It looks like the Lanc is in a desperate, almost vertical climb - the photo should be turned clockwise thro' 90 degrees. For info, it was not taken while I was at an air display - by chance, I was visiting friends at a village called Branston, to the east of RAF Waddington, when the Lanc flew over. Indeed, I have a tentative association with the Lancaster. During the 'V' Bomber days - Valiant, Victor and Vulcan - there used to be regular exercises when the 'V' Bombers were deployed to remote airfields (pretending that a war was imminent) and the Lancaster was spied at one of these airfields. The Lancaster was due to become a static display at the RAF Museum at Hendon (North London). I was at RAF Waddington in 1965 when the OC No 44 Squadron - Wg Cmdr ?D'Archy requested that the Lancaster be taken on roll of the squadron. It flew in to Waddington one August day the same year - some of us were allowed climb in and about the plane. I'm sure that it carried a different airframe number than the present PA474 - it was changed to PA474 to represent a famous 44 Squadron Lanc of WW2. Immediately, a crew chief was detailed to refurbish the aircraft to make it serviceable for general flying duties. Fortunately, the Lanc has relatively few flying hours. I saw the Lancaster again in 1974 when it was fully refurbished and had been transferred to the B 0f B Memorial Flight - at that time based at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk (I was helping the local ATC unit and it was on summer camp at the base). However, the Lancaster lacked a mid-upper turret for some time - the local legend is that someone was spotted using such a turret as a greenhouse in the early 80's - it was purloined and fitted. I'm not that old but perhaps I'm one of the few people who can rightly claim to have ..... a. Jumped from a barrage balloon, b. Parachuted out of a biplane (DeHavilland Rapide).....and c. Been in a Lancaster !!!
ps How many others spotted a clipped wing Spitfire flying over Brigg on ?Saturday? Quite a distinctive shape. It was flying about 5000 feet on a west to east course (from Scunny to Grimsby). It sounded a bit more guttural than a Merlin engine - perhaps the Merlin upgrade, the RR Griffon engine. It could have well been the recce Spitfire of the BofB Memorial Flight.
It looks like the Lanc is in a desperate, almost vertical climb - the photo should be turned clockwise thro' 90 degrees.
ReplyDeleteFor info, it was not taken while I was at an air display - by chance, I was visiting friends at a village called Branston, to the east of RAF Waddington, when the Lanc flew over.
Indeed, I have a tentative association with the Lancaster.
During the 'V' Bomber days - Valiant, Victor and Vulcan - there used to be regular exercises when the 'V' Bombers were deployed to remote airfields (pretending that a war was imminent) and the Lancaster was spied at one of these airfields.
The Lancaster was due to become a static display at the RAF Museum at Hendon (North London).
I was at RAF Waddington in 1965 when the OC No 44 Squadron - Wg Cmdr ?D'Archy requested that the Lancaster be taken on roll of the squadron.
It flew in to Waddington one August day the same year - some of us were allowed climb in and about the plane.
I'm sure that it carried a different airframe number than the present PA474 - it was changed to PA474 to represent a famous 44 Squadron Lanc of WW2.
Immediately, a crew chief was detailed to refurbish the aircraft to make it serviceable for general flying duties. Fortunately, the Lanc has relatively few flying hours.
I saw the Lancaster again in 1974 when it was fully refurbished and had been transferred to the B 0f B Memorial Flight - at that time based at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk (I was helping the local ATC unit and it was on summer camp at the base).
However, the Lancaster lacked a mid-upper turret for some time - the local legend is that someone was spotted using such a turret as a greenhouse in the early 80's - it was purloined and fitted.
I'm not that old but perhaps I'm one of the few people who can rightly claim to have .....
a. Jumped from a barrage balloon,
b. Parachuted out of a biplane (DeHavilland Rapide).....and
c. Been in a Lancaster !!!
ps How many others spotted a clipped wing Spitfire flying over Brigg on ?Saturday? Quite a distinctive shape.
ReplyDeleteIt was flying about 5000 feet on a west to east course (from Scunny to Grimsby).
It sounded a bit more guttural than a Merlin engine - perhaps the Merlin upgrade, the RR Griffon engine.
It could have well been the recce Spitfire of the BofB Memorial Flight.