Significant messages from RAF pigeons

Flypast, Feb 2017, page 71:

“Having escaped from Brest, Prinz Eugen salied for Norway. While searching for her on the 22nd, Cliff’s crew were forced to ditch. Thanks to ‘Winkie’, one of the Beaufort’s carrier pigeons, they were located and rescued.”

Let’s not forget that the the ‘Dickin Medal’ (also known as the ‘Animal VC’) has been awarded to more Pigeons (32, between 1943 and 1949) than any other creature.

I recently visited the Comox Air Force Museum on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada- On display there was a Pigeon desk from a RCAF Hudson aircraft. The desk held two pigeons..[ATTACH=CONFIG]250355[/ATTACH]

Odd colour scheme on the B-18.
Probably not one of the operational aircraft as they were in ASW markings, so likely a training unit.

The top photo looks like the crew is deciding who gets what portion of their very fresh, free-range lunch.

The poor old pigeon experienced the fastest acceleration of his life!

Thanks Duggy, it doesn’t look like it would be easy holding that hatch open with 1 hand against the slipstream.

Taken 1943.

hi,
a story from Coastal when the crew was way out into their search the navigator did his calculations for the homeward leg, then got the onboard pigeon out put him on the chart, if it nodded his head the navigator knew his course was true…

merry Christmas all…
jack…

Hi

There was a press release about a year or so ago where the skeleton of a pigeon with a messsage ring was found in a chimney being dismantled. The coded message was printed in the press but sadly no-one could decode it! Who knows what it might have said.

Many homing pigeons were commendered in the war and while we shot birds of prey to let the pigeons get through, the Germans were busy raising them for the opposite reason. There was a program on very recently about twitchers noting several peregrine falcons living in central London, feasting on pigeons.

James

Thanks. From the examples above it seems they were quite useful at times, which was not what I had previously thought.

Hi

I wonder where these pigeons were kept in the aircraft. In particular the Stirling.

Obviously you might think they could be plonked down anywhere but with the aircraft ‘corkscrewing’ and generally diverting from the horizontal you might think that they would have had a ‘stowage’ point.

Generally there is no particular text about pigeons in the APs but coincidentally I was looking through the Pilots notes a day ago and found a section on what to do with pigeons should you crash/ditch. Seems a shame that they are ‘flying rats’ now but had a part of the war effort.

James

WW1 example I was thinking of

http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/18494/the-gallant-pigeon-that-saved-six-ww1-airmen-lost-in-the-north-sea/

Example from WW2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-17138990

Well Speckled Jim did but Blackadder ate it 🙂 .Sorry.:eek: .Looking at Wiki ,there were quite a few “decorated” in ww2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_pigeon

Seriously not WW2 but in WW1 a crew of a flying boat in a dingy were rescued when there pigeon got back to base the pigeon died on landing and iIRC got a medal

Well at least it should not have been misread as – ‘Send three and fourpence we are going to a dance’

Merry Chrimble to all 😀

‘Spitfires buried at position….’

Unfortunately, the remainder of the message had been rendered illegible by tropical rainstorm. 😀 😉

Happy Christmas!

“Chaps at Stork Hotel Liverpool come and visit. Douglas….”?