Dam Buster Lancasters

http://www.thedambusters.org.uk/index.html
.

WARNING
This site has a Trojan, Trojan.ByteVerify in it, my anti virus (Norton) caught it.
If you have visited this site & not had a anti-virus Trojan warning, you will have it, go to Norton’s web site for help/info , CLICK HERE

Apart from that its a very good site !

Martin
.

The Lancaster AJ-L used in the Dambusters raid was ED929 “L-Leather”,flown by Dave Shannon and his crew. There’s an excellent Dambusters site with details of all the aircraft involved below…

http://www.thedambusters.org.uk/index.html

There are also some movie clips of test drops,technichal details and historical background etc,well worth a look-see.

Very interesting Dam Buster – you certainly know your stuff. I hope you won’t mind me asking an indirectly related question.

My uncle served and lost his life with 619 squadron. I understand that his aircraft was EE147 which came to 619 in about June 1943 after a brief stint at 617 (in around May ’43) where it was apparently coded AJ-L. I’ve occasionally wondered if it was a replacement aircraft for one of those lost on the dams raid, or perhaps being a “standard” Lanc was surplus to requirements. Do you have any information re. an AJ-L of the dams raid, if indeed there was one? Or do you have any information with regard to EE147?

Many thanks in advance, regards Don

No – rec.aviation.military IIRC………

Ken

PS – I’m being rather thick today – but what is PH ??

No , not thick, I took “In a previous thread in a universe far, far away…………….” to mean non aircraft/military & as the exact same subject has just been discussed on PH ‘PistonHeads’ (a sportscar group forum) I guessed..wrongly 😮

Martin

Ken
on PH by chance ?

Martin

No – rec.aviation.military IIRC………

Ken

PS – I’m being rather thick today – but what is PH ??

Thanks, oh, and forgive my stupidness, but what is a stations flight aircraft? Is that just used for transporting personnel or training them and things like that?

Yup, that’s about the size of it…aircraft that were not much use for anything else, ferried bits, pieces and odd bods around the place. (That’s my understanding of it anyway!) 😎

BTW, the only stupid questions are the one’s you never ask!

Regards

Keith

In a previous thread in a universe far, far away…………….

They were saying that when the Dam Busters film was shown on TV these days, they dubbed the word ‘Nigger’ with ‘Digger’ – ‘cos Nigger was non-PC.
Ken

Ken
on PH by chance ?

Martin

Thanks, oh, and forgive my stupidness, but what is a stations flight aircraft? Is that just used for transporting personnel or training them and things like that?

We are enlightened.

Dambuster,

Very informative posts. Thank you.

Mark

In a nutshell, they were all scrapped by 1947. One or two of the Type 464 Provisioning (Chastise) aircraft lingered on into post war flying, Gibson’s ED932 and Maltby’s ED906 were examples that flew with the Scampton Station Flight for a couple of years before facing the scrapman’s torch by autumn of 1947.

Afew of the Lancs that survived the Dam’s raid s itself were converted back to standard Lancaster configeration, and were eventually lost on various operations, and a few of the others remained as type 464 provisioning standard, and were used post war to drop the remaining Upkeep mines into the Atlantic (minus detonators)! and then scrapped.

I suspect the same fate befell the Tallboy & Grand Slam converstions too, if not lost on ops, then ending up as pots & Pans from which we later ate our stews & soups as little lads!

Hope this is helpful. 😉
Regards

Keith

Always wondered this, but what happened to the real dambuster aircraft, before and after the raid? Also applies for all 619 sqn aircraft such as the Lancs that carried the Tallboy bomb. They were obviously highly specialised just for that mission, but seems a bit of a waste just to use them for one mission and then get rid of them

In some screenings of the film, especially in the London area, the name of Guy’s dog was either removed totally or over dubbed as ‘Digger’ or ‘Trigger’. I have even seen screenings where the TV company gave a ‘health warning’ at the beginning of the film stating the the name of the dog may cause distress or offence to some viewers! Thankfully, the TV companies seem to have seen some degree of sense in this matter and left the dog’s name in as in the historical context and of it’s time no offence was intended. In the making of the film, the black dog used was loaned from the Army, and it’s name really was ‘Nigger’.

The Lancasters used in the film were all B.Mk VII airframes, and were serialled NX673, NX679 (appeared as Gibson’s ED932 AJ G. the only one whitch had it’s serial repainted) NX782 and RT686. All except ‘686 had also appeared in the 1952 film ‘Appointment in London’ – a film roughly based on the life of W/Cmdr Gibson when OC 106 Squadron at Syerston. As far as can be presently discovered PA474 did not appear even statically in the ‘Dam Busters’ film

All these Lancasters were scrapped in 1956.

During the filming of the Dam Busters, the RAF charged the film company £100 per engine, per hour, per aircraft for all the aircaft used (Lancaster, Welington, Mosquito, Varsity) The aircrews came from 83 & 97 Squadrons.

As with ‘Appointment in London’ Lincolns were used to ‘pad out’ the backdrops most of the filming being carried at RAF Hemswell.

Hope this helps.
Regards to All,

Keith

Nope – entirely un-altered 🙂

Yup – excellent, it’s the first time I’ve seen it for some time on the TV and was really surprised as the last time it was the PC-version. 🙂

I always think about the ‘what-if’ when I see this film and the Scampton scenes. It wasn’t easy to get 3-4 Lancs to film this, and yet they could easily have had the real thing, as only a mere 5-6 years before filming, Gibsons Dams Lanc (ED932) was still at Scampton with the station flight, before being unceremoniously scrapped at Scampton in July 1947…… 😡 😡

Imagine if that had been kept on charge by sympathetic ‘their airships’….could have been with the BBMF by now….. 😮

In a previous thread in a universe far, far away…………….

They were saying that when the Dam Busters film was shown on TV these days, they dubbed the word ‘Nigger’ with ‘Digger’ – ‘cos Nigger was non-PC.

But I didn’t notice it on tonight’s C4 showing…..

Maybe only in the States ???

Ken

Nope – entirely un-altered 🙂

PA474 – Dambusters?

I didnt realise that pa474 was a static in the film? Can anyone confirm this is the case.

best regards, Steve

Are we absolutely sure about that?

Is this a revelation in the new book?

Mark

Four flying IIRC, all of which were scrapped after filming. The fifth was a static, I think, and that is now with the BBMF

I didnt realise that pa474 was a static in the film? Can anyone confirm this is the case.

best regards, Steve

That’s racist against Aussies.

Just taken delivery of a black labrador pup. 10 weeks old. Over ruled in the naming ceremony!

In a previous thread in a universe far, far away…………….

They were saying that when the Dam Busters film was shown on TV these days, they dubbed the word ‘Nigger’ with ‘Digger’ – ‘cos Nigger was non-PC.

But I didn’t notice it on tonight’s C4 showing…..

Maybe only in the States ???

Ken

How many lancs were used in the film and where are they now?

And the Lincolns… dont forget the Lincolns (in the background) !!

Anybody got the new ‘Making of….‘ book yet ?