Road cycling & mountain biking lifestyle. I chose the RAF because I didn’t want to go and get muddy with the Army! I poignantly wonder what was worse; the isolation, the vulnerability, or maybe even the pressure from the sense of responsibility for the lives of everyone on board. A Halifax Rear-Gunner. Whether it was the pilots hearing gunfire from one of the gunners and not knowing exactly what was happening; or the front gunner handing over to the rear gunner, or vice versa, as the enemy plane veered by; or one of the gunners telling the pilot to take evasive action, their lives depended upon each other. 13 June 1944: Lancaster gunner’s heroic attempt to save friend Pilot Officer Mynarski left his turret and went towards the escape hatch. Imagine the susceptibility the gunners must have felt from their detached position as the plane dived to escape an enemy fighter; or was hit by enemy fire and spun out of control: smoke and flames pouring from its crippled engine. And my father wasn't traipsing around Europe on foot in the Infantry, anyway -- he was a ball turret gunner in The 8th Army Air Corp, operating in a confined space. This tiny turret, right at the tail end of a Wellington Bomber, is where my grandad spent much of the war. The rear gunner was … A recruitment video from WWII, left me with the sense that each role on board these planes was inter-dependent on each other. The (independent) dependants' journeys from base to beyond... ...stories & creative adventures of a family in business, 15 Minutes(ish) of Blame - Official Site(ish). The rear of the fuselage was unheated, temperatures at 20,000ft could be around -40 degrees Celsius. ... Harry Irons was a rear gunner in Bomber Command. "You also had nightmares, but after 12 months you got yourself hardened to it. Crew – Due to its large size, hefty armament and technical complexity, the Lancaster bomber had a crew of seven. I fondly remember him showing me some of his wartime memorabilia in his garden shed and I treasure my grandmother’s Wings that the wives were given. "However, he has proved that he and many others like him could be playing a huge role in supporting and helping young combat veterans when they return to the community. For the life expectancy of a rear gunner was desperately short; estimates vary but suggest that they could expect to be shot down, or killed, within two weeks, or up to five operations. During … ... grateful for every day of his long life. The crew of Lancaster AJ-T Twenty-five of those missions took him through a hornet’s nest of anti-aircraft fire and swarming interceptors over Germany. The replica cockpit has been built to give you the feel of what it was like being one of the seven-strong crew in a Lancaster bomber. My grandfather died when I was at University and as most young people do, I paid scant interest in his wartime exploits. There were, therefore, a pilot, a flight engineer, a navigator, a bomb aimer, a wireless operator, a mid-upper gunner and a rear gunner…”tail-end Charlie”. But my dad says he rarely talked about his wartime experiences. The engineer and waist gunner on a B-24 of the 8th Air Force in England. Due to factors such as the small size of the escape hatches and, in the case of the rear gunners, the complicated procedure of extricating themselves from the tail turret, only 15% of the crew of any downed Lancaster survived. I havent got information to go on but he lived in Eardisley Hereford , can anyone provide me with more information or a link if they have one, many thanks VideoPriyanka Chopra Jonas locked down in London, How this Mars landing will be different to before. One of the crucial factors, he says, in keeping his own spirits up after the war ended was the fact that his old job, working in the paper-making trade, was kept open after the war ended. My grandad flew and survived 30 operations, which was classed as a whole tour. "And the story I've had from one or two is that when they've tried to get a job, they're asked what they've been doing of late, as if all their time in the military doesn't count for much. Wellington bomber. Ramblings of a wife of a Royal Naval Sailor. A Lancaster crew numbered seven – the pilot, flight engineer, navigator, wireless (radio) operator, bomb aimer/ front gunner, mid-upper gunner, and rear gunner. The rear gunner’s -often known as tail-end Charlie’s – primary role was to be a lookout: to defend his aircraft from enemy fighter attack from the rear of the plane and to warn the pilot when to undertake evasive manoeuvres. Still from a film shot from an Avro Lancaster by the RAF Film Production Unit, showing smoke rising from exploding bombs during a night raid on a road junction at Argentan, France. The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber.It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era. Ride your damn bike! Squeezed into this transparent dome, Ronald, a rear gunner in 115 Squadron, spent many hours a night flying backwards in cramped, freezing and solitary conditions. Ball Turret Gunners on B-17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. Back on the night of 27/28 April 1944 Lancaster R ND 781/G of 622 Squadron RAF out of Mildenhall, England commanded by F/L Watson RCAF, was on a bombing mission to Friedrichshafen Germany, when it was attacked and was under continuous fire from enemy fighters, being shot down in flames. The exposed position of the rear gunner in World War II aircraft made his role the most perilous of all aircrew since his turret was the primary target of attacking enemy aircraft. For instance if you were a ball turret gunner your life expectancy was three hours. But you had to stick it out or else you were labelled a coward," he added. As an aside, RAF Bomber Command, which flew the night missions, had 44.5% death rate and a 8% chance of becoming a POW. The gun turret of a Bomber Command aircraft during a night operation was the coldest, loneliest, place in the sky. Wing Commander Gibson later became famous for leading the legendary Dam Busters raid in 1943. Due to factors such as the small size of the escape hatches and, in the case of the rear gunners, the complicated procedure of extricating themselves from the tail turret, only 15% of the crew of any downed Lancaster survived. It was an enclosure that at any time could become an airman's coffin. 55, 573 of these were KIA, a death rate of 44%. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A REAR GUNNER – FRIDAY 23 FEB 1945. The life expectancy of the servicemen depended on the job position the service person had. During these lectures he talks about his own wartime experiences, how he managed to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and adapt to civilian life after leaving the services. The 1st Commissioned Rear Gunner in the RAF was a Charles Cooper from Harrow. A Lancaster Bomber had a crew of seven: pilot, navigator, bomb aimer, flight engineer, wireless operator, mid gunner and rear gunner. John Nichol with Ron Needle who was the the rear gun turret at the back end of a Lancaster Bomber at 19-years-of-age. I havent got information to go on but he lived in Eardisley Hereford , can anyone provide me with more information or a link if they have one, many thanks Sgt Kirkcaldy at 36 was above the average age of operational airmen. The Air Gunner’s tasks were complicated and hazardous and his life expectancy appallingly short – it could be as little as two weeks before a rear gunner on bomber operations could expect to be shot down or killed. All aboard were killed.The operational life of this aircraft (ND514) was nine days. Squeezed into this transparent dome, Ronald, a rear gunner in 115 Squadron, spent many hours a night flying backwards in cramped, freezing and solitary conditions. A s I gazed out of the Lancaster bomber cockpit, listening to the roar of its engines firing up one by one, my view was hampered as much by tears as by the rain streaming down the perspex. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good site that has 8th Bomber Command's casualties rates for the war broken down by the month or at least the year? And I remember my grandmother and her sister saying how us young people don’t know how lucky we are: how they didn’t see their husbands for up to a year, or more, during the war. But John Hall, 89, of Sunderland, is doing exactly the opposite - drawing on his time as a "tail-end Charlie" in missions over wartime Europe to mentor former members of the UK's armed forces who have recently left the military and are struggling to cope with civilian life. In freezing US, Biden seeks to cool down politics, Covid and suicide: Japan's 'disappearing' women, Priyanka Chopra Jonas locked down in London. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. Harry Irons was a rear gunner in Bomber Command. "I try to show them that they have got friends, that they're not alone. Bombers & Gunners “Tail-end Charlie ... Dunstan was assigned to No. ... to prolong the life of the aircraft." Mr Hall had every reason to suffer nightmares. Are frozen wind turbines to blame for Texas power cuts? The turret was, in fact, immovable, since the hydraulic gear had been put out of action when the port engines failed, and the manual gear had been broken by … 0700 Hrs: With a quiet knock on my door, Jimmy our batman, entered with the ever welcome morning cuppa.It was his usual strong brew guaranteed to sustain body and soul against the penetrating chill of the North Lincolnshire weather. Back at their base, East Wretham, Norfolk, two members of the crew of Avro Lancaster B Mark II, DS669 ‘KO-L’, of No. Read about our approach to external linking. They would have known that their position often put them first in line for elimination by the enemy fighter planes, who tended to attack from the rear and under the belly of the bomber, so that they could attack without fear of being shot at. New recruits who became crew in Bomber Command were told their life expectancy was ‘ six weeks’. "John is an inspirational character and his input is a crucial element of our work. 125,000 bomber command air crew served during WW2. This meant he had employment and therefore structure to return to once he was out of the regimented life of the military. Bonner reckoned the bomb aimer, who lay prostrate in the Perspex nose blister, had it … This is the story of a rear-gunner in a Halifax 111 no HX332 ZA-V who didn’t make it to the end of the war, told by me, his very much younger sister Ann. But he was one of the lucky ones: he came home. I'm stuck, my Grandfather (now deceased ) was a rear Gunner on a lancaster bomber during the war, I beilieve he was shot down and spent the duration of the end of the war in a german pow camp. Each role needed a very particular set of skills. Rear Gunner’s turret on a Lancaster, RAF Duxford. It is said that he was nick-named ‘ Tail End Charlie ’ by his Crew and the name was rapidly adopted for all rear … A Lancaster tail-gunner’s tour with 103 Squadron RAF 1944/5. He could be sat at home isolated and thinking his role and contribution to society was over. When he was still alive I sometimes asked him if he could get me a flight in the Mynarski Lancaster that flies out of Mt. They were picked up off the Isles of Scilly, apparently only minutes away from heading out into the Atlantic Ocean where they would probably have been lost forever. About Turn says Mr Hall's "wisdom and enthusiasm" helps to encourage those recently out of the military to get their lives back on track, by using examples from his own heroic wartime past. The end of this particular story reveals plenty about how stress was combated in the 1940s. Each member was mutually dependent on the others and each had a vital part to play in ensuring that the aircraft reached its target, dropped its bombs and safely returned to base. For instance if you were a ball turret gunner your life expectancy … Those who served six years or more, and all those medically discharged regardless of how long they have served, are entitled to the full resettlement programme, to help re-adjust to civilian life; those who served between four and six years qualify for the employment support programme, a tailored job-finding service.
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