PA474 at Blyton this Saturday.History info req'd.

“what is in my opinion,the most beautiful vintage aircraft in the world today.”

Glad you like her that much!!!!

Many thanks for the info guys.

I have written a short piece for our commentary team,which is just enough for to be said after the first circuit,before the second circuit,if that makes sense.

The idea was to let the crowd know a little history about Lancasters in general,and also what PA474 does at other times,including the number of times it was airborne in 2003.Other info included how many were built,where it is based,what engines are used,top speed,the infamous Dambusters etc.

But for me personally,it will be the sense of occasion,the sweet sound of the Merlins,and the fact that thanks to some information from other individuals,and you know who you are,I managed to get permission to ‘use’ what is in my opinion,the most beautiful vintage aircraft in the world today.

Happy? You bet I am. 😀

Ken.

Good point JDK

I have the following very sobering data …
For any given 100 aircrew in Bomber Command, 1939-1945, the stats were:
Killed on operations 51
Killed in crashes in England 9
Seriously injured 3
Prisoner of War 12
Evaded capture 1
Survived unharmed 24

I think around 55,000 served in Bomber Command during the war – so the absolute casualty numbers are substantial.

Sorry I can’t confirm the source – this is data I have held aside as my Uncle was one of the 51% and there will come a day when I write a book, or set up a website or whatever.

Also a point that is rarely conceded when looking back on the “supreme heavy bomber” of WWII is that for all it’s offensive capability the Lancaster was not a safe aircraft for its crew. Statistics will tell you that the rate of loss of Lancasters was less than its heavy counterparts (Stirling & Halifax). True – this primarliy came about because of its higher ceiling (operating altitude), Halifax III and VI excepted. But the rate of loss of Lancaster crew was another matter. If hit, the survival rate of it’s crew was significantly less than peers, I believe in the order of 1 out of the 7 crew on average (vs 2 or 3 for other RAF heavies and about 50% crew in the US daylight heavies). And the vast majority of Lancasters lost (some 3500 were lost out of 7000 built) took all 7 crew with them. This was because the Lanc’s fuselage, wonderfully efficient for load carrying, was extremely difficult to exit in adverse circumstances (main spar, hydraulic lines, few hatches not very near crew positions, parachutes stowed not worn, etc.).

Enough.

Wouldn’t want to have been in a U-boat though – the fatality rate there was in the 80% decile.

All the best for Saturday Ken … Don

Hi Ken,
The only bit not in the BBMF discription is mention of all those Lancasters (and others) who didn’t clock up 100+ ops; those that were lost with 7 young men, too many on their first op.

They are a memorial ‘lest we forget’ the cost and waste of war, among all the other things PA474 stands for. I don’t have it to hand, but some of the Bomber Command loss stats (anyone? Kev?) would be sobering to mention. I vaguely recall that the U Boat crews and Bomber command shared the unenviable highest killed in action ratio. 🙁

Well done, enjoy the visit.

Couldn’t agree more.

Ken.

Don’t forget to stop the commentry while she flies over. Just the sound of the Merlins. 🙂
mmitch.