was a twin-engined bomber but wasn't powerful enough so was re-designed to have four engines - and the Lancaster was born.

Bob.

 

[Chas]

The Avro Manchester was a twin-engined bomber but wasn't powerful enough so was re-designed to have four engines - and the Lancaster was born.

Bob.

Yes, and it was done, so I've heard, by Avro unofficially when the government didn't want it.

 

[moggy1968]

The Avro Manchester was a twin-engined bomber but wasn't powerful enough so was re-designed to have four engines - and the Lancaster was born.

Bob.

Wasn't the wellington basically a 2 engined lancaster?

 

[moggy1968]

11th Jan, 1st recorded lottery in England is drawn in St Paul's Cathedral







In 1569!!

On this same day in 1864 Charing Cross Station opened

 

[Julian T]

Wasn't the wellington basically a 2 engined lancaster?

The Wellington was manufactured by Vickers, was a twin engine medium bomber and famously manufactured using a geodesic airframe and fitted with a variety of radial engines while the Lancaster was a heavy bomber manufactured by Avro using a traditional structure construction and fitted mainly with Merlin V12 engines by Rolls Royce.

So no to the pedantic types like my self the two are not related or similar lol,

However as a point of interest the Lancaster carried approx 14,000lbs (22,000 if carrying the grand slam) bomb weight and the American B17 bomber 4500lbs on a flight to Berlin.

The Mosquito by De Havilland was an amazing aircraft, faster than anything else when it was introduced and unarmed bombing Berlin it carried more payload than the B17.

 

[BobMurphy]

Wasn't the wellington basically a 2 engined lancaster?

The Vickers Wellington was an older design - fabric covered over a geodetic aluminium frame. It had a major flaw - there weren't enough guns resulting in big blind spots that were exploited by fighters.
It was a good bomber and was the mainstay of Bomber Command, with the Bristol Blenheim, until 1941 when the larger bombers (Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling) were introduced.
The 'Geodetic' alloy frame was innovative - it was basically a large Avro Anson that used the same construction method.
The time between and during the wars was an age of great innovation with a lot of very interesting aircraft designs being introduced by a large number of companies. It must have been an exciting time for the designers as new materials and more powerful engines became available.

Bob.

 

[moggy1968]

The Mosquito by De Havilland was an amazing aircraft, faster than anything else when it was introduced and unarmed bombing Berlin it carried more payload than the B17.

My great uncle was a navigator in those

 

[clivehorridge]

The Vickers Wellington was an older design - fabric covered over a geodetic aluminium frame. It had a major flaw - there weren't enough guns resulting in big blind spots that were exploited by fighters.
It was a good bomber and was the mainstay of Bomber Command, with the Bristol Blenheim, until 1941 when the larger bombers (Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling) were introduced.
The 'Geodetic' alloy frame was innovative - it was basically a large Avro Anson that used the same construction method.
The time between and during the wars was an age of great innovation with a lot of very interesting aircraft designs being introduced by a large number of companies. It must have been an exciting time for the designers as new materials and more powerful engines became available.

Bob.

Nice to see the Halifax get a mention Bob, my dad (bomb-aimer/co-pilot) flew 32 thousand-bomber raids over Germany during WWII

 

[moggy1968]

Nice to see the Halifax get a mention Bob, my dad (bomb-aimer/co-pilot) flew 32 thousand-bomber raids over Germany during WWII

32000 raids! That’s a lot of raids

Meanwhile back in the sensible room (I know what you meant) a thousand bombers must have been one hell of a sight.