SOE Stirlings

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Looking at the position of the crew door and tailplane and comparing it to the Dakota I’d be happy for the jumper. However its where the static line and deployment bag would end up that concerns me. you don’t want it fouling anypart of the airframe, especially the elevator hinge which is one reason why the Stirling and Albermarle had tubular frames to keep the lines and bags clear.
For SOE ops the Stirling wuld have concentarted on dropping supplies rather than personell and for this role it was probably the first aircraft fitted with a roller cargo floor to be used operationally.

Thanks chaps, most interesting. I wonder how the Joes felt about exiting the Stirling, given the close proximity of the door to the tailplane? 😮

Best wishes
Steve P

Luckily, the Stirling pilot I mentioned did turn up last night, so I put the question to him; he was involved in dropping both parachute troops and SOE agents. He says that the “hole in the floor” as shown in the photograph, was used for dropping numbers of troops, but that agents were pushed out of the door in the side of the fuselage, i.e. the normal crew entry door.

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This photo may help. It comes from one of the AFEE reports I have and shows the Stirlings despatch apature (Joe Hole) looking rearwards.

I knew an SOE pilot for the RAF, says they called that the “Joe hole” as nobody ever knew any names of the “jumpers”, he had flown 21 ops for the SOE.

I know a Stirling pilot who flew on such ops; if her turns up at the next monthly meeting (tonight), I’ll ask him what he knows.

Cheers Nick, that makes sense.

Best wishes
Steve P

Steve P

Yes it was a hole in the floor.

According to the Stirling at war by Jonathan Falconer “the internal fittings to the rear fuselage were modified to allow unimpeded access to the dropping hatch in the aircraft floor.” what these modifications involved it does not say.

All the best.

Nick