A modern day mission - Lancaster bomber

[Thorlifter]

Fantastic pictures of the Lancaster and her new crew

A modern day mission: Lancaster bomber crew prepares for action 70 years on in remarkable set of airfield pictures | Mail Online

 

[Gnomey]

Cool!

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff, and beaut pics, especially by a ten year old!
Here's a pic of two veterans, Pilot Frank Collett (on the right), and Flight Engineer Norman Jones, both ex-625 Sqn, inside the same Lancaster at East Kirby in May 1995, 51 years after being shot down over Stuttgart.

 

[Tankworks]

An aquaintance of mine was a tail-gunner on Lancs. His family bought him a ride on the Hamilton based ship and was flown to an airbase in New York, where he was treated royally by our American friends, before returning to Hamilton. He was allowed into the upper turret, while in flight, but it was deemed unsafe to allow him into the rear turret which struck him as funny because there were no such reservations in 1944 'and people were shooting at me as well!' Three months later Jack passed and his family were very glad they could give him one last ride.

 

[michaelmaltby]

A tail gunner Lanc crewman that I know passed last December - Dean Cutmore.

40% casualties ......

Brave men ..... they don't deserve to have their reputation in Politically Correct, defeatist. hands.

Proud Canadian

MM

 

[Thorlifter]

You got that right MM. I was in a B-17 (on the ground only) and stuck my head in the dorsal gun. The moment I looked around I got cold chills just imagining Bf-109's shooting at me. I couldn't even stay in the turret. Super, brave men, one and all.

 

[michaelmaltby]

"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell