The second pilot of a No 502 Squadron Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.VII gives his skipper a helpful push as they climb aboard their aircraft, at the start of an anti-submarine patrol, August 1942. The camera just visable poking out of the hole in the fuselage was used to record the effectiveness of U-boat attacks – a standard F24 camera was mounted vertically and fitted with a mirror to give it a rear-facing view.
On board a Whitley VII of No 502 Squadron during an anti-submarine patrol, August 1942. In the cramped cockpit the skipper consults with his navigator while the second pilot flies the aircraft.
Photographs taken by the rear-facing camera of a No 77 Squadron Whitley during its attack on U-705 in the Bay of Biscay, 3 September 1942.
The third shot in the sequence shows the U-boat right where the splash subsides. It had been an accurate attack, the aiming point had been 50ft in front of the conning tower.
The Whitley came round again for a possible second attack but there was no need. The photograph confirmed that the U-boat was sinking, leaving a patch of oil and air bubbles.
Mk.VII
Designed for service with Coastal Command and carried a sixth crew member, capable of longer-range flights (2,300 mi/3,700 km compared to the early version's 1,250 mi/2,011 km)[1] having additional fuel tanks fitted in the bomb bay and fuselage, equipped with Air to Surface Vessel (ASV) radar for anti-shipping patrols with an additional four 'stickleback' dorsal radar masts and other antennae: 146 built.