Brave men 80 years ago today.
- Thread starter John Gryphon
- Start date
?????
The WWII mission from 'hell' that saw pilots fly just above water at 370kph in enemy territory
It is 80 years since the Dambusters Raid during World War II, a mission so secretive the crews didn't even know their target until the night before.www.abc.net.au
Thanks for posting John ,
Lest we forget , these brave young men , with balls of steel.TRUE MEN
KJF
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Just recalled that many years ago my ex-brother-in-law’s family found a of photo of their dad when they were clearing his house, shortly after he died. There he was aged about 22 standing in full air crew gear with the crew in front of his Lancaster bomber and it was simply annotated “tail gunner - 43/45”. They never knew because he never spoke of it; tragically it may well have been a big part of his mental health and alcohol-related issues which dogged him all his life. Typical of his generation his memories were kept hidden alongside the one photograph he kept.
Very different times but great men indeed.
Bless.
Very different times but great men indeed.
Bless.
I still find the sound of 4 merlins the most evocative of sounds. Makes the hair on the back of your neck tingle. My grand father knew the man who was in charge of the merlin rebuild factory. The new ones went on the fighters the reconditioned ones were assigned to the bombers. He told me that he once declined a flight in a Lancaster as he needed to get home. That very flight crashed and everybody was killed. Apparently a wing fell of it!
D
D
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
Were they written by Arthur Haynes? Asking for a friend.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
You are really giving your age away with that one B!
Any of the SD massive under 70 are asking their grandad who he was.
For those of you who want to experience what the Lancaster air crews went through and honour their sacrifice please go to the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln. It commemorates the nearly 58,000 men who died during the campaign from all over England the commonwealth and occupied countries. The attrition rate was close to 50%. Making it the highest in any of the services. The centre with its interactive displays and history is worth the visit. They will also accept any memorabilia or artifacts from the period, including importantly any names of the fallen that have been overlooked. The main memorial is a replica of a Lancaster wing and it overlooks the Lincoln Cathedral which poignantly was the last and for the lucky ones the first English landmark they saw on their missions.
Extraordinary engineering, flying skill and raw courage which still brings a lump in my throat when I think about it.
Given what was achieved and the impact it had (something like 10 major factories destroyed and loads of others damaged and interrupted coal production) , I've never really understood why the RAF didn't go back and 'conventionally' bomb it again during the later stages of reconstruction to ensure they were never made operational and continued to draw on huge levels of manpower to reconstruct.
FN
Given what was achieved and the impact it had (something like 10 major factories destroyed and loads of others damaged and interrupted coal production) , I've never really understood why the RAF didn't go back and 'conventionally' bomb it again during the later stages of reconstruction to ensure they were never made operational and continued to draw on huge levels of manpower to reconstruct.
FN
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Nah. Same way none of them fought at the Somme, Messines, France, Belgium, Italy, Malaya, Burma, oh and Germany of course!I guess Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland didn't have anyone in Bomber Command
Nah. Same way none of them fought at the Somme, Messines, France, Belgium, Italy, Malaya, Burma, oh and Germany of course!
It’s surprising how many celts are in special forces…
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
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