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For the Lancaster:
28 lb (4mm) seat back and 27lb (9mm) head piece for pilot?lb (2.5inch) armoured glass for flight engineer/second pilot160 lb (6mm) plate for doors aft of W/T op and navigator position13lb (4mm) plate for W/T op seat back26lb (6mm) and 38lb (9mm) plate protection for mid-upper gunner45lb (9mm) and 8lb (6mm) plate protection for rear gunner
Probably when studies revealed the impossibility of protecting the crew and the grim reality that other areas are more important than some of the crew.I'm sure that most of that was removed.
I can't check now, but it would be worth looking at when that was. For example, I know that the doors aft of the navigators position were removed by early 1942.
In order of priority 1 Oxygen supply, 2 Body temperature 3 Light protection against schrapnel on vital organs.
I'm sure that most of that was removed.
I can't check now, but it would be worth looking at when that was. For example, I know that the doors aft of the navigators position were removed by early 1942.
Even more gruesome, some crew members couldn't get out if the pilot was killed (Hampden) and little care was given to how a pilot could get out of a damaged aircraft, like the Lancaster.Gruesome but the only crew member that had to be protected was the pilot. Every other crewman is expendable.
Cool flight suit.
Even the simplest principle like "armour protects people" doesn't get past the reality of putting it into action.A friend of mine who flew in PB4Y-2 said their airplane had armor installed but they ended up taking some of it out. They found that when rounds came in the armor tended to cause them to rattle around and cause more damage than if they had gone right on through and back outside. For example, during a head-on pass by a George II (see attached artwork) a 20MM round came in the cockpit and exploded against the armored seatback of one of the radio operators. But it exploded between the seatback and his back, causing the shrapnel to create a shotgun-like wound in his back. When they got back to Okinawa they sent him to an aid station up near the front lines, but he came back, saying that everyone up there was wounded worse than he was. They sent him to Iwo Jima the next day.
Even the simplest principle like "armour protects people" doesn't get past the reality of putting it into action.