The Mark 3 Lancaster (at the School of Maritime Reconnaisance) had heating vents from over the manifolds and down the sides of the main fuselage.
Their crews could be recognised by the large vent in the seat of the pants area in their flying suits.
If one became cold, all you had to do was to enlarge the suit’s vent and back over the one from the heating system.
A few minutes of Mr Michelin inflation worked wonders!

Mo

Camlobe
I wish it were one of ’em. All I remember is approaching Lossie and an orchestral martial thinggy being played.

Glad to hear you still have snow.

Mo

Vale “Boots”

In 1986 I was playing with the idea of joining or starting a Shackleton Association. I wrote to many organisations asking if they knew of such a beast and received a lot of sympathetic replies. One in particular was a breath of fresh air, enthusiastic and supportive – the CO of 8 Squadron, Dave Hencken. He encouraged me to start the formation of a Shackleton Association and offered administration support from the Squadron. I transpired that our paths had crossed at Changi in 1962.
Being in Melbourne at that time we decided that it would be hard to handle long distance admin, so he gave me something equally, if not more, valuable, his encouragement and support.
At the start of 1987, letters were sent to many magazines asking for information of any groups that might have the Shackleton as their focus. The very first letter was from Peter Dunn, the past and present Secretary of the Association, saying he would like to join my association! There were 12 others from around the world, with the result that I had 13 new pen friends. After 4 months I decided that a “white lie” would be used and announced to the magazines that an Association had been formed. Hey Presto, we were off!
The Growler was started and in 1989, we were in Vanuatu by then, approaches had been made by me and Dave Hencken to BAe asking what they had in mind for the 40th Anniversary of the Shack’s first flight. The short answer was ‘Nothing”.
Dave rang me to say that he had officially informed BAe that the Squadron would overfly Woodford on March the 9th with 5 aircraft (WL747 was having a spar change at the time). BAe went into overdrive and prepared a celebration for the day and the Squadron landed and spent the night. It was the first time I met Dave face to face, he had advised me to bring my DJ and invited me to fly north the next day for the Squadron’s Dining In to celebrate the Shack’s 40th.
The next day I was put with Wg Cdr Roncoroni and crew for transit to Lossiemouth in WR965, the 5 Shacks had been given red noses for Red Nose Day. Wg Cdr Roncoroni and crew tragically lost their lives 13 months in WR965 on Harris.
That night Dave introduced me as a guest of honour, representing the Shackleton Association and time passed quickly with Dave keeping a long distance eye out for me. It ended for us in the bar with the Steward bringing a bottle of The Macallan and leaving it between us with two glasses before closing the Bar.
David continued to encourage and support the Association with Technical Support up to the last.
He was one out of the box. I am glad that I had the opportunity to get to know Dave Hencken
Mo

Ozbrat

I’d agree with you. We arrived at Changi mid-64 for the Indonesian Confrontation. The photo was front page, almost A4 size on the “Straits Times”, with an acompanying editorial. It pointed out that ‘each of these bombs can be individually dropped on targets as small as footbridges” – approximately their words – not mine. So most probably not Photoshop, bu PRop.

Mo

Pagen

John Mepham the Flight Engineer at Culloden worked on WR963 at Coventry for some years whilst Promotions Officer for the Shackleton Association.

Mo

Light Night Striking Force

Ivor Broom’s comments re the B-17 and the Mossie, are more logical in context of the para from Bennet’s book.

The Light Night Striking Force of Mosquitos during one phase of the war made bombing raids to Berlin on 43 consecutive occasions without a break. Sometimes the same aircraft would make a second raid on the same night. The Light Night Striking Force flew 553 sorties during April 1943 for the loss of only one aircraft.
The LNSF used to operate in the most appalling weather and one night Air Vice Marshal Donald Bennett was visited by Mrs. Ogden Reid of the New York Herald Tribune. She had asked to witness the start of a raid. This distinguished lady of the American press arrived with a member of the British Government and was immediately driven to the end of the runway by Bennett. Fog caused heavy bomber raids to be cancelled but as the mist swirled around the signal caravan at the end of the runway Mosquitos could be seen taxying on from both directions to save time, lining up and taking off for Berlin in quick succession. She turned to Bennett and said, “I see they have got a bulge – they’re carrying a “Blockbuster” aren’t they?” She asked what it weighed and Bennett told her 4000 lbs which was 500 lbs more than a B-17 Flying Fortress could carry to Berlin. In any case, he pointed out; a Fortress would not accommodate a 4000 lb “cookie” because it was too large for its bomb bay. The famous Press lady pondered for a few moments before replying “I only hope the American public never realises these facts.”
One young Mosquito pilot of those days was Wing Commander 1. G. Broom (later Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom DSO, DFC and two bars, AFC). “We did 25 nights to Berlin. You could fly there and be back in the mess before the bar closed. We could carry more to Berlin with a crew of two in a Mosquito than could a Flying Fortress with a crew of ten. They had to fight their way there and back in daylight. We went fast at night, at 28,000 ft.”

Mo

Lancaster SW326

I don’t know if this is old news to the forum.
Lancaster SW326 of 236OCU crashed on the Tain Range on the night of 17th February 1948.

I have just received this from an old crewmate who was Navigator that night and thought the eye witness account would be of interest. There are photos of the wreck.

Mo

I was at Kinloss in 1948 on 236 OCU,. We were due to go on leave on the 18th of February having finished the course. They came up to us and said that as we had missed a night bombing course they were sending us to do it that night. We took off at 1740 for Tain bombing range. Instead of changing Navs half way I volunteered to do both lots. Everything was going well and they changed pilots and seemed to be turning onto the target. So I said target sighted and the answer I got was wrap up, the next thing I heard was “ditching”: Evidently he followed that with “crash landing”, but I did not hear that. I was out of the nose as fast as I could go, underneath the 2nd pilot’s foot rest and got as far as the nav seat. The rest of the crew were at their crash positions, then we hit, sparks flashed across my eyes and that’s all I remember. When I came too I was facing the front of the aircraft. I saw the pilot reach up and release the upper hatch over his head. Flames were coming around the cockpit and I thought it was about time I joined him. Most people got out of the upper hatch, over the main spar. Two people went for the door at the back and there was no rear of the aircraft and found themselves in six inches of water, in actual fact the aircraft had finished up in the only bit of dry ground in a marsh.

It was quite light as the aircraft was burning very well. We had a roll call and there was one person missing. We searched for him and found the rear turret, we got him out and he was unconscious. We found some parachutes and laid him on those, and when he came to a bit and was cold took our coats off and put over him. During this time the fire and bombs were going quite well. We kept warm by the fire and finally the fire brigade turned up, the nearest they could get to us was half a mile and so we walked out and were taken to the pub in Tain. Everybody not seriously injured. The person in the rear turret recovered.

They came and got us from Tain the next morning in a Shack. We never heard the result of the crash, the two pilots could not hold it, and they said they put on full power but I never heard it.

Blue_2

You could ask the elders of the population of Wick.

In 1957 we deployed 9 Shacks from 269 Squadron for the NATO Autumn Exercise.
Our dispersals adjoined the walls of the back gardens of the Main Road houses.

We were given the “Scramble and get out!” call at approx 2320. At 2325 the first of 36 Griffons burst into life with the last joining in about 2 mins later.

Not happy RAF! Fortunately; Wick had been our Squadron’s WW2 base, and there were a couple of old friendships still active.

We never convinced them that we also thought that time of night was not a civilised time to start an 18 hour flog. Seven years later all 3 squadrons did the same thing at Ballykelly with 21 a/c (on a pleasant summer’s afternoon)

Mo