wondering about the flares in a wellington bomber

[nsmekanik]

Since I can't find a picture of these anywhere I could think of looking I'll post pics of a model I'm currently working on. I'm assuming these are flares that are dropped out of the shut on the side just at the end of the windows. I'm wondering if anyone has any info about these and, most importantly, how they were painted.

 

[fubar57]

This looks like your flares...

 

[nsmekanik]

Thanks for the info, I think though they are more likely to be a flare to light up the target area then a photo Flash for taking pictures, Would you have any similar info on the flares?

 

[fubar57]

My error, how about this bad boy...

 

[Greyman]

5.5-inch or 4.5-inch Reconnaissance flares, yep.

Both black over-all with 0.5-inch red band around nose end.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Chris H]

Most RAF bombers carried an aerial camera on which to record the results of a raid. The photo interpreters would compare the photos with those in the target pack that they'd compiled for that specific mission. This would give the mission planners a good idea of how close to the target the bombers had dropped. At night, the massive photo flares would give sufficient light to show up street patterns or large buildings in the target area. There was a specialist Photo Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) whose job it was to analyse night-time photos.

 

[nsmekanik]

Thanks Guys, much appreciated as this really helps alot

 

[Brooke]

Most RAF bombers carried an aerial camera on which to record the results of a raid. The photo interpreters would compare the photos with those in the target pack that they'd compiled for that specific mission. This would give the mission planners a good idea of how close to the target the bombers had dropped. At night, the massive photo flares would give sufficient light to show up street patterns or large buildings in the target area. There was a specialist Photo Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) whose job it was to analyse night-time photos.

Is there a way to read those reports on line? It's my understanding that precision bombing did not work. I'm currently reading America's Pursuit of Precision Bombing 1910 - 1945 by McFarland.

 

[Airframes]

Note the the PRU was a totally separate organisation, and undertook recce photography - the analysis of photographs from PRU was undertaken by the Photographic Interpretation Unit (PIU) based at Medmenham, with 'strike' photos often interpreted at group level within Bomber Command.

 

[Chris H]

Is there a way to read those reports on line? It's my understanding that precision bombing did not work. I'm currently reading America's Pursuit of Precision Bombing 1910 - 1945 by McFarland.

The reports are not on line. You'd have to visit the National Archives at Kew (or NARA in the US) to pull the reports.

 

[Chris H]

Note the the PRU was a totally separate organisation, and undertook recce photography - the analysis of photographs from PRU was undertaken by the Photographic Interpretation Unit (PIU) based at Medmenham, with 'strike' photos often interpreted at group level within Bomber Command.

There were a number of PRUs during WW2. RAF Medmenham was home to the Allied Central Interpretation Unit. The separate PRU concerned with analysing strike photos was 2 PRU, commanded by the brother of Constance Babbington Smith, who was the PI credited with discovering the V1 at Peenemunde. Incidentally, I used to be the curator of the Medmenham Collection, the UK's collection of all things to do with photo interpretation/imagery analysis. It's based at the Defence Intelligence Centre at Chicksands (a former USAF "listening post" in the Cold War). Looking after the collection was a secondary duty to my main role as an imagery analysis instructor.