Incredibly Brave - Incredibly Calm....

[Pete E]

Below are actual recordings of WW2 Lancaster bomber crews on night time missions over Germany in 1943...

They sound like the voices of old men, but in fact most bomber crews, including the pilots, was around 20 to 22 years of age, so just young lads really. They were incredibly brave and incredibly calm considering the immense danger they faced.

The losses sustained by Bomber Command on those missions was astounding, with crews surviving their allocated number of missions without being killed, injured, or shot down and captured being in the minority.

Incidentally although all the crews on this recording sound British, over 10, 000 Australians served with Bomber Command and again suffered some of the highest loss rates of any Australian forces in WW2.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/MF5_hvE4WEA[/video]

 

[Ridge Runner]

Where I detect One of them and a Spitfire and a Hurricane flew about 300 feet above my head and they did that for about 40 minutes, They have a sound that warms ya soul and they sound just like they do in the movies,

When I first came here I was freezing and I bought one of the WWII Bomber Jackets, They are over Kill, I tried to drive in it when It was about -11*c and I had to open the car windows because the Jacket was cooking me,

I also bought a pair of WWII goggles some of the money goes to the RAF Vets these goggles are a limited edition that are all serial numbered from 1 to 250 so I bought the pair Numbered 250,

This is the one that often flys around near me, Complete with the Bomb Bay doors open.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTQIUEa4cqA

 

[grubstake]

From YouTube comments:

The bomber is from 207 Squadron RAF. The pilot (K. Letford), flight engineer (C. Stewart), bomb aimer (W. Bray), wireless operator (W. Sparkes), and gunners (J. Fieldhouse & H. Devenish) were all British, however the navigator, Conneley, was a member of the Royal Australian Air Force.

This raid was over Berlin on the 3rd of September 1943

All but one of those in the recording, who was killed in action, made it through the war. As for the aircraft itself - it was shot down over Stettin on the night of 6th/7th January 1944 with the loss its pilot, George Edert, and all crew. RIP

Pilot details including 1983 reunion pic with some others from the recording:
http://www.49squadron.co.uk/personnel_index/detail/Letford_K

 

[Pete E]

I live not far from RAF Sealand, which was a former Lancaster factory during WW2, and most summers a Lancaster and other aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial fly over head....The sound of the Merlin's is mesmerising, and I will happily admit to getting a fast in my eye when I hear them...

 

[Ridge Runner]

I live not far from RAF Sealand, which was a former Lancaster factory during WW2, and most summers a Lancaster and other aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial fly over head....The sound of the Merlin's is mesmerising, and I will happily admit to getting a fast in my eye when I hear them...

I use to work at Biggin Hill building Aircraft. and live about 6 miles from there and my Son went to School near by,

 

[nucopia]

About 15 years ago I would go with my mother and her friends to play bowls every Wednesday at Wangi Wangi bowls club ..one of the other players that regularly played with us was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot.. his since passed but I remember him and his funny stories about his time in England during the war ...they truely were an amazing generation...

 

[Ridge Runner]

About 15 years ago I would go with my mother and her friends to play bowls every Wednesday at Wangi Wangi bowls club ..one of the other players that regularly played with us was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot.. his since passed but I remember him and his funny stories about his time in England during the war ...they truely were an amazing generation...

They only got 10 hours flight time training before they were handed the keys to a Spitfire or a Lanc etc a lot of them were just kids, :trophy: erfect:

I can't see this generation having the Stones to go up there and meet the enemy on their own term,

 

[Manpa]

About 15 years ago I would go with my mother and her friends to play bowls every Wednesday at Wangi Wangi bowls club ..one of the other players that regularly played with us was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot.. his since passed but I remember him and his funny stories about his time in England during the war ...they truely were an amazing generation...

They only got 10 hours flight time training before they were handed the keys to a Spitfire or a Lanc etc a lot of them were just kids, :trophy: erfect:

I can't see this generation having the Stones to go up there and meet the enemy on their own term,

RR, your comment is a disservice and disrespectful to those of the current generation who are currently serving in the defence of our country. I for one hope they never have to meet the enemy.

 

[jethro]

About 15 years ago I would go with my mother and her friends to play bowls every Wednesday at Wangi Wangi bowls club ..one of the other players that regularly played with us was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot.. his since passed but I remember him and his funny stories about his time in England during the war ...they truely were an amazing generation...

They only got 10 hours flight time training before they were handed the keys to a Spitfire or a Lanc etc a lot of them were just kids, :trophy: erfect:

I can't see this generation having the Stones to go up there and meet the enemy on their own term,

RR, your comment is a disservice and disrespectful to those of the current generation who are currently serving in the defence of our country. I for one hope they never have to meet the enemy.

Lets not get all knotted up over a turn of phrase.

 

[Bjay]

My old mans uncle, I guess my great uncle flew in New Guinea . He survived the war but unfortunately just after tried to take off overloaded as Im told and didnt make it.
Anyway hes up in Lae cemetery and a while ago my brother in law was working in Lae and managed to get a pic of his resting place for us.
Was pretty special to show the family as Lae is not a great place to go Im told.

 

[Ridge Runner]

About 15 years ago I would go with my mother and her friends to play bowls every Wednesday at Wangi Wangi bowls club ..one of the other players that regularly played with us was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot.. his since passed but I remember him and his funny stories about his time in England during the war ...they truely were an amazing generation...

They only got 10 hours flight time training before they were handed the keys to a Spitfire or a Lanc etc a lot of them were just kids, :trophy: erfect:

I can't see this generation having the Stones to go up there and meet the enemy on their own term,

RR, your comment is a disservice and disrespectful to those of the current generation who are currently serving in the defence of our country. I for one hope they never have to meet the enemy.

It has nothing to do with the current " SERVING" generation, Back then Kids received their conscription papers and were told to turn up, They were nothing but kids off the street, taught how to March and about the chain of command then it was off to flight school to learn how to use a Compass and then taught to fly and once they had 10 hours flying time they were then dumped in at the deep end,

You can't compare the WWII Guys to the skilled Men and Women of today that get years of training for just such an event,

Those guys in WWII would fly at 200/300mph for about 8 to 12 hours to get there do what they had to do and fly for another 12 hours to get back home again in planes that had the Armour stripped out that's if they were lucky enough to survive, Nower days the same trip can be done there and back in under 2 hours, Back then their Life expectancy was Only 3 Weeks and a lot of them kids never made it through the first day,,,

Different times, So please don't go twisting what I said.

 

[7.62marksman]

Both Britain and the US mounted major training programs when war broke out but the supply of pilots early in the war often did not keep up with demand and both shortened and compressed their training.

Here's an overview of the USAF training program as of May 1944.

In the 1930's, US flight training lasted twelve months. In 1939, total training was cut to 8 months and then seven months with 10 weeks allotted to each of the primary, basic and advanced stages.

After Pearl Harbor, the training program was compressed again with 9 wee...

The key factor determining how much training new pilots got was fuel. Five hours of fighter training requires about a ton of fuel. From 1939 to 1942, Luftwaffe pilots received about 240 hours of flight training. As the war went on, the Germans had fewer tons of fuel for anything. In the desperate closing months of the war, Luftwaffe pilots with as much as 8 hours of flying time were sent into combat.

On the other hand, Western Allied pilots didn't suffer from chronic fuel shortage and their flying time steadily increased over time.

Soviet new pilots' flying time, however, was nowhere near that of other countries. Soviet top fighter ace in World War II - Ivan Kozhedub - once said in an interview that he'd received 100 hours of flight training at his aviation school. Another pilot - Evgeny N. Stepanov said he'd got 80. But both finished training before the German invasion in June 1941. In the dark days of 1941 and 42, well, Soviet pilots often got only 8-10 hours of flight training before combat. But of course, the number would go up in later years.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Both Britain and the US mounted major training programs when war broke out but the supply of pilots early in the war often did not keep up with demand and both shortened and compressed their training.

Here's an overview of the USAF training program as of May 1944.

In the 1930's, US flight training lasted twelve months. In 1939, total training was cut to 8 months and then seven months with 10 weeks allotted to each of the primary, basic and advanced stages.

After Pearl Harbor, the training program was compressed again with 9 wee...

The key factor determining how much training new pilots got was fuel. Five hours of fighter training requires about a ton of fuel. From 1939 to 1942, Luftwaffe pilots received about 240 hours of flight training. As the war went on, the Germans had fewer tons of fuel for anything. In the desperate closing months of the war, Luftwaffe pilots with as much as 8 hours of flying time were sent into combat.

On the other hand, Western Allied pilots didn't suffer from chronic fuel shortage and their flying time steadily increased over time.

Soviet new pilots' flying time, however, was nowhere near that of other countries. Soviet top fighter ace in World War II - Ivan Kozhedub - once said in an interview that he'd received 100 hours of flight training at his aviation school. Another pilot - Evgeny N. Stepanov said he'd got 80. But both finished training before the German invasion in June 1941. In the dark days of 1941 and 42, well, Soviet pilots often got only 8-10 hours of flight training before combat. But of course, the number would go up in later years.

I wouldn't be too happy taking up a Cessna on my own after 10 hours flight time let alone fly a 1000 miles each way whilst being shot at, Compared to what they had in the form of resources I got more gear than they had,

I often think what would those guys think if I went back in time and gave them some of my gear, Since then every country has thrown billions of dollars in to high tech gear, Now it is not even safe to use a pair of Binoculars without getting shot, Some of the high tech gear I have seen makes it almost impossible to go unnoticed,

 

[Goldfreak]

My aunties husband who died two years ago was a German POW captured by the US and sent to England to be a farm labourer. This is how he got captured. He was drafted into German navy from the German navy cadets as a teen. Towards the end of the war he was on a small boat clearing mines on a inland river that the allies had dropped them in to disrupt shipping. One day they heard a sound and looked up to see what they called a "twin devil" aircraft which I assume was one of those American twin hull locheeds martins. Apparently the pilot had not been able to find his intended gound target and as he returned to base he spotted the little mine clearer and sank it. Half the crew was killed. He was then captured by the advancing Americans. He was sent to England where he had to report to my grandfather everyday who was a local police man. That is were he met my auntie, the policeman's daughter. As you can imagine it caused quite a stir.

 

[Goldfreak]

If you like world war 2 history I recommend Mark Felton Productions on YouTube. He has some fantastic original content and has done a huge amount of research. We'll worth a look.

 

[Manpa]

RR, not twisting your words, you mentioned having the stones to meet the enemy, meaning courage, bravery, guts. Plenty of this generation doing just that.
Whether they have 5 years training or 10 hours makes no bloody difference to the courage required, your life and the life of your crew are still in danger.
Maybe simplistic but it is simple fact.
Obviously you and I have different opinions on this, so be it.

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR, not twisting your words, you mentioned having the stones to meet the enemy, meaning courage, bravery, guts. Plenty of this generation doing just that.
Whether they have 5 years training or 10 hours makes no bloody difference to the courage required, your life and the life of your crew are still in danger.
Maybe simplistic but it is simple fact.
Obviously you and I have different opinions on this, so be it.

For the second time,

There might be plenty out there now doing it but you can't compare them because they have had years of training to learn the skills required, NOT taken fresh off the farm and given 6 weeks training and sent off to War,

I was not comparing those Kids back then to the modern day RAF/RAAF professional Pilots,

I "Was" comparing the Kids off the Street from back then to the Kids off the Street nower days.

When you have had bullets buzzing past your ears and tasted the burnt gunpowder in the Air then you might understand,

Most of those kids were flying within a few hundred feet off the ground at times in nothing more than a flying bathtub. Having met a few WWII Pilots and listened to them talk is quite eye opening, they never got 1% of the training that modern pilots get, Those kids back then never had a choice they were Drafted, Modern pilots are volunteer career Professionals and they can Splash a target with a laser and send their bombs in via remote control from a few miles out, Back then those pilots had to get up close and personal,

Modern Pilots get 1500/2000 hours of flight time, In 1939 they got 10 hours, You just can't compare the two, Where the emergency of War took priority, compared to someone wanting a career as a Pilot. Either way they are both honourable,

Your just talking BS of what you think professionals would like to here you say, So unless you have been there and done that then give it a rest.

 

[Goldfreak]

We are far removed from the cold reality of war these days. But If for instance you took those who are attacking Churchill or Ghandis statue, gave them some basic training and put them in front of a determined enemy alot of them would probably fight too when reality kicks in and the first round cracks past there head. Others would probably get there phones out and try to film it lol. This generation have never been put in a position where self preservation is the main driver ( unless you are in the military) and I hope they never do.

 

[Ridge Runner]

We are far removed from the cold reality of war these days. But If for instance you took those who are attacking Churchill or Ghandis statue, gave them some basic training and put them in front of a determined enemy alot of them would probably fight too when reality kicks in and the first round cracks past there head. Others would probably get there phones out and try to film it lol. This generation have never been put in a position where self preservation is the main driver ( unless you are in the military) and I hope they never do.

Mate you haven't got a clue, and your painting a picture of your ideal world, Until you have been there you know nothing, I have seen seasoned Pros wet them selves So let it go Ay because from your posts I can see you have been lucky enough to avoid the realities of what you are talking about,

 

[Goldfreak]

I never claimed that. Perhaps re read it.