DU aviation and WWII geeks: I saw an Avro Lancaster in flight today!

[TheMightyFavog]

It, along with an escort of Hurricanes and Spitfires did a flypast at the RAF Museum this afternoon.

I loved it.

On the way to the museum from the Tube station, I got to speak with an 85 year old man who was an engineer on board Handley Page Halifax bombers during the war. He told me many interesting stories.

[GCP]

1. That must have been amazing

Are you in Hendon? I've been to that museum and thought it was wonderful. If you hear of any coverage on you-tube, let us know!

[TheMightyFavog]

2. I'm in London for the summer.

I took the Tube up to Colindale to go to Hendon.

[Wcross]

3. You lucky S.O.B.!

The closest I have come to seeing that was the Royal Canadian air force museum's static display. I heard the museum burned down and don't know if the Lancaster they had survived.

[TheMightyFavog]

6. I hope my pictures turned out!

Although, since I forgot my USB Cable, it might be awhile before you see pics.

[BrotherBuzz]

4. I Love it when I get to see those old warbirds flying....

Three weeks ago we had a fly-by of a B 17 and a B 25. Wonderful, the ground was shaking before they flew over my house so I was able to get outside in time to watch. They were flying low - maybe 500 feet and flew directly over my head. Cool.

[krispos42]

5. That is way cool

I got to see a B-25 Mitchell a couple of weekends ago, and four T-6 trainers.



For $375 you can go for an hourlong flight in the B-25.

[Turbineguy]

11. My Great Uncle flew a B-25

At the end of WWII he had to take a load of cash from Australia to Indonesia to jump start the government. The plane crash landed in western Australia. Nobody was hurt but the money never turned up. He was followed for years but he did not have it. I think the money was never there and he was supposed to crash into the sea and dissappear. It must have turned out OK because he later got a knighthood.

[Wcross]

17. A couple of years ago I saw one over the house.

It was at the Tullahoma airshow. One of the engines was sounding rough which is why I even looked up. It was probably the same one you saw considering how many are still flying and doing the airshow circut.

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. Dude!

I am SO jealous! I've never seen a Lanc in real life. Been in three B-17s, a B-24 and various other warbirds, but I've never been close to any RAF aircraft, unless you count a Martin EB-57, which was built under license from English Electric.

I did, though, see a ME-109 and a ME-262 at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, Calif.

If you wanna see some warbirds up close and personal, you should go to Open Cockpit Day at the Castle Air Museum.

[Forkboy]

8. Lucky bastard!

Man,that must have been cool...both the planes and the stories!

[TheMightyFavog]

10. he told me a story of a time when a flight of B-17s had to make emergency landings at his base.

They were all very low on fuel. He said they were coming in on every runway, and everyoone in his squadron was expecting "a bang", but they all made it, and he said all the aircrews got out of their aircraft, and most fell asleep once they hit the ground.

I especailly loved his comment on seeing the Hurricane and Spitfire on static display outside the museum:

"Now, the Hurricane did all the real work, and the Spitfire got all the glory."

[Forkboy]

14. The stories are the best part.

I used to work third shift in store when I was younger and I always had this older guy come in early Monday morning to take the the coupons from the Sunday papers (he bought food for the homeless).He was on board the USS Hornet in the South Pacific and had a lot of quick anecdotes and stories to tell when he came in.I never knew there had been a previous Hornet for instance that had been sunk in '42.He's also where I first heard of the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Marianas_Turkey_Shoot#Japanese_raids:_The_Great_Marianas_Turkey_Shoot

I'm totally fascinated by the first hand accounts from World War 2,regardless of what theater or particular area of service.It's great that you can still get them from the source like you did!

[Redstone]

9. Wow. I bet the sound was impressive.

Redstone

[pokerfan]

12. Very cool!

7,377 built
3,249 lost in action

There are 17 known Avro Lancasters remaining in the world, two of which remain in airworthy condition, although limited flying hours remain on their airframes and actual flying is carefully rationed. One is PA474 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the other is FM213 of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum recreated as "VR-A," the "Mynarski Memorial Lancaster" in honour of Canadian VC winner, Andrew Mynarski.

(from wiki)

[TheMightyFavog]

13. It was the battle of Britian memorial Flight.

I beleive they were doing a flypast for the Queen's Birthday celebrations.

To have seen an actual Lancaster flying, I count myself as a very lucky man.

[tjwmason]

15. The Queen's official birthday.

A tradition that started under Queen Victoria of the monarch having an official birthday as well as an actual one. It was celebrated by a military parade (known as Trooping the Colour), in more recent years the R.A.F. wanted to get in on the celebrations and so a fly-past goes over Buckingham Palace after the troops have done their bit in Horse Guards.

[GOPisEvil]

16. Did you take pictures?

Come on, REALLY rub it in. :D

[TheMightyFavog]

21. I got A picture.

I'm not sure if it turned out yet. I have hundreds of pictures to go through now that I figured a way to get them on a computer.

[TheMightyFavog]

22. Photo's in! (dialup warning)

[GOPisEvil]

23. Nice!!!!

I was unofficially jealous before, now I'm officially jealous! :thumbsup:

[liberaltrucker]

25. Just.........WOW!!!

The aircraft that saved your homeland. What a rare treat to see
and photograph it 62 years later. As many said upthread, I'm VERY
jealous!

:toast:

edited for shitty spelling.

[TheMightyFavog]

31. I guess you [b]could[/b] make the argumaent that the Lancaster saved the U.S.

But it would have to be a good one.

[Hangingon]

18. For aviation buffs and wwii fans

Robin Olds died June 14 in Steamboat Springs, CO

[Vidar]

19. Wow!

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. You might wanna check this out, too

FROM GLACIER TO GLORY

OPERATION BOLERO II TO SET AVIATION MILESTONE
AS LEGENDARY P-38 GLACIER GIRL COMPLETES HER
HISTORIC WORLD WAR II MISSION

Philadelphia, PA (May 24,2007)—On July 15, 1942, a United States Army/Air Force Squadron departed American soil on Operation Bolero, a World War II aid mission to support U.S. allies in the war torn European theatre. Due to insurmountable weather-related problems en route, the entire squadron of six P-38s and two B-17 Bombers was forced to abort its mission and make an emergency landing on a remote ice cap in Greenland. “The Lost Squadron,” as it has become known over time, drifted miles from its original location and only one P-38, encased in 268 feet of ice, was salvaged.

A recovery and restoration mission taking more than ten years and costing more than six million dollars brought this legendary P-38 Lightning, now known as Glacier Girl, to her original flying glory. On June 22, 2007, Glacier Girl will finally complete her fabled World War II transatlantic mission when she departs from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey bound for Duxford, England.

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=838

[sammythecat]

24. That would have been something to see

That Lancaster sure is impressive and the Spitfire is, in my opinion, the prettiest plane ever built.

[Ikonoklast]

26. Go ahead, rub it in!

Now I'll have to go to Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum and get another fix. Good thing it's only a few hours down the road.

If you are an air power fan, it is Mecca. Go there.


When I was younger I worked with an AAF vet that flew in B-29's "over the Empire" as Harold would say. He met Billy Mitchell, Jimmy Doolittle, and Hap Arnold.

He was on Tinian at the end.


And the P-38 was the most beautiful warbird to ever take wing. Period.

[pokerfan]

28. Der Gabelschwanz Teufel!

As the Luftwaffe called it (The Forked-Tail Devil).

And in the PTO, "The peculiar sound of the P-38's twin engines became both familiar and hated by the Japanese all across the South Pacific."
-Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Zero

[Lars39]

27. Thanks for posting about your experience, JonathanChance.

My dad remembers seeing them long ago.

[Tyler Durden]

29. Story about a Lancaster in Goderich, Ontario.

There was a Lancaster just sitting on the grass at the training airport in Goderich Ontario ever since I can remember, and that goes back to 1955 or thereabouts. Well they eventually built a cradle for it on a 20 foot pedistel and there it sat until about 1972, when along comes this VERY wealthy war buff. The purchased it from the Province, had it set back down and wheeled into a hanger.

There, he and a team proceeded to restore it to WWII flying trim, started up the engines, and flew it to the Canadian Air Museum. Now every summer it tours Canada, with a special dedicated trip to its adopted home field in Goderich. There it is on display each summer for about a week and does about a dozen flyovers up and down the Lake Huron coast.

I was standing on the beach North of Goderich at Port Albert when I heard a low rumble, slowly build to a tremendous ROAR as the warbird flew over at about twice treetops and over 200 mph, all four MERLIN engines shouting their defiance.

Later that week, we just happened to be headed back home when we drove by the airstip, and the Lancaster was sitting on the tarmac, engines warming up to leave. We drove onto the shoulder at the end of the runway, watched it taxi and take off; it then did FIVE figure 8's over the field and headed for home.

I do not know if this is true or not, but I was told this is the only Canadian built, PACKARD-MERLIN powered Lancaster left, flying or not.

[commander bunnypants]

30. I flew in an open cockpit WACO bomber/trainer.

built in 1937


CB