"Strike Hard Strike Sure" - RAF Bomber Command

[Micawber]

 

[Micawber]

Halifax Mk III MZ469 (Z5-N) crashed 6-7 January 1945 South of Marche-en-Famenne (Prov Luxembourg, Belgium)- 7 KIA buried Hotton War Cemetery, 1 POW

 

[Micawber]

 

[Micawber]

 

[Pa12]

View attachment 128113

Most dangerous seat in the house. My dad’s cousin was a tail gunner on a lanc and bought the farm on his first mission.

 

[Smithy]

Most dangerous seat in the house. My dad’s cousin was a tail gunner on a lanc and bought the farm on his first mission.

Mentioned this here before, my Dad had a mate who had been a Lanc pilot and was seriously fucked up from it. One of the worst things he told my Dad was how on returning from an op they often had to use a hose to remove what was left of the rear gunner from the turret.

 

[Pa12]

Nasty business this war stuff.

 

[Pa12]

Mentioned this here before, my Dad had a mate who had been a Lanc pilot and was seriously fucked up from it. One of the worst things he told my Dad was how on returning from an op they often had to use a hose to remove what was left of the rear gunner from the turret.

There were 2 friends of my dads that I remember who were lanc pilots. One became an aircraft mechanic. He owned a j-3 cub but wouldn’t fly it until he had an inordinate amount of rum in his belly first. The other became a psychiatrist. Went off the rails one day and ended up as homeless guy in Toronto. Lots of post war casualties.

 

[Smithy]

Flying in Bomber Command with their insane casualty rate was a recipe for mental illness after the war.

 

[Pa12]

Flying in Bomber Command with their insane casualty rate was a recipe for mental illness after the war.

Yes. My dad was based in leeming bar for 4 years ( on the ground) said he was almost an alcoholic when he got back. Though he did witness a lot of nastiness, the drinking was more from boredom. Although my mum was from Leicester and went home to visit frequently, my dad vowed to never return.