[218], Air Commodore Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman, a staff officer at No. By Jon Flight Sergeant David Wilson Inglis (1569642) Served with No. Typically the primary briefing was provided by the "C.O." (commanding officer) accompanied by his flight commanders, met officer (meteorologist), "spy" (intelligence officer) and attended by pilots and navigators. Norman Nowell Griffin (1396113) Air Bomber It evolved out of Chadwicks earlier design, the Avro Manchester, which was universally hated by all who were condemned to fly it, due to poor engine design. [126] On arrival the crew would check their aircraft over again before the pilot and flight engineer started the engines to "run them up",[127][128] following which he as captain of the crew, signed the ground crew chief's Form 700 on a clip board accepting responsibility for a fully serviceable bomber. The flight engineer was usually a sergeant; promotion tended to be slow. This process occurred at Heavy Conversion Units. (Paul) Burton shot down an enemy Junkers-88. [177] Crippled bombers flying on two or three engines or with wounded crewmen aboard sometimes could not make it back to base and would land at any available airfield they found; RAF Woodbridge was a recognised emergency landing place. (For more details, see "Aircrew Ages" section below. A wireless operator/air gunner wore a single-winged aircrew flying badge with a wreath containing the letters AG or S on his tunic, above his left breast pocket denoting his trade specialisation and a cloth arm patch featuring lightning bolts. [238][239], The process was considered harsh and was deeply resented by the aircrews themselves, who rarely spoke of "LMF" situations; even decades after the war, few memoirs give more than an occasional mention of the issue.[240]. 22 year old Sgt. [186] Generally speaking the standard Lancaster crew was seven (7) however, some crews were increased to eight (8) members. The aircraft was reaching the end of its operational life and was phased out of night bombing operations by 1942. A man who survived. Five: pilot, navigator, flight engineer, bomb aimer, rear gunner. [4] It was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War. [188][189], In the late spring of 1944, when operations were being flown to less distant targets, often in preparation for Operation Overlord the D-Day invasion RAF high command temporarily changed the length of an operational tour by counting some targets as a half of an operation,[190] on the basis that they regarded the target as less heavily defended than some in the German homeland. [103] Ground crew stood ready to correct any problems identified once the bomber landed. [227][228], Many biographies and auto-biographies of aircrew record that, facing a very limited life expectancy, airmen frequently adopted mascots and superstitions, holding to a belief that if they adhered to a particular custom or carried a specific talisman with them, then they would "get home in time for breakfast". [87], It is believed that William Wedgwood Benn DSO DFC, father of Labour politician Tony Benn, was the oldest man to fly operationally; he was born in 1877. 428 Squadron RCAF on 30 April 1945 apparently aged 16. The crew compartment in an Avro Lancaster consisted of a single deck to accommodate the Pilot, Navigator (and the Set Operator when . We were airmen, not psychiatrists. [182] Arriving back at base, crews were promptly ferried to de-briefing, where mugs of tea were distributed while each crew was interviewed and a detailed operational report[165] compiled before a generous bacon-and-egg breakfast could be claimed. In November 1941, the fast twin-engined Mosquito light bomber was introduced and finally in March 1942 the four-engined Avro Lancaster came into service. The shell explosion blew rear gunner Flying Officer Ben Marceau out of his armour plated stripped Frazer-Nash 20 rear turret. Some C.O.s reportedly adopted a more sympathetic approach with aircrew who had flown a significant number of ops and quietly removed them from their crews to assign them to staff duties. He had to show and install confidence in the six other men of his crew and fly the aircraft. The story of two World War II veterans from the Southern Downs : tales of a Military Medal recipient and a Lancaster bomber rear gunner. [70][71][72] A small number of pilots of the South African Air Force did fly with RAF Bomber Command, one earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and then a posthumous Victoria Cross, Captain Edwin Swales, although the majority of South Africans flew in the North African, East African and Italian campaigns. In its normal configuration the Lancaster was crewed by seven men (compared with ten in the American B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator), comprising the pilot (captain), navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, bomb-aimer/front gunner, mid-upper gunner and rear gunner. (20 years, from South Yardley, Birmingham) Rear gunner : Sgt Herbert Thomas (23 years . "Navigator" who worked at his desk behind a curtain, operated any radar navigational aids and instructed the pilot on route and airspeed required throughout the operation in order to arrive on target within the expected time period in company with the other aircraft due to attack. Observer The role was to navigate the bomber to the target using astral navigation, map reading, and wireless position fixes and then to release the payload onto the target. All the lists present the following data: Name and (when known) first name are presented with arbitrary choice for the spelling (russian, german, arab names.). Of these, 32 were officially non-British units: 15 RCAF squadrons, eight RAAF squadrons, four Polish squadrons, two French squadrons, two RNZAF/"New Zealand" squadrons,[1] and one Czechoslovakian squadron. A memorial to the crew of a Lancaster bomber is due to be unveiled in Holland, 67 years after it went missing on a disastrous night for Bomber Command. [144] The heavy bombers flew as a bomber stream and banking on safety in numbers flew as a mass on their course. Briefings usually commenced during the afternoons, and for reasons of security the bomber base would be closed down to all but the most necessary traffic in or out to reduce to a minimum any leakage of intelligence which might help to forewarn the enemy,[109] even public telephones were padlocked. [129] The crew would urinate on the tail wheel prior to each mission. The nose turret was rarely used and manned by the bomb aimer if required. [6] Under a parallel agreement, the Joint Air Training Scheme in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia operated training bases for aircrew. [96] Until mid-summer of 1943 most bomber squadrons comprised three flights, "A", "B" and "C", each of 710 aircraft. 19 planes altogether 8 were lost 3 turned back 8 returned from the raid AJ-G crew members Guy Gibson, Pilot, Commanding Officer Torger Taerum, Navigator John Pulford, Flight Engineer Frederick. [129] During the war, the allied aircrews developed the superstition of "wheel pissing." [169], There would be a huge photo-flash as the bombing target photo was taken to show lighting up the ground below and the falling bombs. To try to keep such instances to an absolute minimum, a "one solution fits all" approach was introduced which was known amongst aircrew as "LMF" (lack of moral fibre). A crew might expect to fly 30 "ops" in a period of 35 months, depending on the weather conditions and operational requirements. The Hampden-equipped squadrons were operational from the day Britain declared war on Germany initially dropping propaganda leaflets but then usually in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying (sea mines) in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours. This page is not available in other languages. Lancaster JB639 successfully fulfilled their mission and returned to England where the weather was worse than forecast with low cloud base over high ground. In other cases their personnel file was reportedly rubber-stamped "LMF", and there was no option to return to flying. The average age is stated to have been 21. [148] The navigator would be taking readings from the stars and using any available wireless positioning assistance or reports of rivers or bridges below, to ensure that they were on course and on time constantly adding to his charts the positions reported by his crew of other bombers being shot down around them. Left to right are: Sergeant J Nicolson (mid-upper gunner), Flight Sergeant Jack Bold (bomb aimer) and Sergeant M McCutcheon (rear gunner). [187] Crews assigned a regular aircraft would often paint images on the nose of their aircraft signifying completed operations; these were usually in the form a bomb symbol, but at least one Australian crew painted a beer mug for every op. Vigilance had to be maintained or even increased; at a time when tiredness was beginning to increase some airmen would have taken their issued Benzedrine "wakey wakey" tablets to keep them vigilant. If they commenced operational flying between late April 1944 and May 1945 they would receive the 193945 Star, France and Germany Star and War Medal 193945 instead. [32], Wireless operator/air gunner The role was to send and receive wireless signals during the flight, assisting the observer with triangulation "fixes" to aid navigation when necessary and if attacked to use the defensive machine gun armament of the bomber to fight off enemy aircraft. [16][17] Instructors were usually experienced aircrew being "rested" after completing an operational tour and were tasked to lead the airmen for 5 or 6 weeks on night flying, navigation, bombing, cross country, all-weather and air gunnery/fighter affiliation practice operations in the types of aircraft they were likely to fly operationally. [233] Many crews were extremely tightly knit and would not consider being unable to fly as a complete crew; if a crew member was not fully healthy, quite often he would still fly in order to keep the crew together, believing that their absence might cause the loss of their crew on that night. [178][179], Vigilance was always maintained as Luftwaffe night fighters flying as "night intruders" sometimes followed the bombers home and attacked as aircraft came into land. [28], Bomber Command aircrew "trades" flying operationally in the early stages of the war were:[29][30], Pilot A qualified pilot flew the aircraft and in the Royal Air Force was usually the captain (function not rank) of the crew, making the key operational decisions even if his rank was junior to other members of the crew. Crews who had survived several "ops" would often have a particular aircraft assigned to them whenever possible, that aircraft would have its own ground crew (known congenially as "erks") and if "their" aircraft was "D for Dog", "G for George", "F for Freddy", "K for King" or whatever, they would be protective of "the old girl" and would have feelings of considerable disquiet if their aircraft was unserviceable after the air test, meaning that they had to take a spare aircraft. Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this catalogue contains names, recordings and images of deceased people and other . [2] It was not unusual for the heavy bombers to complete their operational sortie and return home with members of their crew dead or dying aboard the aircraft,[210] or with the rear-gun turret blown off. [195] Other crews completing their tours of operations could transfer at that point to Pathfinder squadrons for a further 15 or more "ops" before being "screened"; several crews went on to complete up to 65 "ops". Navigators took many notes on flight times, positions for course changes and with their pilots and bomb aimers would mark up their charts and maps adding notations for wind speeds and directions, the time the attack was expected to commence and locations of known heavy anti-aircraft batteries and other pertinent information. ", "Life as a RAF Navigator in RAF Bomber Command in WW2", Caribbean Volunteers at war by Mark Johnson, War Graves Commission F/Sgt K K Nagalingam casualty details, War Graves Commission H H Schwarz casualty details, War Graves Commission Sgt W Tixhon casualty details, War Graves Commission P/O Sir AT Wilson RAFVR casualty details, War Graves Commission W/Cdr. [37], Vickers Wellington twin-engined medium bomber used normally in night operations and crewed by five or six airmen, a pilot, (a second pilot in the earlier years), an observer, two wireless operator/air gunners and an air gunner in a power-operated rear-mounted turret in the tail section of the aircraft, the "rear gunner". 8 Group RAF and later by the specialised Light Night Striking Force. [146][147] From that point onwards bombers crews were aware that highly efficient Luftwaffe night fighters crews would be stalking them, some operating based on their own on-board radar, others working on directions from chains of radar stations. Such rituals were taken extremely seriously. [47], To protect the heavy bombers from a German Luftwaffe night fighter force which had evolved at great speed to become extremely effective, most of the new heavy bombers had three power-operated gun turrets usually sited in the nose, dorsal (mid-upper) and rear (tail) positions requiring an additional gunner. 37 Squadron RAF on 31 May 1940 during the Battle of France was Pilot Officer Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson, KCIE, CSI, CMG, DSO, MP a 56-year-old former lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army who had joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. [69], By 1941 bomber crews included men of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force or Royal New Zealand Air Force and by 1942 there were entire squadrons of those Commonwealth Air Forces in which a very substantial percentage of the airmen were from the parent countries. Flight Sergeant 'Bob' Gill was a 'Tail-end Charlie', the Rear Gunner in a Lancaster Bomber from 35 Squadron on the Nuremberg Raid in March 1944, a Pathfinder Unit whose job was to 'Light the Way'. [173], After making their attack the crew would head away from the target area, making as much speed as possible on the track for home while avoiding known flak concentrations and fighter hot-spots. The concept was for the highly experienced elite Pathfinder Force aircrews to fly a little ahead of the main force and drop marker flares known as "target indicators" directly on to the target as an aiming point for the less experienced crews following them. F/O Butterworth was an American from Richville, New York. The rear gunner, and his job is arguably the most dangerous, and certainly the coldest, the most lonely and isolated, of any Lancaster crewman.His parachute was Stowed outside the armoured doors that shut him in a cold cramped position until the end of the mission, his only human contact was that of the disembodied voices of other crew members over the intercom. 166 Squadron RAF attacking a target at Duisburg in Germany. W.F. [225], Any aircrew who had already qualified for the Aircrew Europe Star group of medals, who flew operationally after 6 June 1944 (D-Day) would have been entitled to a small metal bar with the words "France and Germany" to sew to the ribbon of the Aircrew Europe Star. Utilised primarily in night time bombing attacks or mine-laying (sea mines) in known enemy shipping or U-boat transit routes or even in enemy harbours. [234], RAF Bomber Command was manned by volunteer aircrew without exception, but there were serious concerns amongst the most senior officers that some of the volunteers might change their minds about flying operationally once the terrible casualty rates became apparent to them. [192] His equipment was usually referred to as "the gubbins", and he was regarded as a specially intelligent person, a "Gen kiddie". 640 Squadron RAF Handley Page Halifax shot down on 13 September 1944. A second pilot wore the traditional double-winged flying badge pilot's wings on his tunic above his left breast pocket. My uncle Don Miller rear gunner, Lincolnshire based, Waddington then Ely, married my English Aunty Joan Willers who lived in one of the 2 remaining houses on great northern terrace lincoln, The new memorial looking over it now. [138][139][140] Bombers usually took off with about 60 second intervals between them. The dual controls fitted to the BBMF's Lanc are (I believe)either Lincoln or Shackleton items and are fitted. It was February 1945, and Len was serving as a rear gunner with Bomber Command when his Lancaster ran into trouble over Germany. the highest attrition rate of any British unit. 1 Group RAF, was the highest-ranking officer of RAF Bomber Command to be taken prisoner in World War II while flying operationally; he was flying as second pilot aboard an Avro Lancaster of No. The bodies were taken to RAF Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire, and buried in Brigg Cemetery, a small market town 10 miles South of Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire. [citation needed], In the middle years of the war it became more usual to train airmen specifically as "wireless operators" and no longer add air gunnery training to their instruction. The equipment was more complex than that normally carried, and a specially trained "set operator" was carried to operate it and interpret the results. [117][126] Amongst those frequently mentioned are having a family photograph attached to their crew position inside the bomber, carrying a rabbit's foot or teddy bear, wearing a particular scarf around the neck,[229] urinating on the tail wheel of the aircraft before takeoff,[230] or always donning their flying kit on the same sequence. 35 Squadron RAF,[199] is reported to have flown more than 107 operations (missions) and possibly as many as 143. Just a point on pay regarding ground crew flying on an ad hoc basis as a"fill in" in 1940.A newly promoted LAC Fitter (Armourer), filling in for a gunner would be receiving 5 shillings and sixpence a day.The Gunner he replaced,assuming the same rank of LAC, would receive a daily pay rate of 4 shillings a day and without what would be termed . 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lancaster bomber rear gunner names
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