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Rivetting stuff, TGG - where did that come from?

Boac wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:29 pm

Rivetting stuff, TGG - where did that come from?

Twas a purely serendipitous discovery Boac while looking for further details on this chap....as part of my quest to remind South Africans of folks who had been written out history by the perfidious Nationalist government...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dering_Nettleton

What is remarkable is the clarity of the speech. When we tried there was always too much noise.

Considering their typical age they could have been on a training flight in a Sim. It just proves that the Danbuster Film and other 1950s war film dialogue was realistic.

A far cry from the Hollywood 5 star all action American love story war film.

One thing I picked up this time of listening was "Engineer from Captain". In the early 60s we used the more common "Plotter - Captain, next heading...". It took a sustained campaign by the trappers to change it to the more logical "Captain - plotter".

Although we flew with the same crew most of the time we always used crew function rather than names.

Boac wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:29 pm

Rivetting stuff, TGG - where did that come from?

More perspective here Boac...

It was September 1943 and two BBC correspondents were on board. Wynford Vaughn Thomas and Reginald Pidsley were there to record what it was like on a dangerous flight over enemy territory.

The bombing mission was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Ken Letford. They were in flight with 315 other Lancasters and four Mosquitos, all part of the 207 Squadron of the RAF. The Mosquitos dropped spoof flares further out to distract German fighters.

This recording was made using a process that required them to cut the discs in flight from acetates and then warm them up. The altitude was such that the disc material was too brittle to cut and could not be made into a recordable disc until Pidsley warmed it up inside his jacket. The recording was then made on a BBC midget recorder resembling in both appearance and difficulty an antique gramophone.

https://www.cd41recordings.com/bomber_c ... vol_1.html

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instan ... any-2.html

Brave men all...

In the recording you will hear the first six of these airmen listed:

Skipper: Ken Letford

Navigator: Con Connelly

Engineer: Charlie Stewart

Bombardier: Bill Bray

Gunner: Henry Devenish

Mid gunner: Jock Fieldhouse

Wireless Operator: Bill Sparkes

What a find!

Spirits in Flight

I saw them return, seven spirits in flight,
Engines fired by the sparks of the night,
Lumbering, throbbing like a battered ghost,
So thankful for a friendly coast.

Glowing and gliding, a Lanc without sound,
The rubber screams as it kisses the ground,
Perfect touchdown on a deserted plain;
Now a cornfield, a field with no name.

Night after night, mission after mission;
Helmets, goggles, masks and ammunition,
The seven Sky Warriors from long past,
All knowing tonight could be their last.

I hear the field alive with noise,
Filled with brave men; some of them just boys,
I see them walk in their suits of leather,
Slowly and proudly they walk together.

Where their Lancs rose to meet the foe,
Now the larks rise, from their nests below,
Down the runway only peace is heard,
Save for the wind and the song of a bird.

Time passes, January to December,
From spring to winter the years drift on,
Every April, every Easter, I will remember
Cliff, Al, Pete and John -- Nick, Stan and Skipper Don.

By Eddy Coward dedicated to his brother Cliff and the crew of Lancaster LL899 of 49 Sqdn lost 12 April 1944.

It seems fitting that the footage is silent...

Did Charlie just get a life-jacket but no parachute?

There wasn't enough room in the rear turret for a parachute to be worn. It was stored in a canister behind Tail End Charlie in the fuselage and clipped onto a chest harness if needed. A simple statement - bet it wasn't simple to find it and clip it on in a hurry....

Thanks for that enlightenment, C16.

In one drill, on the ground in relatively slow time I had to fight off 'Spot' (as in spotty youth) who was assisting and trying to hang a dinghy pack on my harness.