View allAll Photos Tagged tallboy
Looking out while walking on the public footpath between Hundleby and Bolingbroke in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
Custom steel commuter in XXL size with low maintenance drive Gates Carbon Drive and Shimano Alfine 11sp.
I saw Brad sipping from his tallboy on 12th Street, and he asked about my camera. We talked about photography, the death of film, and I asked him for a portrait. I got that, but I got so much more.
Brad: "Guess what I am."
Me: "You look like the creative type."
Brad: "I'm an ex fighter pilot."
Me: "Well that's an art of its own."
Brad is 60. He says he was dyslexic and a high school dropout. So he figured, "Why wait for the draft, I'll enlist." (No, I'm not sure how someone with dyslexia could be a fighter pilot. But that's not really important.)
* * *
Brad: "I was a bartender too."
Me: "Really?"
Brad: "Yeh, I used to work the late shift, so I could give all the waitresses free booze. And you know what happens when you give waitresses free booze?" *winks*
Me: "All your dinner orders get fucked up?"
* * *
Brad has 3 grown kids whom he never sees. They're all in their early 20s and were born about a year apart. He claimed to be able to impregnate a woman on demand. Referring to the conception of his youngest child, he said, "I came home from the hospital after a neck operation. I was in a lot of pain. My wife had to help me upstairs to bed. Then one night she raped me. I didn't press charges."
* * *
We talked about alcohol. He said he had been sober awhile back, "because I have lupus," he said. But then he started drinking again. "I've got a fifth of Jack back in my room!" he suddenly remembered, with the look of a kid remembering a secret stash of baseball cards.
* * *
I told him I was 15 years sober.
Brad: "But now that you're older," he said, "you can have a half a glass of wine. Or a whole glass. Or two."
Me: "I can't drink safely."
Brad: But Jesus drank wine at the last supper. So I figure something must be good about wine. I'm a Christian. Do you believe in God?"
Me: "Some days more than others."
* * *
Brad/: "Alcohol is like a tool. You can use your thumbnail or you can use a screwdriver."
Me: "That was my problem...too many damn screwdrivers."
* * *
Me: "Maybe net time I see you, you'll have a camera and you'll be taking pictures of people in the city."
Brad: "And maybe the next time I see YOU, you'll have a drink with me."
The Avro Lancaster heavy bomber may have been one of the most famous Allied bombers of World War II. Resulting from the evolution of earlier designs for medium and heavy bombers, the Lancaster had impressive flying characteristics and operational performance. The first Lancaster flew in early 1941 and the type entered service in early 1942. By the end of the war, more than 7,000 had been built. The Lancaster was one of the most successful night bombers of the war and was flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and Royal Australian Air Force. The Lancaster was retired from active military service in 1963.
During the war, the RAF’s 617 Squadron used the Avro Lancaster and specialized ordnance for a number of successful precision bombing raids against especially challenging targets. These included dams in the Ruhr valley, the German battleship Tirpitz, a railway tunnel, and hardened submarine pens. The Lancaster’s 33-foot long bomb bay and large payload capacity made it was the only RAF aircraft that could carry weapons such as the 12,000 lb Tallboy and 22,000 lb Grand Slam earthquake bombs.
Currently 17 Lancasters survive. Only 2 are airworthy, including the one in this photo. This Lancaster Mark X was built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, in 1945. It was later converted by the RCAF to a maritime patrol configuration and was retired in late 1963. For a while it served as a static display exposed to the weather. In 1977 it was acquired by a new owner and a restoration was completed in 1988. The plane is owned and operated by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
This plane is dedicated to the memory of Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarksi of the RCAF. In June 1944 his Lancaster was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter. As Mynarski’s plane was descending, even though his clothes were in flames he tried to free the trapped rear gunner. Mynarksi was not able to free the gunner and eventually jumped from the plane. Mynarksi later died from his severe burns. Miraculously, the gunner survived the plane’s crash and was freed from the rear turret by the impact. The gunner shared the story of his friend and crew mate’s bravery. As a result of his actions, Mynarski was awarded a Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry in battle. The starboard side of the Lancaster displays the identification for Mynarski’s plane: KB726, VR-A.
The plane also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the successful 1943 attacks on Ruhr valley dams. Breaching the dams required outstanding flying and resulted in significant disruptions to German industrial activities. The port side of the plane has the markings of RAF 617 Squadron Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s aircraft AJ-G, ED932.
In 1918, Great Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was founded, making it the first independent air force in the world. To celebrate the RAF’s 100th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum hosted The Great British Fly-In at its the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The event included historic and modern aircraft and other vehicles, reenactors, lectures, and performances. Not all aircraft planned for the event were able to participate. Planes that did participate included a Lancaster, a B-25 Mitchell, and a Boeing P-8 Poseidon.
Palimpsest brass now in the British Museum, shows wearing a heraldic mantle with the arms of Blount - barry nebuly or and sable, Elizabeth Blount d c1540 who once faced her husband Gilbert Taylboys d1530
She was the mistress of Henry Vlll and mother of his only acknowledged illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond dsp1536 , The ermine around her shoulders is not part of her heraldic mantle, but perhaps a subtle indicator of supposed royal status.
Elizabeth was the daughter of John Blount 1531 and Catherine Peshall www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/4712389512/ heiress of Sir Hugh Peshall of Knightley by Isabel Stanley of Elford, on whose tomb she stands flic.kr/p/8bq6xG
She m1 Gilbert 1st Baron Tailboys c1500-1531 only son of "mad" Sir George Talboys 1538 of Kyme by Elizabeth daughter of Sir William Gascoigne
Children who all died without issue
1. George 2nd Baron dsp 1539 m (1st husband) Margaret daughter of Sir William Skipwith of Ormsby & Elizabeth Page.
Margaret was the grand daughter of Elizabeth Tyrwhit flic.kr/p/q3xBrh & William Skipwith
Margaret m2 Sir Peter Carew 1575 ; m3 John Trye 1591 of Hardwicke Court www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/41v4E6 )
2. Robert 3rd Baron dsp 1542
1. Elizabeth 4th Baroness & last Tailboys of Kyme c1520-dsp1563 who succeeded her brother m1 Thomas Wymbish of Nocton 1553 m2 1553 (2nd wife) Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1589)
She m2 Edward Fiennes 9th Baron Clinton and Saye, Later Earl of Lincoln 1512–1585
Children who all had issue
1. Bridget m Robert Dymock of Scrivelsby, son of Sir Edward Dymoke by Anne Tailboys (parents of Anne 1st wife of Charles Metham of Rand flic.kr/p/4iVR8u )
2. Katherine 1621 m William 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough 1584 son of Thomas 1st Baron Burgh
3. Margaret m Charles 2nd Baron Willoughby of Parham 1603
++In 1516 Hall the chronicler says that whilst at court as maid of honour to Queen Katherine of Aragon, "Mistress Blount exceeded all other damsels "in singing, dancing and in all goodly pastimes" so that she soon won Henry Vll's heart and showed him much favour that in 1519 she bore him a son. Before then she had been married off to Gilbert Talboys, son of the mad Lord Kyme, who had been in Wolsey's service. Henry bought for them Blackmore Manor, where Henry Fitzroy was born . The cuckolded Talboys was knighted, became JP and MP in Lincolnshire and received a peerage before he died in 1530. Elizabeth then married a neighbour, young Edward Willoughby Lord Clinton being buried in Lincolnshire possibly at South Kyme
Brass now on display at the British Museum, London.
Gunby Hall Estate, N T, Lincolnshire - Ante Room -
Early C18th walnut tallboy in two sections. Moulded cornice to upper part and fluted canted corners. Three small drawers with cross-banded and feather banded borders above three graduated full width drawers. The three graduated full-width drawers in base on bracket feet. Open pierced brass handles and escutcheons.
Lancaster Thumper Mk III
The RAF BBMF Lancaster, PA474, is currently painted to represent an aircraft which served with No 617 Squadron after the Dams Raid. This is the story of the original aircraft and its wartime pilot and crew.
Some of the specially-modified Type 464 Lancasters, which survived the Dams Raid, remained in service with No 617 Squadron afterwards. However, these aircraft were not suitable for all operations and the Squadron needed replacement, standard Lancasters, as well as replacement crews to make up losses. One of the brand-new aircraft delivered to the unit to meet this need was Lancaster B1 DV385.
Lancaster DV385
Lancaster DV385 was built by Metropolitan-Vickers Ltd at Trafford Park, Manchester, at a stage of the war when the average build time for a Lancaster was 8 weeks. DV385 rolled off the production line in October 1943. It was delivered to No 617 Squadron at RAF Coningsby (by a quirk of fate now the home to the RAF BBMF Lancaster PA474) in November 1943 and given the squadron codes ‘KC-A’. The aircraft was retro-fitted with bulged bomb-bay doors enabling it to carry one of the huge 12,000-lb HC ‘thin-case’ ‘blockbuster’ blast bombs or a 12,000-lb ‘Tallboy’ bomb internally. DV385’s first bombing mission was flown on 16th December 1943; this was the first of four ‘ops’ it flew from Coningsby, three of them captained by Flight Lieutenant Tom O’Shaughnessy to drop 12,000-lb HC bombs against V-weapon sites in France. On 9th January 1944, 617 Squadron moved the few miles north to Woodhall Spa, taking DV385 with them.
Bob Knights and his Crew
Another Lancaster squadron, No 619, was already based at Woodhall Spa and moved to Coningsby to make way for 617 Squadron. One of the 619 Squadron crews, led by pilot Bob Knights, was coming towards the end of their tour at the close of 1943. Some of the crew were going to reach the ‘magic’ end-of-tour figure of 30 ‘ops’ slightly before the others and they did not want to be split up, reasoning that they were safer together. So they had decided to volunteer for a second operational tour with No 617 Squadron. Knights and his crew were about to become very familiar with Lancaster DV385.
Robert (‘Bob’) Edgar Knights was born in January 1921, in London. He volunteered for service as a pilot with the RAF and was eventually called up in March 1941, aged 20. He completed his flying training in America under the ‘Arnold Scheme’, flying Stearman PT17s, Vultee BT13s and AT6A ‘Texans’. In May 1942, after returning to England to complete his training, he crashed an Airspeed Oxford twin-engine aircraft. Bob badly injured his hand in the accident and this kept him off flying for 6 months. In June 1943, with 474 hours flying under his belt, Pilot Officer Bob Knights and his crew – Sergeants Rhude (navigator), Bell (bomb aimer), Twells (flight engineer), Rowan (wireless operator), Hobbs (mid-upper gunner) and Derham (rear gunner) – joined No 619 Squadron to fly Lancasters on bombing operations.
Before he could fly operationally with his own crew, Bob Knights had to complete the traditional ‘second dickey’ ‘op’ with an experienced crew to ‘learn the ropes’. He flew with Flt Lt ‘Ted’ Dampier-Crossley DFC, a New Zealander in the Royal Australian Air Force, who was flying with the RAF on 619 Squadron. Dampier-Crossley’s aircraft was Lancaster EE112, it wore the code letters ‘PG-T’ (normally ‘T’ for ‘Tommy’) and the crew had named it ’T’ for “Thumper” and painted the Walt Disney rabbit character, from the 1942 Walt Disney film Bambi, on the nose. Dampier-Crossley was an experienced operational bomber pilot and he taught Bob Knights some useful tricks and tactics, such as never flying straight and level but weaving constantly, which Bob’s crew subsequently credited with helping to keep them alive. Sadly, a couple of months later, on the night of 10/11th August 1943, Dampier-Crossley and his entire crew were killed during a raid on Nuremburg. A replacement Lancaster coded ‘PG-T’ arrived on the squadron and was allocated to Knights and his crew, who decided to name it “Thumper Mk II” in honour of Ted Dampier-Crossley and his crew. The so-called ‘Battle of Berlin’ began shortly afterwards and the Bob Knights crew made eight attacks against the "Big City", raids in which Bomber Command's losses were particularly high. On another occasion the crew was en route to bomb Hamburg when one of the engines failed shortly after reaching the Dutch coast. They would have been justified in turning back, but pressed on and bombed the target successfully from only 10,000 feet.
As a Lancaster had only a single pilot, Bob Knights decided that he would train his bomb-aimer, John Bell, to fly the aircraft in case he was killed or incapacitated. He felt that the bomb-aimer could most easily be spared from his other duties in such an eventuality. John Bell, who is the only surviving member of the crew, told the editor, during a visit to the BBMF at Coningsby in September 2012, that he spent several hours in all at the controls of a Lancaster with Bob standing beside him advising him. It is unlikely that such a novice Lancaster pilot, with no other piloting experience, would ever have been able to land the aircraft if his pilot was rendered ‘hors de combat’, but at least he might have been able to fly it back over friendly territory before the crew took to their ‘chutes’. John also said that he always seemed to over-control the aircraft, finding it difficult to keep it steady. When he was flying it, he said, “The rest of the crew were not best pleased!”
617 Squadron
By the end of 1943 the crew was approaching the required 30 ‘ops’ of a full operational tour with 619 squadron; they were due for a well-earned rest tour, but, instead, they volunteered for a second operational tour with No 617 Squadron. After they had been interviewed by 617’s Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, the crew was posted to the elite unit in January 1944.
On the night of 20th January 1944, Flight Lieutenant Tom O’Shaughnessy, who had so far been the regular pilot of DV385, was killed in a training accident at Snettisham, Norfolk, along with his navigator Flying Officer Holding. He was flying one of the original Type 464 ‘Dams Raid’ Lancasters (ED918) and crashed into the sand dunes at the Wash bombing ranges, whilst practising for a proposed raid on an Italian dam that did not, in fact, go ahead. After Tom O’Shaughnessy’s tragic death, DV385 needed a new crew and it was allocated to Bob Knights. He and his crew immediately decided that their new aircraft should be named “Thumper Mk III” and the artwork – the cartoon rabbit holding a foaming pint of beer – was duly painted on the nose.
They also started the ‘bomb log’ under the cockpit with a bomb symbol for each ‘op’ successfully completed by “Thumper Mk III”. The aircraft eventually flew 36 successful operations before it was retired from service in March 1945 (35 bomb symbols are painted on PA474 replicating a wartime photograph). It also flew an additional 13 sorties on which it reached the target, but circumstances prevented the bombs being dropped and they were brought back, as the Squadron’s precision role sometimes demanded.
Bob Knights and his crew first flew “Thumper Mk III” operationally on the night of 8th February 1944, as part of a force of 12 Lancasters which carried out an outstandingly accurate and successful night bombing raid against the Gnome-Rhone aero engine factory at Limoges. Four nights later the crew took part in a long-range attack on the Antheor viaduct, on the railway line between Toulon & Cannes, in an attempt to destroy the strategically important coastal rail link between France and Italy. The target was heavily defended and opposing ground fire was intense as the crew dropped their first 12,000-lb HC bomb. During February, March and April 1944, mostly flown by Bob Knights, “Thumper” was used to attack factories and industrial sites producing vital war materials and equipment for the Germans. In April 1944, having completed more than 30 operations Bob Knights was awarded the DFC.
D-Day – Operation ‘Taxable’
On the eve of D-Day, 5-6th June 1944, Knights and his crew flew “Thumper Mk III” on the highly-secret, deception raid, Operation ‘Taxable’ (the ‘op’ being recorded with a letter ‘D’ on the bomb symbol on the aircraft’s mission tally). The object of this operation was to convince the Germans that the main invasion fleet was heading for the Pas de Calais. Creating this illusion required the precise flying of elongated circuits, whilst bundles of radar-reflective, aluminium-foil strips of pre-determined and varying lengths – ‘window’ – were dropped through the flare chute every 5 seconds. Another, similar, spoof operation, codenamed ‘Glimmer’, was conducted by Short Stirlings of No 218 Squadron in the Boulogne area. Both were successful and, by daybreak on 6th June, the German High Command was trying to react across an unnecessarily broad front. Many of the best German troops were kept on the wrong side of the Seine and the confusion caused by these operations undoubtedly helped the Allies to gain a vital foothold in Normandy on D-Day.
‘Tallboy’
On 15 occasions, 10 of them with Bob Knights at the controls, “Thumper Mk III” was used to drop the 12,000-lb ‘Tallboy’ deep-penetration, ‘earthquake’ bombs against high value targets. Designed by Barnes Wallis, the ‘Tallboy’ was a remarkable weapon, combining the explosive force of a large, high-capacity bomb and the penetrating power of armour-piercing munitions. When it was introduced it was the only weapon in the Royal Air Force’s inventory capable of breaking through the thick concrete structures of the German U-boat shelters, E-boat pens and V-weapon sites. ‘Tallboy’ measured 21 feet (6 metres) long and contained 5,200 lbs of Torpex explosive. With a streamlined (ogival) shape, it was fitted with a long, light-alloy, conical tail with 4 small square fins. These fins were offset by 5 degrees, causing the bomb to spin during its fall, aiding stability and improving its accuracy. To increase its penetrative power, the nose of the bomb contained a specially-hardened and precisely-machined, steel plug. ‘Tallboy’ was ballistically perfect and in consequence had a very high terminal velocity. Released from an altitude of 18,000 feet, a ‘Tallboy’ took only 37 seconds to fall to ground; when it hit, it was supersonic and still accelerating. It could penetrate 16 feet (5 m) of concrete and made a crater 80 feet (24 m) deep and 100 feet (30 m) across, which would have taken 5,000 tons of earth to fill. The bomb was designed to detonate below ground, transferring all of its energy into the target structure. This 'earthquake' effect caused more damage than a direct hit, as it shook the whole target structure, causing major damage to all parts of it and making repair impossible or uneconomic. The fuses in the rear of the bomb could be set to give it sufficient time to penetrate before exploding. The time delay could be set to between 11 seconds and 30 minutes after impact.
Saumur Rail Tunnel
The first time that the Bob Knights crew dropped a ‘Tallboy’ from “Thumper Mk III” was the operational debut for the new bomb on the night of 8/9th June 1944 (D-Day+2). The target for the new weapon was the Saumur railway tunnel in France, some 125 miles to the south of the Normandy battle area. This raid was prepared in great haste, as intelligence indicated that a German Panzer unit was expected to move by train through the tunnel. The aim was to prevent these and any other German reinforcements reaching Normandy from the south. The target area was illuminated with flares by four Lancasters of 83 Squadron and then marked at low level by two Mosquitos of 617 Squadron. Twenty-five Lancasters of 617 Squadron, 19 carrying ‘Tallboys’, dropped their bombs with great accuracy. One ‘Tallboy’ actually pierced the roof of the tunnel and brought down a huge quantity of rock and soil. The tunnel was blocked for a considerable period and the Panzer unit was badly delayed. No aircraft were lost on this raid.
Special Bomb Sight (SABS)
To achieve accuracy with these large single bombs, 617 Squadron used a special bombsight – the Stabilising Automatic Bomb Sight (SABS) Mk IIA – which, for the first time in the RAF’s history, permitted true precision bombing from medium altitude. These special bomb sights were hand-made, precision instruments, produced in small numbers and used only in specialist roles. With a well-trained and practiced bomb-aimer, able to keep the SABS aiming graticule exactly over the aiming point during the approach to the target, the sight automatically calculated the aircraft’s ground speed and wind drift. These were the principal factors which led to inaccuracies with earlier bomb sights, like the Mk XIV in use with the rest of Bomber Command. The SABS fed information to a Bombing Direction Indicator mounted in front of the pilot, which showed him whether any course correction, left or right, was required. It also calculated the bomb release point and released the bomb automatically at the correct moment. Given optimum conditions, a well-trained crew could reliably place a bomb within 80 yards of the target from 18,000 feet. Achieving this level of precision required extremely accurate flying. Unfortunately, it also required a long straight run-up to the target of between 5 and 10 minutes, during which no evasive action was possible, making the Lancaster a sitting target for the defences, especially radar-directed ‘predicted’ flak. The combination of SABS and ‘Tallboy’ was effective only if the aiming point could be clearly identified and tracked visually by the bomb aimer. Some missions were aborted or unsuccessful because this was not possible and, due to the cost and complexity of their manufacture, ‘Tallboy’ bombs which were not dropped were brought back to base.
“Thumper Mk III” bomb aimer, John Bell, said that the first time that they dropped practice bombs using the SABS, he scored direct hits on the aiming triangle on the bombing range in the Wash with the first two bombs. On the third run, John felt that things were not quite going right and he took over manually, missing the target by 75 yards. “I learned from that,” he said, “the automatics were better than me”. He went on to say, “When everything was going right, there was no need for communication between the bomb aimer and the pilot, as the Bomb Direction Indicator mounted in front of the pilot gave him all the steering information needed. It was only if it drifted off that the bomb aimer needed to give the pilot heading corrections to make the pilot’s indication live again.”
“Thumper” Fights On
During a daylight raid against E-boat pens at Le Havre on 14th June 1944 “Thumper Mk III” was hit by flak but only lightly damaged. It was flying again the next day, dropping a ‘Tallboy’ against the E-boat pens at Boulogne.
Most of the aircraft’s ‘ops’ over the next few weeks were ‘Tallboy’ raids against various V-weapon sites, including a V1 bomb store, various V2 rocket sites and the V3 long-range-gun construction site at Mimoyecques. John Bell remembers the direct hit with ‘his’ Tallboy on the north-west edge of the concrete dome at the V2 rocket site at Wizerne on 17th Jul 44. He watched the bomb all the way down to impact. This attack caused severe damage to the site, which was still under construction. Three Tallboys, including the one dropped from “Thumper”, exploded next to the tunnels, one burst just under the dome, and another burst in the mouth of one tunnel. The whole hillside collapsed, undermining the dome support, and burying the entrances to the V2 launch tunnels. Although the concrete dome was unscathed, the buttresses supporting it were dislodged and the dome tilted, jeopardising the bunker from underneath. The site was abandoned a few weeks later. (The site is now the ‘La Coupole’ museum.)
The last ‘op’ that Bob Knights flew in “Thumper” was on 5th August 1944, dropping a ‘Tallboy’ on the U-boat submarine pens at Brest. On 7th August he delivered the aircraft to Coningsby for servicing and modifications to be carried out; subsequently Lancaster LM482 ‘KC-Q’ became his aircraft. This was the point at which bomb aimer John Bell DFC left the crew and the squadron for a ground job. By this time he had flown 50 ‘ops’ and decided enough was enough; his luck had held, but now was the time to stop. He became an Admin (Accounts) Officer for 6 years and then he subsequently served as a Photographic Interpreter for the rest of his career, leaving the RAF on retirement in 1977 as a Wing Commander MBE DFC and with two Korean War medals.
Tirpitz and After
“Thumper Mk III” (now coded ‘KC-V’) returned to operations on 3rd October, piloted by Flying Officer James Castagnola (later Flight Lieutenant Castagnola DSO DFC). On 28th October and 12th November 1944 he captained “Thumper” on the final raids against the powerful German battleship Tirpitz, mooredat Tromso. In common with all the Lancasters used on these missions “Thumper” was modified for long-range flying. The mid-upper turret was removed along with many other internal fittings, and ex-Vickers Wellington overload fuel tanks were fitted, along with a Mosquito long-range tank, increasing the fuel capacity from 2,154 to 2,406 gallons, giving a range of 2,250 miles. On the last of these missions, the Castagnola crew reported a direct hit with their ‘Tallboy’ against the battleship’s superstructure and the mighty ship capsized. For “Thumper Mk III” the war was almost but not quite over, and a swastika on the 32nd bomb symbol on the mission log indicated a German fighter shot down by its gunners – its luck was still holding. The heavy-hitting bomber flew its last successful ‘op’ dropping a ‘Tallboy’ against the Bielefeld viaduct on 22nd February 1945 and then, in March 1945, as the war approached its end, “Thumper” was retired. DV385 ended its life at No 46 Maintenance Unit, where it was eventually struck off charge and scrapped after the war had ended.
Bob Knights DSO DFC
Bob Knights flew 41 ‘ops’ with 617 Squadron, 29 of them in “Thumper Mk III”, and many of them amongst the unit’s most challenging precision bombing operations. He also took part in all three Lancaster raids against the Tirpitz. In December 1944, after flying an official total of 67 bombing operations,Bob was rested. In January 1945, he was awarded the DSO. During his 10 months with 617 Squadron, 8 of the unit’s Lancasters had failed to return from ‘ops’ and another had been lost in an accident. Thirty-two of his fellow squadron aircrew had been killed and more had been injured or become prisoners of war. In April 1945 Bob was seconded to BOAC; he stayed with the airline for 32 years, retiring in 1976 as a Boeing 747 training captain. Bob Knights DSO DFC died in December 2004, aged 83.
The Avro Lancaster heavy bomber may have been one of the most famous Allied bombers of World War II. Resulting from the evolution of earlier designs for medium and heavy bombers, the Lancaster had impressive flying characteristics and operational performance. The first Lancaster flew in early 1941 and the type entered service in early 1942. By the end of the war, more than 7,000 had been built. The Lancaster was one of the most successful night bombers of the war and was flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and Royal Australian Air Force. The Lancaster was retired from active military service in 1963.
During the war, the RAF’s 617 Squadron used the Avro Lancaster and specialized ordnance for a number of successful precision bombing raids against especially challenging targets. These included dams in the Ruhr valley, the German battleship Tirpitz, a railway tunnel, and hardened submarine pens. The Lancaster’s 33-foot long bomb bay and large payload capacity made it was the only RAF aircraft that could carry weapons such as the 12,000 lb Tallboy and 22,000 lb Grand Slam earthquake bombs.
Currently 17 Lancasters survive. Only 2 are airworthy, including the one in this photo. This Lancaster Mark X was built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, in 1945. It was later converted by the RCAF to a maritime patrol configuration and was retired in late 1963. For a while it served as a static display exposed to the weather. In 1977 it was acquired by a new owner and a restoration was completed in 1988. The plane is owned and operated by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
This plane is dedicated to the memory of Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarksi of the RCAF. In June 1944 his Lancaster was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter. As Mynarski’s plane was descending, even though his clothes were in flames he tried to free the trapped rear gunner. Mynarksi was not able to free the gunner and eventually jumped from the plane. Mynarksi later died from his severe burns. Miraculously, the gunner survived the plane’s crash and was freed from the rear turret by the impact. The gunner shared the story of his friend and crew mate’s bravery. As a result of his actions, Mynarski was awarded a Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry in battle. The starboard side of the Lancaster displays the identification for Mynarski’s plane: KB726, VR-A.
The plane also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the successful 1943 attacks on Ruhr valley dams. Breaching the dams required outstanding flying and resulted in significant disruptions to German industrial activities. The port side of the plane has the markings of RAF 617 Squadron Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s aircraft AJ-G, ED932.
In 1918, Great Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was founded, making it the first independent air force in the world. To celebrate the RAF’s 100th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum hosted The Great British Fly-In at its the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The event included historic and modern aircraft and other vehicles, reenactors, lectures, and performances. Not all aircraft planned for the event were able to participate. Planes that did participate included a Lancaster, a B-25 Mitchell, and a Boeing P-8 Poseidon.
The pack is made from VX-42, ballistic nylon, milspec Velcro, a #10 YKK zipper, and weighs just under 6 oz.
For more info or to place an order check out my blog, bolderbikepacking.wordpress.com/ or contact me at gdw1914@yahoo.com.
THIS is why you want articulation, boys and girls. There's nothing that says "Welcome to the Battlefield" to your opponent like a boot to the head!
My first maktober in ages has produced the "Tallboy" urban assault mech. Trying to bust more out but the going is slow.
From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Lancaster#Surviving_aircraft
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.
The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling.
A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) blockbusters, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries. The "Lanc", as it was known colloquially, became one of the most heavily used of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 long tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties". The versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip 617 Squadron and was modified to carry the Upkeep "bouncing bomb" designed by Barnes Wallis for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were adapted to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) Tallboy and then the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam earthquake bombs (also designed by Wallis). This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war.
In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and the Avro Canada Orenda and STAL Dovern turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the Avro Lincoln, a larger version of the Lancaster. The Lancaster took on the role of long range anti-submarine patrol aircraft (later supplanted by the Avro Shackleton) and air-sea rescue. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping, as a flying tanker for aerial refuelling and as the Avro Lancastrian, a long-range, high-speed, transatlantic passenger and postal delivery airliner. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport.
Photo by Eric Friedebach
Ho Ho Ho podlubbers! Here's the third annual Big Enchilada Christmas Special. Enjoy holiday cheer from Hank Ballard, Billy Childish, Sonny Boy Williamson, Mojo Nixon, The Polkaholics, New Bomb Turks, The Supersuckers, King Coleman, The Trashmen, Angry Johnny & The Killbillies and so many more.
Thank you for making The Big Enchilada part of your Yuletide tradition.
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(Background Music: Santa Claus is Coming by True Light Beavers)
Poundland Christmas by Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of The British Empire
Real Live Doll by The Trashmen
Boogaloo Santa by J.D. McDonald
North Pole Boogie by Billy Briggs
Sausage & Sauerkraut for Santa by The Polkaholics
Big Ol' Hole This Christmas by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Christmas in Las Vegas by Richard Cheese
(Background Music: Jingle Bells by Gene Krupa with Charlie Ventura)
Christmas Baby (Please Come Home) by New Bomb Turks
It's Christmas Time by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
Is Santa Claus a Hippy? by Linda Cassady
Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues by Sonny Boy Williamson with Elmore James
Christmas is a Comin' (God Bless You) by The Shitbirds
Santa's Doing the Horizontal Twist by Kay Martin & Her Body Guards
(Background Music: Carol of the Bells by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks)
Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas by Rev. Glenn Armstrong
Blue Grey Christmas by King Coleman
Don't Believe in Christmas by Tallboy
Call It Christmas by The Supersuckers
Christmas in Vietnam by Johnny & Jon
Go Tell It on the Mountain by Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors
Jingle Bells by Johnny Dowd
Ghosts of Christmas Podcasts Past
Spend all your Christmas money at The Big Enchilada Podcast Zazzle Store.
From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Lancaster#Surviving_aircraft
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.
The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling.
A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) blockbusters, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries. The "Lanc", as it was known colloquially, became one of the most heavily used of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 long tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties". The versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip 617 Squadron and was modified to carry the Upkeep "bouncing bomb" designed by Barnes Wallis for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were adapted to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) Tallboy and then the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam earthquake bombs (also designed by Wallis). This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war.
In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and the Avro Canada Orenda and STAL Dovern turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the Avro Lincoln, a larger version of the Lancaster. The Lancaster took on the role of long range anti-submarine patrol aircraft (later supplanted by the Avro Shackleton) and air-sea rescue. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping, as a flying tanker for aerial refuelling and as the Avro Lancastrian, a long-range, high-speed, transatlantic passenger and postal delivery airliner. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport.
This Aircraft:
Built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario as Mk. X. Flown to England in May 1945 and returned to Canada in September 1945. Served as RCAF Maritime Reconnaissance plane from 1953 to 1958 with 103 Squadron at RCAF Greenwood and 407 Squadron at RCAF Comox. Flown to RCAF Vulcan in 1960 for scrapping. Purchased that year and moved to Nanton, Alberta for display. Has undergone gradual restoration since the formation of the Nanton Lancaster Society in 1986. All four engines now run. Wears livery of ND811 in honour of Ian Bazalgette VC.
Photo by Eric Friedebach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
Nazi Germany
Name: Admiral Scheer
Namesake: Reinhard Scheer
Builder: Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Laid down: 25 June 1931
Launched: 1 April 1933
Commissioned: 12 November 1934
Homeport: Kiel
Fate: Sunk by bombs, 9 April 1945
General characteristics
Class and type: Deutschland class cruiser
Displacement:
Design:
13,660 t (13,440 long tons)
Full load:
15,180 long tons (15,420 t)
Length: 186 m (610 ft 3 in)
Beam: 21.34 m (70 ft 0 in)
Draft: 7.25 m (23 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:
Eight MAN diesel engines
Two propellers
52,050 shp (38,810 kW)
Speed: 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph)
Range: 9,100 nmi (16,900 km; 10,500 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:
As built:
33 officers
586 enlisted
After 1935:
30 officers
921–1,040 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems:
1940:
FMG 39 G(gO)
1941:
MG 40 G(gO)
FuMO 26
Armament:
As built:
6 × 28 cm (11 in) in triple turrets
8 × 15 cm (5.9 in) in single turrets
8 × 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:
main turrets: 140 mm (5.5 in)
belt: 80 mm (3.1 in)
deck: 45 mm (1.8 in)
Aircraft carried: 2 × Arado Ar 196 seaplanes
Aviation facilities: One catapult
Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser (often termed a pocket battleship) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June 1931 and completed by November 1934. Originally classified as an armored ship (Panzerschiff) by the Reichsmarine, in February 1940 the Germans reclassified the remaining two ships of this class as heavy cruisers.[a]
The ship was nominally under the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limitation on warship size imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, though with a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t), she significantly exceeded it. Armed with six 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple gun turrets, Admiral Scheer and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. Their top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) left only a handful of ships in the Anglo-French navies able to catch them and powerful enough to sink them.[1]
Admiral Scheer saw heavy service with the German Navy, including a deployment to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, where she bombarded the port of Almería. Her first operation during World War II was a commerce raiding operation into the southern Atlantic Ocean; she also made a brief foray into the Indian Ocean. During the operation, she sank 113,223 gross register tons (GRT) of shipping, making her the most successful capital ship surface raider of the war. Following her return to Germany, she was deployed to northern Norway to interdict shipping to the Soviet Union. She was part of the abortive attack on Convoy PQ 17 and conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea. After returning to Germany at the end of 1942, the ship served as a training ship until the end of 1944, when she was used to support ground operations against the Soviet Army. She was sunk by British bombers on 9 April 1945 and partially scrapped; the remainder of the wreck lies buried beneath a quay.
Design
Main article: Deutschland class cruiser
Recognition drawing of Admiral Scheer
Admiral Scheer was 186 meters (610 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.34 m (70.0 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.25 m (23.8 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 13,660 t (13,440 long tons; 15,060 short tons) and a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t),[2] though the ship was officially stated to be within the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limit of the Treaty of Versailles.[3] Admiral Scheer was powered by four sets of MAN nine-cylinder double-acting two-stroke diesel engines. The ship's top speed was 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph), at 52,050 shaft horsepower (38,810 kW). At a cruising speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), the ship could steam for 9,100 nautical miles (16,900 km; 10,500 mi). As designed, her standard complement consisted of 33 officers and 586 enlisted men, though after 1935 this was significantly increased to 30 officers and 921–1,040 sailors.[2]
Admiral Scheer's primary armament was six 28 cm (11.0 in) SK C/28 guns mounted in two triple gun turrets, one forward and one aft of the superstructure. The ship carried a secondary battery of eight 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 guns in single turrets grouped amidships. Her anti-aircraft battery originally consisted of three 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/45 guns, though in 1935 these were replaced with six 8.8 cm L/78 guns. By 1940 the ship's anti-aircraft battery was significantly increased, consisting of six 10.5 cm (4.1 in) C/33 guns, four twin-mounted 3.7 cm (1.5 in) C/30 guns and up to twenty-eight 2 cm (0.79 in) Flak 30 guns. By 1945, the anti-aircraft battery had again been reorganized and comprised six 4 cm guns, eight 3.7 cm guns, and thirty-three 2 cm guns.[2]
The ship also carried a pair of quadruple 53.3 cm (21.0 in) deck-mounted torpedo launchers placed on her stern. The ship was equipped with two Arado Ar 196 seaplanes and one catapult. Admiral Scheer's armored belt was 60 to 80 mm (2.4 to 3.1 in) thick; her upper deck was 17 mm (0.67 in) thick while the main armored deck was 17 to 45 mm (0.67 to 1.77 in) thick. The main battery turrets had 140 mm (5.5 in) thick faces and 80 mm thick sides.[2] Radar initially consisted of a FMG 39 G(gO) set, though in 1941 this was replaced with an FMG 40 G(gO) set and a FuMO 26 system.[4][b]
Service history
Admiral Scheer was ordered by the Reichsmarine from the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven.[2] Naval rearmament was not popular with the Social Democrats and the Communists in the German Reichstag, so it was not until 1931 that a bill was passed to build a second Panzerschiff. The money for Panzerschiff B, which was ordered as Ersatz Lothringen, was secured after the Social Democrats abstained to prevent a political crisis.[5] Her keel was laid on 25 June 1931,[6] under construction number 123.[2] The ship was launched on 1 April 1933; at her launching, she was christened by Marianne Besserer, the daughter of Admiral Reinhard Scheer, the ship's namesake.[7] She was completed slightly over a year and a half later on 12 November 1934, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet.[8] The old battleship Hessen was removed from service and her crew transferred to the newly commissioned panzerschiff.[7]
At her commissioning in November 1934, Admiral Scheer was placed under the command of Kapitän zur See (KzS) Wilhelm Marschall.[9] The ship spent the remainder of 1934 conducting sea trials and training her crew.[10] In 1935, she had a new catapult and landing sail system to operate her Arado seaplanes on heavy seas installed.[4] From 1 October 1935 to 26 July 1937 her first officer was Leopold Bürkner, later to become head of foreign intelligence in the Third Reich.[11] By October 1935, the ship was ready for her first major cruise, when on 25–28 October she visited Madeira, returning to Kiel on 8 November. The following summer, she cruised out through the Skagerrak and the English Channel into the Irish Sea, before visiting Stockholm on the return voyage.[10]
Spanish Civil War
Admiral Scheer's first overseas deployment began in July 1936 when she was sent to Spain to evacuate German civilians caught in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. From 8 August 1936 she served together with her sister ship Deutschland on non-intervention patrols off the Republican-held coast of Spain.[7] She served four tours of duty with the non-intervention patrol through June 1937. Her official objective was to control the influx of war materiel into Spain, though she also recorded Soviet ships carrying supplies to the Republicans and protected ships delivering German weapons to Nationalist forces.[12] During the deployment to Spain, Ernst Lindemann served as the ship's first gunnery officer.[13] After Deutschland was attacked on 29 May 1937 by Spanish Republican Air Force aircraft off Ibiza, Admiral Scheer was ordered to bombard the Republican-held port of Almería in reprisal.[12] On 31 May 1937, the anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, Admiral Scheer, flying the Imperial War Flag, arrived off Almería at 07:29 and opened fire on shore batteries, naval installations and ships in the harbor. On 26 June 1937, she was relieved by her sister ship Admiral Graf Spee, allowing her to return to Wilhelmshaven on 1 July. She returned to the Mediterranean between August and October, however.[7] In September 1936 KzS Otto Ciliax replaced Marschall as the ship's commanding officer.[9]
World War II
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Admiral Scheer remained at anchor in the Schillig roadstead outside Wilhelmshaven, along with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. On 4 September, two groups of five Bristol Blenheim bombers attacked the ships. The first group surprised the anti-aircraft gunners aboard Admiral Scheer, who nevertheless managed to shoot down one of the five Blenheims. One bomb struck the ship's deck and failed to explode, and two detonated in the water near the ship. The remaining bombs also failed to explode.[14] The second group of five Blenheims were confronted by the alerted German defenses, which shot down four of the five bombers. Admiral Scheer emerged from the attack undamaged.[15] In November 1939, KzS Theodor Krancke became the ship's commanding officer.[16]
Admiral Scheer underwent a refit while her sister ships set out on commerce raiding operations in the Atlantic.[17] Admiral Scheer was modified during the early months of 1940, including the installation of a new, raked clipper bow.[16] The heavy command tower was replaced with a lighter structure, and she was reclassified as a heavy cruiser.[12] Additional anti-aircraft guns were also installed, along with updated radar equipment.[16] On 19–20 July RAF bombers attacked Admiral Scheer and the battleship Tirpitz, though they failed to score any hits.[18] On 27 July, the ship was pronounced ready for service.[16]
Atlantic sortie
Admiral Scheer sailed in October 1940 on her first combat sortie. On the night of 31 October she slipped through the Denmark Strait and broke into the open Atlantic.[19] Her B-Dienst radio intercept equipment identified the convoy HX-84, sailing from Halifax Nova Scotia. Admiral Scheer's Arado seaplanes located the convoy on 5 November 1940,[17] The armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, the sole escort for the convoy, issued a report of the German raider and attempted to prevent her from attacking the convoy. The convoy was ordered to scatter under cover of a smoke screen.[19] Admiral Scheer's first salvo scored hits on Jervis Bay, disabling her wireless equipment and steering gear. Shells from her second salvo struck the bridge and killed her commander, Edward Fegen.[20] Admiral Scheer quickly sank Jervis Bay, but the delay allowed the majority of the convoy to escape. The Germans sank only five of the convoy's 37 ships.[21]
On 18 December, Admiral Scheer encountered and sank the refrigerator ship Duquesa, of some 8,651 long tons (8,790 t) displacement. The ship sent off a distress signal, which the German raider deliberately allowed, to draw British naval forces to the area.[22] Krancke wanted to lure British warships to the area to draw attention away from Admiral Hipper, which had just exited the Denmark Strait.[23] The aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and Hermes, the cruisers Dorsetshire, Neptune, and Dragon, and the armed merchant cruiser Pretoria Castle converged to hunt down the German raider, but she eluded the British.[22]
Admiral Scheer captured the Norwegian 8,038 GRT oil tanker Sandefjord on 18 January 1941, put a prize crew aboard and used her to send prisoners to Bordeaux. After the war Sandefjord was rebuilt as the British bulk carrier Cedar Trader, shown here.
Between 26 December and 7 January, Admiral Scheer rendezvoused with the supply ships Nordmark and Eurofeld, the auxiliary cruiser Thor, and the prizes Duquesa and Storstad. The raiders transferred some 600 prisoners to Storstad while they refueled from Nordmark and Eurofeld.[24] Between 18 and 20 January Admiral Scheer captured three Allied merchant ships totalling 18,738 gross register tons (GRT),[25] including the Norwegian oil tanker Sandefjord. She spent Christmas 1940 at sea in the mid-Atlantic, several hundred miles from Tristan da Cunha, before making a foray into the Indian Ocean in February 1941.[26]
On 14 February, Admiral Scheer rendezvoused with the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis and the supply ship Tannenfels about 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) east of Madagascar. The raiders resupplied from Tannenfels and exchanged information on Allied merchant traffic in the area, parting company on 17 February. Admiral Scheer then steamed to the Seychelles north of Madagascar, where she found two merchant vessels with her Arado floatplanes. She took the 6,994 GRT oil tanker British Advocate as a prize and sank the 2,456 GRT Greek-flagged Grigorios. A third ship, the 7,178 GRT Canadian Cruiser, managed to send a distress signal before Admiral Scheer sank her on 21 February. The raider encountered and sank a fourth ship the following day, the 2,542 GRT Dutch steamer Rantaupandjang, though she too was able to send a distress signal before she sank.[27]
The British cruiser HMS Glasgow, which was patrolling in the area, received both messages from Admiral Scheer's victims. Glasgow launched reconnaissance aircraft that spotted Admiral Scheer on 22 February. Vice Admiral Ralph Leatham, the commander of the East Indies Station, deployed the carrier Hermes and cruisers Capetown, Emerald, Hawkins, Shropshire, and the Australian HMAS Canberra to join the hunt. Krancke turned to the south-east to evade his pursuers, reaching the South Atlantic by 3 March. The British, meanwhile, had abandoned the hunt on 25 February when it became clear that Admiral Scheer had withdrawn from the area.[27]
Admiral Scheer then sailed northwards, breaking through the Denmark Strait on 26–27 March and evading the cruisers Fiji and Nigeria. She reached Bergen, Norway on 30 March, where she spent a day in the Grimstadfjord. A destroyer escort joined the ship for the voyage to Kiel, which they reached on 1 April.[28] In the course of her raiding operation, she had steamed over 46,000 nautical miles (85,000 km) and sank seventeen merchant ships for a total of 113,223 GRT.[17][28] She was by far the most successful German capital ship commerce raider of the entire war.[29] After returning to Germany, Krancke left the ship and was replaced by KzS Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken in June 1941.[9] The loss of the battleship Bismarck in May 1941, and more importantly, the Royal Navy's destruction of the German supply ship network in the aftermath of the Bismarck operation forced a planned Atlantic raiding operation for Admiral Scheer and her sister Lützow at the end of 1941 to be abandoned.[30] On 4–8 September, Admiral Scheer was briefly moved to Oslo. There, on 5 and 8 September, No. 90 Squadron RAF, equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, mounted a pair of unsuccessful attacks on the ship. On 8 September, the ship left Oslo and returned to Swinemünde.[31]
Deployment to Norway
On 21 February 1942, Admiral Scheer, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, and the destroyers Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z5 Paul Jakobi, Z25, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, and Z14 Friedrich Ihn steamed to Norway. After stopping briefly in Grimstadfjord, the ships proceeded on to Trondheim. On 23 February, the British submarine Trident torpedoed Prinz Eugen, causing serious damage.[32] The first operation in Norway in which Admiral Scheer took part was Operation Rösselsprung, in July 1942. On 2 July, the ship sortied as part of the attempt to intercept Arctic convoy PQ-17.[33] Admiral Scheer and Lützow formed one group while Tirpitz and Admiral Hipper composed another. While en route to the rendezvous point, Lützow and three destroyers ran aground, forcing the entire group to abandon the operation. Admiral Scheer was detached to join Tirpitz and Admiral Hipper in Altafjord.[34] The British detected the German departure and ordered the convoy to scatter. Aware that surprise had been lost, the Germans broke off the surface attack and turned the destruction of PQ-17 over to the U-boats and Luftwaffe. Twenty-four of the convoy's thirty-five transports were sunk.[35]
In August 1942, she conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea to interdict Soviet shipping and attack targets of opportunity. The length of the mission and the distances involved precluded a destroyer escort for the operation; three destroyers would escort Admiral Scheer until they reached Novaya Zemlya, at which point they would return to Norway. Two U-boats — U-251 and U-456 — patrolled the Kara Gate and the Jugor Strait. The Germans originally intended to send Admiral Scheer with her sister ship Lützow, but since the latter had run aground the previous month, she was unavailable for the operation.[36]
Map showing the route taken by Admiral Scheer during Operation Wunderland
The operational plan called for strict radio silence to ensure surprise could be maintained. This required Meendsen-Bohlken to have total tactical and operational control of his ship; shore-based commands would be unable to direct the mission.[36] On 16 August, Admiral Scheer and her destroyer escort left Narvik on a course to pass to the north of Novaya Zemlya. Upon entering the Kara Sea, she encountered heavy ice; in addition to searching for merchant shipping, the Arado floatplane was used to scout paths through the ice fields.[37] On 25 August, she encountered the Soviet icebreaker Sibiryakov. Admiral Scheer sank the icebreaker, but not before she sent a distress signal.[38] The German ship then turned south, and two days later, arrived off the port of Dikson. Admiral Scheer damaged two ships in the port and shelled harbor facilities. Meendsen-Bohlken considered sending a landing party ashore, but firing from Soviet shore batteries convinced him to abandon the plan. After breaking off the bombardment, Meendsen-Bohlken decided to return to Narvik. She reached port on 30 August without having achieved any significant successes.[39]
On 23 October Admiral Scheer, Tirpitz and the destroyers Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, Z23, Z28, and Z29 left Bogen Bay and proceeded to Trondheim. There, Tirpitz stopped for repairs, while Admiral Scheer and Z28 continued on to Germany.[40] Fregattenkapitän Ernst Gruber served as the ship's acting commander at the end of November.[9] In December 1942, Admiral Scheer returned to Wilhelmshaven for major overhaul, where she was attacked and slightly damaged by RAF bombers. Consequently, Admiral Scheer moved to the less exposed port of Swinemünde.[33] In February 1943, KzS Richard Rothe-Roth took command of the ship.[9] Until the end of 1944 Admiral Scheer was part of the Fleet Training Group.[41]
Return to the Baltic
KzS Ernst-Ludwig Thienemann, the ship's final commander, took command of Admiral Scheer in April 1944.[9] On 22 November 1944, Admiral Scheer, the destroyers Z25 and Z35, and the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla relieved the cruiser Prinz Eugen and several destroyers supporting German forces fighting the Soviets on the island of Ösel in the Baltic.[42] The Soviet Air Force launched several air attacks on the German forces, all of which were successfully repelled by heavy anti-aircraft fire.[43] The ship's Arado floatplane was shot down, however.[41] On the night of 23–24 November, the German naval forces completed the evacuation of the island. In all, 4,694 troops were evacuated from the island.[43]
In early February 1945, Admiral Scheer stood off Samland with several torpedo boats in support of German forces fighting Soviet advances. On 9 February, the ships began shelling Soviet positions. Between 18 and 24 February, German forces launched a local counterattack; Admiral Scheer and the torpedo boats provided artillery support, targeting Soviet positions near Peyse and Gross-Heydekrug. The German attack temporarily restored the land connection to Königsberg.[44] The ship's guns were badly worn out by March and in need of repair. On 8 March, Admiral Scheer departed the eastern Baltic to have her guns relined in Kiel; she carried 800 civilian refugees and 200 wounded soldiers. An uncleared minefield prevented her from reaching Kiel, and so she unloaded her passengers in Swinemünde. Despite her worn-out gun barrels, the ship then shelled Soviet forces outside Kolberg until she used up her remaining ammunition.[41]
The ship then loaded refugees and left Swinemünde; she successfully navigated the minefields on the way to Kiel, arriving on 18 March. Her stern turret had its guns replaced at the Deutsche Werke shipyard by early April. During the repair process, most of the ship's crew went ashore. On the night of 9 April 1945, a general RAF bombing raid by over 300 aircraft struck the harbor in Kiel.[41] Admiral Scheer was hit by five Tallboy bombs and capsized. She was partially broken up for scrap after the end of the war, though part of the hull was left in place and buried with rubble from the attack in the construction of a new quay. The number of casualties from her loss is unknown.[8][45]
The Postcard
A postcard that was published by Cie des Arts Photomécaniques of 44, Rue Letellier, Paris. The image is a glossy real photograph.
The card was posted in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Tuesday the 22nd. June 1954 to:
Miss Yvonne Shinn,
'Eastcote',
Sutton Park Road,
Seaford,
Sussex,
England.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Having a wonderful time.
Will write you on return.
Your loving cousin,
Jeffery."
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais.
Boulogne lies on the Côte d'Opale, a touristic stretch of French coast on the English Channel between Calais and Normandy. Boulogne is its department's second-largest city after Calais, and the 60th-largest in France. It is also the country's largest fishing port, specialising in herring.
Boulogne in the Great War
During the Great War, Boulogne was the arrival port for the first unit of the British Expeditionary Force to land in France, and for many others thereafter.
Boulogne was one of the three base ports most extensively used by the Commonwealth armies on the Western Front throughout the Great War.
The town was closed and cleared on the 27th. August 1914 when the Allies were forced to fall back ahead of the German advance, but was opened again in October, and from that month to the end of the war, Boulogne and Wimereux formed one of the chief hospital areas.
Until June 1918, the dead from the hospitals at Boulogne itself were buried in the Cimetière de L'Est, one of the town's cemeteries, the Commonwealth graves forming a long, narrow strip along the right hand edge of the cemetery.
In the spring of 1918, it was found that space was running short in the Eastern Cemetery in spite of repeated extensions to the south, and the site of a new cemetery at Terlincthun was chosen.
To see a photograph of the cemetery, please search for the tag 45TBC33
Boulogne in World War II
In WW II, on the 15th. June 1944, 297 planes (155 Avro Lancasters, 130 Handley Page Halifaxes, and 12 De Havilland Mosquitos) of the Royal Air Force bombed Boulogne harbour to suppress German naval activity following D-Day.
Some of the Lancasters carried Tallboy bombs, and as a result, the harbour and the surrounding area were completely destroyed.
In August 1944 the town was declared a "fortress" by Adolf Hitler, but it succumbed to assault and liberation by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in September. In one incident, a French civilian guided the Canadians to a "secret passage" leading into the walled old town, thereby by-passing the German defenders.
The Rebuilding of Boulogne After WW II
In order to replace the destroyed urban infrastructure, affordable housing and public facility projects in functional, brutalist building styles were carried out in Boulogne in the 1950's and 60's.
A Racist Act
So what else happened on the day that Jeffery posted the card to Yvonne?
Well, on the 22nd. June 1954, Sarah Mae Flemming was expelled from a bus in South Carolina for sitting in a white-only section.
The Suicide of Don Hollenbeck
The day also marked the death by suicide at the age of 49 of the American newscaster Don Hollenbeck.
Don Hollenbeck, who was born on the 30th. March 1905, was a CBS newscaster, commentator, and associate of Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. He died from gas inhalation in his Manhattan apartment when his stove and oven had been turned on but not lit.
Hollenbeck’s body was discovered at about 11 a.m. after another tenant smelled gas and notified management. Clad in shorts and bathrobe, he was found lying on the kitchen floor.
Don's wife of 13 years, Angelique, maintained a separate residence with the couple's daughter, Zoe, aged 9.
Consequently, Don's death was ruled a suicide. Reasons which could have induced him to kill himself included health problems, depression, a broken marriage, and frequent published attacks by Jack O'Brian, a Hearst columnist and supporter of Joseph McCarthy.
The Parker-Hulme Murder Case
Another traumatic death on the 22nd. June 1954 was that of Honorah Parker, aged 45. She was a New Zealand housewife who was bludgeoned to death by her daughter, 16-year old Pauline Parker, and her friend, 15-year-old Julia Hulme who became a writer of English historical detective fiction under the name of Anne Perry.
The murder has inspired plays, novels, non-fiction books, and films including Peter Jackson's 1994 film 'Heavenly Creatures.'
Background to The Murder
Pauline Yvonne Parker (aka Pauline Rieper) was born on the 26th. May 1938. She met Juliet Hulme, who was born in London, when they were both in their early teens.
Parker came from a working-class background; while Hulme, who emigrated to New Zealand with her parents in 1948, was the daughter of Henry Hulme, a physicist who was the rector of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.
They both attended Christchurch Girls' High School. Both girls had debilitating illnesses as children - Parker osteomyelitis and Hulme tuberculosis - and they initially bonded over it. According to Parker's accounts, she and Hulme both romanticised the idea of being sick.
As their friendship developed, Parker and Hulme formed an elaborate fantasy life together. They wrote plays, books, and stories centred in this world.
The girls became nearly obsessed with one another, to the point that Parker's parents became concerned that the girls were engaged in a sexual relationship; homosexuality at the time was considered a serious mental illness.
The Hulmes also had concerns, but both families continued to allow the girls to see one another, and Parker was accepted at the Hulme home in Ilam for overnights and vacations. Hulme became withdrawn and ill when Parker left home without her.
During their relationship, the girls invented their own personal religion, with their own ideas on morality. They rejected Christianity and worshipped their own saints, envisioning a parallel dimension called The Fourth World, essentially their version of Heaven.
The Fourth World was a place that they felt they were already able to enter occasionally, during moments of spiritual enlightenment. By Parker's account, they had achieved this spiritual enlightenment because of their friendship.
Parker was not invited to go to Ilam over the summer holidays in 1953 as she had been in previous years. In 1954, Hulme's parents separated. Problems with the faculty forced Hulme’s father to resign from his position as rector of the university, and her mother was carrying on an extramarital affair.
Hulme's family planned to return to England, but it was decided that Hulme herself would be sent to live with relatives in South Africa - ostensibly for her health.
Both girls were heartbroken over their upcoming separation, and decided that Parker should go to South Africa as well. They thought the Hulmes would agree to this plan, though in fact they were unlikely to allow it. Parker was certain her mother would not allow her to go with Hulme.
The girls then formed a plan to murder Parker's mother in order to remove the one perceived obstacle to their remaining together.
Their long term plan was to go to South Africa and then head to Hollywood or New York City, where they believed they would publish their writing and work in film.
The Murder
On the afternoon of the 22nd. June 1954, Parker and Hulme had gone for a walk with Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper, through Victoria Park in Christchurch. Approximately 130 metres (430 ft.) down the path, in a wooded area of the park near a small wooden bridge, Hulme and Parker bludgeoned Rieper to death with half of a brick enclosed in an old stocking.
After committing the murder, which they had planned together, the two girls, covered in blood, fled back to the tea kiosk where the three of them had eaten only minutes before. They were met by Agnes and Kenneth Ritchie, owners of the tea shop, whom they told that Rieper had fallen and hit her head.
Rieper's body was found in Victoria Park by Ritchie. Major lacerations were found about her head, neck, and face, with minor injuries to her fingers. Police soon discovered the murder weapon in the nearby woods. The girls' story of Rieper's accidental death quickly fell apart.
Trial and Conviction
Prior to the trial, Parker had been known as Pauline Rieper. Her mother had been living with her father, Herbert Rieper, but the police investigations revealed that they were not, in fact, married. Thus, during the trial, both Honorah and Pauline were referred to by the surname 'Parker'.
The trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about the girls' possible lesbianism and insanity. Parker and Hulme were convicted on the 28th. August 1954.
As they were too young for the death penalty, each spent five years in prison. Some sources say they were released on condition that they never contacted each other again, but Sam Barnett, then Secretary for Justice, told journalists that there was no such condition.
Release From Prison
Hulme on her release immediately rejoined her father in Italy, while Parker was placed on six months' parole in New Zealand, after which she left the country.
Less than four months later, the murder was taken as strong evidence of moral decline by the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents in what became known as the Mazengarb Report, named after its chair, Ossie Mazengarb.
-- Parker
Following her release from prison, Parker was given a new identity as Hilary Nathan, and spent some time in New Zealand under close surveillance before being allowed to leave for England.
From at least 1992, she was living in the small village of Hoo, near Strood, Kent, and running a children's riding school. As an adult, she became a devout Roman Catholic.
While she has never spoken to the press, in a 1996 statement released through her sister she expressed strong remorse for having killed her mother. Her sister stated that:
"Pauline committed the most terrible crime and
has spent 40 years repaying it by keeping away
from people and doing her own little thing.
After it happened, she was very sorry about it.
It took her about five years to realise what she
had done."
-- Hulme
After her release from prison, Hulme spent time in England and the United States, later settling in England and becoming a successful historical detective novelist under her new name, Anne Perry.
She has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since about 1968. Until 1994, it was not well-known that Perry was in fact Hulme.
In March 2006, Hulme/Perry stated that, while her relationship with Parker was obsessive, they were not lesbians.
David Whitfield
Also on the 22nd. June 1954, the Number One chart hit record in the UK (on a 78 rpm disk!) was 'Cara Mia' by David Whitfield and the Mantovani Orchestra.
David Whitfield (2nd. February 1925 – 15th. January 1980) was a popular British male tenor vocalist from Hull. He became the first British artist to have a UK No. 1 single in the UK and in the United States with Cara Mia.
David died from a brain haemorrhage in Sydney, Australia, while on tour at the age of 54.
Orford Ness was, for most of the twentieth century, a military research station so secret that nobody knew what went on there, and so remote that even now most people have never heard of it. Yet the contribution of its scientists, service and civilian, to the winning of the First World War, the Second World War and the Cold War places them on a par with the codebreakers of Bletchley Park. At this highly atmospheric and often inhospitable location on the Suffolk coast, the Royal Flying Corps (later RAF) conducted crucial experiments and trials, some brilliant, others futile, on effective gunnery, accurate bombing and improved navigational aids.They also conducted trials here in aerial photography It was the venue for Watson Watt’s early work on radar and for Barnes Wallis’ improved Tallboy bomb. From 1953, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment used it as the testing range for British nuclear bombs. In 1967 the world’s most powerful radar station, COBRA MIST, was constructed for the US Department of Defense. Why it was closed down is just one of many Orford Ness mysteries.
Anya Gallaccio.
Using imploded material taken from the site in the form of a series of scanning electron microscope images of a bomb blasted pebble from the Ness.
See www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0KzM3vHde0
Orford Ness was, for most of the twentieth century, a military research station so secret that nobody knew what went on there, and so remote that even now most people have never heard of it. Yet the contribution of its scientists, service and civilian, to the winning of the First World War, the Second World War and the Cold War places them on a par with the codebreakers of Bletchley Park. At this highly atmospheric and often inhospitable location on the Suffolk coast, the Royal Flying Corps (later RAF) conducted crucial experiments and trials, some brilliant, others futile, on effective gunnery, accurate bombing and improved navigational aids.They also conducted trials here in aerial photography It was the venue for Watson Watt’s early work on radar and for Barnes Wallis’ improved Tallboy bomb. From 1953, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment used it as the testing range for British nuclear bombs. In 1967 the world’s most powerful radar station, COBRA MIST, was constructed for the US Department of Defense. Why it was closed down is just one of many Orford Ness mysteries.
Avro 683 Lancaster
History
The Avro Lancaster was a development of the unsatisfactory twin-engine Manchester. The prototype first flew on 9 January 1941, and subsequently the production Lancaster was first deployed in 1942 with 44 RAF squadron, and became the most used British heavy bomber of WWII, flying over 156,000 missions.
The Lancaster had a rectangular fuselage, mid-set wing and twin tail fins and rudders, and a Martin upper turret with two 50-calibre guns. It was able to carry very heavy bombs and bulky 'special' weapons; with modifications to the bomb-bay even 10,000kg bombs were carried. Only a few aircraft were capable of carrying the 12,000lb "Tallboy" and the 22,000lb "Grand Slam" bombs.
Maritime patrol versions of the Lancaster had no top turret, and only the front turret was armed with two .303-calibre machine guns. By the end of production 7,378 Lancaster had been built, including 430 in Canada.
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A Lancaster of 44 RAF Squadron taxying at RAF Waddington in September 1942 (IWM neg PMA20625)
Fleet Air Arm history
Lancaster
Total FAA 1939-1945: 3
First delivered to RN: 780 sqdn 1945
First squadron 1939-1945: 1945
Operational squadron: None
Last served with RN Postwar till 1947
The Lancaster only saw limited use in the Fleet Air Arm. Three Lancaster MkIs were transferred from the RAF in 1945. The first Lancaster to be delivered, PA224, arrived at the RNDA in November 1945. The Lancaster only saw service with 780 squadron at Hinstock, where it was first delivered to the squadron in 1946.
The Lancaster last operated with the Fleet Air Arm in 1947 with 10 MU. The Lancaster was also to see limited service in overseas Naval Air Arms, the French Fleet Air Arm (Aeronavale) being equipped with the Lancaster in 1952 (Escadrilles: 9S, 52S,
55S, 58S, 62S).
Lancaster Mk I
Aircraft Type:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Mark:
Mk I
Primary Role:
Heavy bomber
First Flight:
9.1.1941
Date operating with FAA squadrons:
1945-1947
Manufacturer:
Avro
Engine:
Four 1610 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XXIV engines
Wing Span: Length: Height: Wing Area:
Wingspan 102 ft (31.1 m)
Length 69.25 ft (21.1 m)
Height 19.6 ft (5.97 m)
Wingarea 1,292 sq ft (120 sq m)
Empty Weight: Max.Weight:
Weight
empty 36,828 lb (16,705 kg)
max.70,000 lb (31,750 kg)
Speed:
Ceiling:
Range:
Speed
max.287 mph (462 km/h)
cruising 210 mph (338 km/h)
Ceiling 24,500 ft (7,470 m)
Range1,662 mi (2,675 km)
Armament:
Ten 7.7mm machine gun
Up to 9,980 kg bombs
Crew:
7
(pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, radio operator and two gunners
Squadrons:
780
Battle honours:
None with FAA
Additional references and notes:
-
Battle Honours and Operational History
The Lancaster saw no operational service with the Fleet Air Arm, however in its RAF career the Lancasters flew over 156,000 missions, and was acknowledged with many battle honours including the final sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz in November 1944, following the successful crippling of the ship by the Fleet Air Arm in April 1944.
The RAF Lancasters also participated in many World War II missions, including the "Dam Buster" raids that led to the destruction of the strategically important Mohne, Eder, and Sorpe dams. Lancasters also were instrumental during attacks on the Peenemunde aircraft and rocket research facility.
Surviving aircraft and relics
The World population of surviving Lancasters currently totals 23, including only two airworthy Lancasters PA474, and FM213 and a taxying Lancaster NX611.
No Fleet Air Arm Lancasters survive however a few survive from the French Fleet Air Arm. Three French Fleet Air Arm Lancasters survive from their service in France in 1952:
Lancaster NX665 preserved at Western Spring (New Zealand)
Lancaster NX622 preserved on public display in Perth (Australia)
Lancaster NX611 preserved at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre (UK)
Lancaster NX611 ex French Aeronavale preserved in the Lincolnshie Avaition Heritage Centre (UK)
Lancaster NX611 ex French Aeronavale (Escadrilles: 9S, 52S, 55S). Fully restored to taxiing condition and on public display at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, England.
LancasterNX665 ex French Aeronavale preserved at West Spring, New Zealand
Lancaster NX665 (ex WU-13) ex French Aeronavale - Escardille: 9S, 62S, 55S, 58S On public display at Western Spring, New Zealand.
Lancaster W4783 preserved at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia
Australian War Memorial, Canberra (Australia), presrerved Lancaster W4783 "G" for George.
Airworthy Lancaster PA474: Battle of Britain Memorial Flight of the RAF (UK) in the livery of a Lancaster
from 9 RAF squadron which took part in the first RAF Tirpitz raid.
Battle of Britian Memorial Flight Lancaster PA474, one of two airworthy Lancasters in the world. She was built in Chester in mid 1945 and was earmarked for the "Tiger Force" in the Far East. However, the war with Japan ended before she could take part in any hostilities. She was then assigned to Photographic Reconnaissance duties with 82 RAF Squadron in East and South Africa. On return to the UK PA474 was transferred to the Royal College of Aeronautics. In 1964 she was adopted by the Air Historical Branch (AHB) for future display in the proposed RAF Museum at Hendon. During this period PA474 also took part in 2 films, 'Operation Crossbow' and 'The Guns of Navarone'. In 1965 the Lnacaster was transferred to the care of the first RAF squadron (44 sqduadron) to be equipped with Lancasters back in 1942. Based at Waddington, permission to fly PA474 regularly was granted in 1967 and in 1973 the aircraft eventually joined the BBMF in November 1973. Connections with the Royal Navy included when a mid-upper turret was discovered in Argentina and was brought to Britain aboard HMS HAMPSHIRE and fitted to PA474 in 1975. From 1994 to 1999 PA474 was seen wearing the markings of W4964,'WS-J', Johnnie Walker, an aircraft of IX Squadron. This aircraft took part in the first attack on the Tirpitz from Russia and flew over one hundred operational sorties. PA474 appears in new livery for 2000, representing 61 Sqn Lancaster 'Mickey the Moocher'. Associations and reunions
* Battle of Britian Memorial Flight
* Lincolnshire Lancaster Association
* The Nanton Lancaster Society and Air Museum (Canada)
FURTHER INFORMATION
Battle of Britian Memorial Flight Aircraft, crew, displays, history, association, visitors centre
Details and history of the Lancaster by the Nanton Lancaster Museum Details on the Lancaster Bomber, The Lancaster And Bomber Command (11 Articles), Lancasters After The War, The Canadian Lancasters, Lancaster FM-159, The World's Surviving Lancasters
Warbird Alley Warbird Alley, an online reference source for information about privately-owned, ex-military aircraft. Includes details and specs and a summary total of airworthy aircraft including the Lancaster
Aviation History online Museum and the Lancaster Details and technical specifications
Sturtivant, R. & Burrow, M (1995) 'Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939 to 1945' Published by Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1995 ISBN: 085130 232 7
1935 Frazer Nash TT Replica Shelsley
One of only four twin-supercharged cars built with TT Replica bodies, this Frazer Nash (CMH 500) was delivered new to British race car driver A.F.P. Fane in April 1935. The combination of car and driver was virtually unbeatable in the sports car races of the period at Brooklands and hill climbs at Prescott, Shelsley Walsh, and Lewes. This car was essentially a factory works car and Fane was not only a works driver but a shareholder in Frazer Nash and the chief salesman. He later became a BMW works driver, and if World War II had not intervened, he would have become a Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix driver. During the war, Fane flew Spitfires and was responsible for discovering the German Battleship Tirpitz hiding in Norway. Sadly he was killed flying in bad weather in 1942.
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Side Notes:
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Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during and after the Second World War. The Spitfire was built in many variants, using several wing configurations, and was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war.
General characteristics
Crew: one pilot; Length: 29 ft 11 in (9.12 m); Wingspan: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Height: 11 ft 5 in (3.86 m); Wing area: 242.1 ft2 (22.48 m2); Airfoil: NACA 2209.4(tip)
Empty weight: 5,065 lb (2,297 kg); Loaded weight: 6,622 lb (3,000 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 6,700 lb (3,039 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 45[nb 14] supercharged V12 engine, 1,470 hp (1,096 kW) at 9,250 ft (2,820 m)
Performance
Maximum speed: 370 mph, (322 kn, 595 km/h); Combat radius: 410 nmi (470 mi, 760 km)
Ferry range: 991 nmi(1,135 mi, 1,827 km); Service ceiling: 36,500 ft (11,125 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s); Wing loading: 27.35 lb/ft2 (133.5 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 2 x 20mm Hispano Mk II cannon; 60 rounds per gun: 4 x .303 in Browning Mk II* machine guns; 350 rpg.
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German Battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine (War Navy) during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimeter (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2,000 metric tons (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short tons) heavier than Bismarck.
After completing sea trials in early 1941, Tirpitz briefly served as the centrepiece of the Baltic Fleet, which was intended to prevent a possible break-out attempt by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In early 1942, the ship sailed to Norway to act as a deterrent against an Allied invasion. While stationed in Norway, Tirpitz was also intended to be used to intercept Allied convoys to the Soviet Union, and two such missions were attempted in 1942. Tirpitz acted as a fleet in being, forcing the British Royal Navy to retain significant naval forces in the area to contain the battleship.
In September 1943, Tirpitz, along with the battleship Scharnhorst, bombarded Allied positions on the island of Spitzbergen, the only time the ship used her main battery in anger. Shortly thereafter, the ship was damaged in an attack by British mini-submarines and subsequently subjected to a series of large-scale air raids. On 12 November 1944, British Lancaster bombers equipped with 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) "Tallboy" bombs destroyed the ship; two direct hits and a near miss caused the ship to capsize rapidly. A deck fire spread to the ammunition magazine for one of the main battery turrets, which caused a large explosion. Figures for the number of men killed in the attack range from 950 to 1,204. Between 1948 and 1957 the wreck was broken up by a joint Norwegian and German salvage operation.
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