Just finished 'Fighter Boys' and 'Bomber Boys,' both by Patrick Bishop. Very well researched and written. About 6/7 years old now, but at 400 pages each, they're authoritative without being repetitive. Highly recommended.
Beaufighters, Sunderland Flying boats, amazing pictures....
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36594/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_1/
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36595/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_2/
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36596/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_3/ (PIC2 = 12 aircraft in the picture-scary close)
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36598/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_4/
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36601/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_5/
http://www.apacheclips.com/media/36602/RAF_COASTAL_COMMAND_-_part_6/
[Edited on 9/11/11 by T66]
FWIW. In the early 70's I used to fly with an old WWII engineer called Joe Major. He served on Sunderlands and said it was something of a
novelty to do your b/f (before flight) inspection in a rowing boat.
Just finished 'Fighter Boys' and 'Bomber Boys,' both by Patrick Bishop. Very well researched and written. About 6/7 years old now,
but at 400 pages each, they're authoritative without being repetitive. Highly recommended.
Thx Interesting site 
quote:
Originally posted by bobinspain
FWIW. In the early 70's I used to fly with an old WWII engineer called Joe Major. He served on Sunderlands and said it was something of a novelty to do your b/f (before flight) inspection in a rowing boat.
Just finished 'Fighter Boys' and 'Bomber Boys,' both by Patrick Bishop. Very well researched and written. About 6/7 years old now, but at 400 pages each, they're authoritative without being repetitive. Highly recommended.
I was flying Canso PBY-5A's right into the 80's. Waterbombing gave them a second life. I quit flying because I didn't see any good jobs around; you know, ones with relatively MODERN airplanes. Haven't looked back very often and made the right choice. Many guys I flew with, in all sorts of airplanes, died flying. Ironically, being a pilot paid my way through university!
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Block reason: Forbidden Category "Violence/Hate/Racism"
nice pictures, seems to suggest they're available on british war museum web site?
not surprised it blocked you, bit of a gun nut website...not sure the guys who flew those missions / were on the receiving end, would be talking about
the "excitment in the photos"...
[Edited on 9/11/11 by mrwibble]
quote:
Originally posted by RK
I was flying Canso PBY-5A's right into the 80's. Waterbombing gave them a second life. I quit flying because I didn't see any good jobs around; you know, ones with relatively MODERN airplanes. Haven't looked back very often and made the right choice. Many guys I flew with, in all sorts of airplanes, died flying. Ironically, being a pilot paid my way through university!
T66
Some of the tales and archive stuff are wonderful. I trained as a navigator in the late 60s at RAF Finningley. In the main corridor, we had on the
wall a facsimile of one of the 617 Sqn navigators' logbook, 16/17 may 1943, from Operation Chastise. It was just less than one page long for a 6
hour sortie. I forget the precise time, but written in block capitals beneath more 'mundane' entries were the words, 'BOMB GONE.
WIZARD!'
A navigator before GPS - you any good with maps & maths then ?
I was at Oxford Kidlington a couple of years ago, and we gave the guy who restored the Hurricane a push back into his hanger,he found it in India
and brought it to the UK to restore. It is very nice, likewise the guy is also very friendly.
The BBMF Dakota was also there, so we managed a swift look over that aswell.
Classic metal (and sticks)
quote:
Originally posted by T66
A navigator before GPS - you any good with maps & maths then ?
I was at Oxford Kidlington a couple of years ago, and we gave the guy who restored the Hurricane a push back into his hanger,he found it in India and brought it to the UK to restore. It is very nice, likewise the guy is also very friendly.
The BBMF Dakota was also there, so we managed a swift look over that aswell.
Classic metal (and sticks)
Yes I can imagine the silence on the intercom - as the helmet fires start, normally the first sign of the pressure building.
Our nav is normally within our own "bubble" so we tend to know where we are, workload goes up when we go off the patch. So the GPS gets us
into the area, then we use an A-Z for the local stuff. So its nothing approaching nav as you know it, , more technology with a bit of map stuff at
the end. Workload goes up and down depending on what we are doing.
Relying on gps is great until it doesnt work, we all use 250k / 50k or even the A-Zs for getting about, the GPS is a backup.
So was it Dominies in the 70s ? must of been at 400kts..
T66.
Spot on. Cruise was 360kts. Lovely little aircraft, (HS 125 in its civilian guise). A bit cramped, but a great teaching platform. The pilot was in
total control, including navigation, as you'd imagine, but the 'nav students' were in charge as far as they were concerned.
It's all history now, (rightly). I can't imagine anyone needing to airplot their way out of trouble these days. That said, I have one very
grateful student who had major INAS problems on his way out to the far east and was thankful for DR and airplot I'd taught his course. (he was in
a Tornado GR1), back in the 80s.
Just read a book on holiday - About a WW2 Spitfire pilot, age 19 .
Guy was sent out to cover convoy movements, 600' cloudbase at night over the North sea east of Kent . His radio went down, lost his mate chasing
a German into cloud.
Then realised he was right up the creek - descended until he "thought" he could see the sea, and flew west till meeting the coast.
Then followed the coast till he recognised the shape of the river inlet feature, the river went past his base . He followed the river inland till he
over flew the fires lit at his airfield, and landed.
No radio, no maps , nothing...
Just Big balls