My Grandfather was a tail gunner in a Lancaster in ww2 and sadly never survived the war. And when i read his logbook and the missions he took part in, i cant fail to be amazed and immensely proud of him. So guy bringing this to reality is just amazing
I'm sure you are very proud of your Grandfather. There is a book written by John Nichol and Tony Rennell entitled Tail-End Charlies which describes life for Lancaster crews during the last battles of 1944-1945. The book conveys the full ordeals that air crew went through night after night during those dark days. Reading this book has made me more aware than ever of the utter bravery and sacrifice these young men gave for their country. As a tail gunner, your Grandfather had the loneliest job on the Lancaster and one of the most precarious. If you get an opportunity please read this book, it is one of the most moving books you will ever read.
My Father's Uncle was a lancaster tail gunner as well. He never came back, like so many other young men back then. No body to bury, no remains to inter. Just his footlocker with his personal possessions from the day he died.
I worked with a Lancaster tail gunner in the early 80’s, he said one time on the way back from a bombing mission they spotted a German staff car. They proceeded to go into attack mode, the officers tried to hide in the ditch but those Browning machine guns found them. He recalled their bodies bouncing up and down from the bullets. War is hell.
My Father was 19 when he flew in the Avro Lancaster. He was an AG And WO. He lasted the war with over 30 missions over enemy territory. I don’t think today’s civilians can imagine the conditions and stress these heroes endured.
My dad was a gunner/radio operator on a B26. It was a two engine plane so he had to use the waist guns on either side of the plane. He told us gunnery training involved shoot clay pidgins from the back of a moving pick up truck. Sounds like a good time. He was in the UK for a while before being sent on to France and the Netherlands in Venlo where he was at the end of the war. There are some Great War aerial gunnery trying films on the web, some with Mel Blanc as the of the animated characters.
@@Strawberry-12. No I had not heard that. I think my dad was at Tinsdale AAC field, I don’t know where that is. After the war he sent to a holding base to be discharged in Santa Ana California. Later in the fifties it became Costa Mesa California and the base became Orange Coast College. My brother and I both ended up going to OCC.
@@evanswinford7165 ok, well where my grandfather was training (Tampa bay) crashes were common with the b-26 with how complicated it was to fly they had the saying “one a day in Tampa bay”
I remember reading a book some years ago called "They hosed them down" it was mostly about Lancaster Tail gunners, who had a life expectancy of 2 weeks @ the height of the bombing over Germany late 1944, the subject of this book has never been forgotten, "They hosed then down" was reference to what happened when/if the Lancaster returned to base, the Tail of the plane was the first point of contact, so the tail gunner was inevitably the first one to get shot up !! hence the ground crew had very little option other than hose down what was left of the gunner & the rear section of the plane, the guy's who went to war in these bombers, in fact any bomber/Plane should never be forgotten.
My old friend John was a rear gunner in a Halifax,a few years ago i was lucky enough to ride in Lancaster NX 611 in the mid upper turret their at East Kirkby where Guy is.Well worth a visit.
Great video. Puts me in the seat of my great uncle, (SG MACKENZIE) the mid-upper gunner in a legendary Lancaster crew led by 'THE BERLIN KID" (Roger Coulombe). They did 12 missions over Berlin and lived to tell the tale! Below is an account of one of those missions. Legends! "For the fifth consecutive time the sqdn. went to Berlin on Dec. 2/43. F/S Coulombe was flying over the target when 50 to 70 searchlights coned and held his Lanc Mk2 for 5 minutes. The flak gunners made several hits while a Ju.88 attacked five times. Four times the mid upper gunner skillfully directed his pilot in corkscrew maneuvers and the night fighter had to brake away without opening fire. On the fith pass, however, the enemy pilot closed to 60 yards and before breaking and gave the gunner (Sgt. S.G. MacKenzie) a sitting target. His tracers were seen to enter the belly of the Junkers and further strikes and ricochets were observed as it dived steeply away. The fighter was probably destroyed, During these attacks, a Mel09 was flying about 1000 yards away dropping fighter flares; a FW.190 also tried to engage the Lancaster but had to break away to avoid the fire of the Junkers and did not reappear. Searchlights blinded the rear gunner in the bomber, preventing him from taking part in the combat. The Lanc 2's port outer tank and hyd. system were damaged and the R/T was put out of service. This incident was cited when Coulombe was promoted to W/O, & was later awarded the DFC. 8 of his sixteen sorties at that time had been against the German capital."
My grandfather was a tail gunner on Lancaster bombers, he survived but must have seen horrific things and lost many friends and never talked about his time during the war. I respect what he did for King and Country and the people of the UK.
My maternal grandad survived the last two years of the war as a rear gunner. My dad tells me he said you pressed the buttons and waggled it up and down. You couldn’t see anything so went off sound.
kinda bit like Warthunder in reguards to aiming, As you have no idea where your bullets will land, just a vague guess from tracers flying 300ft away from you
@@julmdamaslefttoe3559 yeah condensation. Apparently one time the bottom of his bubble was shot off over Germany. He nearly got frostbite. They joined for the uniform because the RAF guy’s got the better looking girlfriends. He wasn’t proud of what he did and didn’t collect his medals. There’s a great book about Bomber command if your interested. Forget the name of it.
You're in my old man's office, Guy. Except he was in a Halifax B-III mid-upper turret with four .303s. Got the radio switch on on the nose of his oxygen mask shot off on one raid. Did a full tour plus three. Just a regular lad from Ontario.
@Detroit Micro Sound, I used to know a guy that flew PBJ-1D's. Told me they removed the top turret and replaced it with a bubble so the navigator could shoot the stars for navigation. He flew at night on harassment raids over Japanese held island. Carried a mix load of bombs including hand grenades. Even carried empty beer bottles. The bottles would whistle, which would keep Japanese soldiers awake. They even used an early version of LORAN "LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. " He said, when it did work, it worked very well.
@@MaxCruise73 That man, is the "Radio Gunner" My gramps was in charge of most of the guns on the plane. He was a heckler. They were all night hecklers. They only flew nighttime missions. Some say, there was no plane the Japanese feared more than the 1D being flown by the Marines. Grampas big worry most nights, was trying to remember if he left any food out, at base, because the monkeys raided anything anyone left out, while THEY WERE OUT ON A RAID.
@@DetroitMicroSound Don't remember if the Marine I used to know used the term "hecklers" or not. Basically the Marines flying the PBJ's were the "Washing Machine Charlies" Wish I could have had a sit down with the WWII vet and really pick his memory.
@@MaxCruise73 They were all known as hecklers. Like I say, grampa was VMB-413 Shamrocks. their missions were to never allow the enemy any rest at night, in any of the small islands. That of course, meant bombing runs. He was trained at Cherry Point. I have his log book, and his scratchy wool blanket, a bunch of pictures he took, and some other items he brought home. My cousin has his bibs and jacket.
If Guy was having so much of a struggle climbing into the turret on terra firma, I can’t imagine how he would be able to do that while wearing his flying gear and uniform including the sheepskin lined over trousers, jacket and boots, along with his parachute harness(canopy detached and stored nearby in the aircraft) and his Mae West life jacket, I imagine that he would be unable to operate the turret especially under battle conditions and as for exiting the turret in an emergency, I can only presume that he would probably have passed away. He would have been frozen to the marrow and disoriented and very probably scared to death, trying to extricate himself from his position whilst locating his parachute canopy and connecting it to his harness, and trying to exit the aircraft whilst it would be getting thrown around as the pilot tried to evade the enemy fire. Not many aircrew managed to complete the full number of flight’s that they were supposed to do and for the most part they got very little recognition for their actions.
@@0Zolrender0 true and also he is of a heavier build than the average adult during the war years due to his normal diet being so much more nutritious than than the average adult male of the period. The point that I was trying to raise is that Guy would be facing added difficulties during his training for this role and that I admired him for trying and warning him and the audience of his struggles to come.
A sister of my Grandmother, moved in 1922 to Canada where she settled in Winnipeg. Her first-born son joined the Canadian Air Force as a nineteen-year-old in 1942 and was trained as a tail gunner on Lancaster bombers. He was sent to England in 1944 and flew 19 flights over Germany, France and the Netherlands. Last mission was mine laying in Kattegat. On the way back, the plane is shot down by a German night fighter 30 km west of Nymindgab and he dies. A thought-provoking fact is that less than half an hour before the shooting, they passed his grandparents' home in Hammel, a few kilometers away. May be they could hear the roar of the Lancaster in Hammel when it passed by at a height of 20-30 m.
whatever he tries guy is awesome at . back in the days in the arcades of chapel st leonards and inglemells they had an machine where you tried to shoot down a german bomber or fighter plane , i always won, was so good. not so lucky on the penny slots or bingo, such is life!
I thought I'd commented on this already. Apparently not, I live in Chadderton, Oldham. About a mile from an old Avro factory where many Lancaster's were built, not that you would know if you didn't already, there's nothing to commemorate it. No statue or anything. Not even a poster. There is a roundabout where one road off it is where the factory is, another is the road I live on. It would be a great spot for some sort of sculpture or something advertising the fact, but nope. Nothing..... I also have a distant relative who was on a Lancaster crew, got shot down.
Twin .50 cals in the dorsal turret? I’m reaching way back in my memory here, but doesn’t that mean the turret was from a Canadian built (flown?) Lancaster?
Definitely a late war Lanc. .50’s were a definite improvement on previous armaments, but even they were inadequate due to limited range and hitting power compared to the night fighters they were up agains. Gun laying radar fitted to the rear turrets was the biggest improvement.
The Martin 250 CE 23A turret was fitted to Mk VII and late Mk X Lancs (I don't know if these were Canadian built so you could be right) whereas previously the mid upper turret was the Fraser Nash FN50 with twin .303 Brownings.
What amazes me most is how young these guys were,facing danger every day they flew,and the youth of today moan about having to do a day's work,they don't know they're born the lads of today...
Splendid fire demonstration. However, while the RAF did adopt some American electric turrets with twin .50 caliber Browning M2/AN HMGs, most British bombers had quad-gun mounts of four .303 LMGs, like the ones pictured in the period photos.
I've heard that Guy Gibson was shot down by a lancaster tail gunner, who mistook his mosquito for a German nighter. The tailgunner in question only confessed to the fear that he'd shot Gibsons mossie down when he was on his deathbed.
The hardest part of that would have been to not shoot other planes in your squadron. Especially at night, when you're terrified, freaking out because bullets are whistling all around you realize you're fighting a rich man's war. Add to that the knowledge that gunners, especially tail gunners, were the first target enemy fighters try to take out. They'd take out the tail gunner, then sit in the blind spot and concentrate on the engines and wings.
They used. 303 on all Lancasters. They did experiment with. 50 but the air ministry rejected them mostly because of weight and slower firing rate compared to. 303. They felt that in the dark greater fire rates were more beneficial. That turret looks like the top turret from a US B25, B17 or B24.
When guy enters the turret there is a United states emblem just visible near the bottom of the tub unit. Very similar to a standard B-25 type. Although late war Canadian Lancasters had US built mid uppers with twin 50's. Very few saw combat in this configuration. Probably why this example survived.
I think that the Canadian manufactured Lancs were equipped with .50's, and crews would specifically try and seek them out due to the greater firepower of the 50's.
And say goodbye to your night vision as soon as you open fire. Then there is the small matter of escaping from the turret, whilst the aircraft is on fire and in a spin or steep dive.
I would think this is not a lancaster turret. this turret is armed with 50 calibre guns instead of the usual 303, and its shape is more US in designed as seen on B-17's and other US Aircraft. later versions of the Lanc was later sometimes were fitted with twin 50's in the top turret. Of course, i stand to be corrected.
Kind of surprising that they never up-gunned the Lancasters to .50 cal brownings. In any case, brownings generally are pretty easy to keep running. I would hazard to guess most of the issues were qc on the ammo and links. Not surprising, as, they were in a fight for their national survival, and were throwing as much ammo out the door, as quickly as they could. You'd be amazed at how much ammo you go through, and how fast, when people are shooting back.
I think this is a Martin turret. They were introduced quite late in the war. The common turrets were made by Fraser Nash and had .303s…far less effective than .5s…
From Aus. Hi Guy, as an ex Pom born in 1936 may I suggest on a pitch black Freezing cold Winter night, you grab a chair and sit out side in the complete DARK....Now imagine you are in the Tail End Charlie (REAR GUNNER) position(The mid upper was eventually removed).... your territory of responsibility is now the TOTAL area your head can be revolved Left...Right....Up....and Down... OH and also as far behind and around as you can contort yourself into YES even between your Tootsies ..... you are looking for the very slightest glint/shadow/give away that may be an Me 109 setting up a beam attack..From take off to landing the Rear Gunner was not only responsible for the Security from behind but also in the event of a Beam attack instructed the Pilot the exact moment to Take evasive action ie Corkscrew...Left or Right.... So in my best Michael Caine impersonation "Not a lot of People know that". I had the immense pleasure as a Veteran of being invited by local Schools to address their Pupils (ages from 5 to 18/19) on ANZAC and Remembrance days...Never spoke about the Muck and Bullets ...rather educated them about the Sacrifice and Legacy left by the ANZAC'S.... By the way Guy.... the average time a Tail End Charlie was in his very Cramped and Very Cold Position was 7(Seven) Hours..... So 7 Hours it is Mate... and even in the hardest of U.K. Winter nights the temperature on the ground will not replicate the Temperature at say 14,000ft .... -20 c.. That is the temp you keep Ice Cream at in your Refrigerator...... And NO HOT DRINKS. Look forward to you taking up the challenge and you making a Video of your torture of staying awake, numbness, boredom, isolation and worst of all not seeing the Me 109 that flashed by and sprayed your position with Cannon fire.
Bomber Command Museum in Canada in Alberta documents that some Canadian built Lancasters were built with twin fifty turrets, "The Martin turret is electrically powered (24 volt), contains two, heavy .50 calibre machine guns, and is much more robust in its construction. Four ammunition boxes each carried 200 rounds of ammunition. American bombers such as the B-24 Liberator and B-26 Marauder carried Martin turrets. There is a large piece of armour-plating to protect the air-gunner, although his view was quite limited. When mounted on Lancasters, the Martin turret, because of its greater weight, was placed much closer to the wing than the Frazer-Nash. So, the Frazer-Nash turret currently on the museum's Lancaster has been placed, technically incorrectly, at the location formerly occupied by the Martin turret when the aircraft was built. All but one of the first 155 of the 430 Canadian-built Lancasters carried Frazer-Nash mid-upper turrets. Lancaster KB783 was trial fitted with the Martin turret. The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets. The plexiglass cupola on KB763 was of a different design to the one introduced with KB855 and subsequent Canadian Lancasters. Very few, if any, shots were fired in anger by Martin-equipped Lancasters. The Martin turret on display at the museum is from a 420 Squadron RCAF Lancaster that was scrapped at Pearce, Alberta. The turret moves with its manual control handles, but the electrical components are not operational."
There would not even be a Eurofighter, if it were not for the guys who flew and fought the Lanc and all the other aircraft used to gain the freedom of , not just Europe, but the world.
Sorry, after spending years reading and learning about Bomber Command through archives and the stories from the men who were there I have never seen any mention of a .303 in a bomber jamming during an attack. Those guns were meticulously stripped and cleaned before each flight - each squadron maintenance wing had a specific section that dealt only with maintaining them. Suspect the narrator is taking one or two wild exceptions and blowing it up into a “FREQUENTLY JAMMED” skewing of facts.
@@geegaw14 Latter production Lancasters built in Canada were built with the 2x.50 turret; from Bomber Command Museum in Alberta, "The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets."
From Bomber Command Museum of Canada, in Nanton, Alberta; "The Martin turret is electrically powered (24 volt), contains two, heavy .50 calibre machine guns, and is much more robust in its construction. Four ammunition boxes each carried 200 rounds of ammunition. American bombers such as the B-24 Liberator and B-26 Marauder carried Martin turrets. There is a large piece of armour-plating to protect the air-gunner, although his view was quite limited. When mounted on Lancasters, the Martin turret, because of its greater weight, was placed much closer to the wing than the Frazer-Nash. So, the Frazer-Nash turret currently on the museum's Lancaster has been placed, technically incorrectly, at the location formerly occupied by the Martin turret when the aircraft was built. All but one of the first 155 of the 430 Canadian-built Lancasters carried Frazer-Nash mid-upper turrets. Lancaster KB783 was trial fitted with the Martin turret. The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets. The plexiglass cupola on KB763 was of a different design to the one introduced with KB855 and subsequent Canadian Lancasters. Very few, if any, shots were fired in anger by Martin-equipped Lancasters. The Martin turret on display at the museum is from a 420 Squadron RCAF Lancaster that was scrapped at Pearce, Alberta. The turret moves with its manual control handles, but the electrical components are not operational. "
Wow imagine having a malfunction trying to stay calm enough to clear it while there’s enemy planes shredding your plane and killing your friends plus add a little AA Anti Aircraft Chaff and explosions literally everywhere and the new generation think they have it hard or have PTSD from that random person who didn’t use your preferred Pronouns 🤦♂️🤷♂️😂😂😂💯
To watch the full documentary, click here: www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-lancaster-bomber
My Grandfather was a tail gunner in a Lancaster in ww2 and sadly never survived the war. And when i read his logbook and the missions he took part in, i cant fail to be amazed and immensely proud of him. So guy bringing this to reality is just amazing
It was safer to be charging pillboxes at Omaha than it was to be a bomber crew member in WW2.
I'm sure you are very proud of your Grandfather. There is a book written by John Nichol and Tony Rennell entitled Tail-End Charlies which describes life for Lancaster crews during the last battles of 1944-1945. The book conveys the full ordeals that air crew went through night after night during those dark days. Reading this book has made me more aware than ever of the utter bravery and sacrifice these young men gave for their country.
As a tail gunner, your Grandfather had the loneliest job on the Lancaster and one of the most precarious. If you get an opportunity please read this book, it is one of the most moving books you will ever read.
@@davemiller6893 thank you, i will get that ordered.
My Father's Uncle was a lancaster tail gunner as well. He never came back, like so many other young men back then. No body to bury, no remains to inter. Just his footlocker with his personal possessions from the day he died.
Here's a number by Glenn Millers AAF band, dedicated to your grandfather's trade. Thought it might resonate:
th-cam.com/video/fG3gN0npsJQ/w-d-xo.html
My great uncle was a Lancaster tail gunner and survived I have his log book too. Brave guys!
I worked with a Lancaster tail gunner in the early 80’s, he said one time on the way back from a bombing mission they spotted a German staff car. They proceeded to go into attack mode, the officers tried to hide in the ditch but those Browning machine guns found them. He recalled their bodies bouncing up and down from the bullets. War is hell.
that'll larned em.
My Father was 19 when he flew in the Avro Lancaster. He was an AG And WO. He lasted the war with over 30 missions over enemy territory. I don’t think today’s civilians can imagine the conditions and stress these heroes endured.
My dad was a gunner/radio operator on a B26. It was a two engine plane so he had to use the waist guns on either side of the plane. He told us gunnery training involved shoot clay pidgins from the back of a moving pick up truck. Sounds like a good time. He was in the UK for a while before being sent on to France and the Netherlands in Venlo where he was at the end of the war.
There are some Great War aerial gunnery trying films on the web, some with Mel Blanc as the of the animated characters.
My grandfather flew a b26. I don’t know if you ever heard the saying, one a day in Tampa bay
@@Strawberry-12. No I had not heard that. I think my dad was at Tinsdale AAC field, I don’t know where that is.
After the war he sent to a holding base to be discharged in Santa Ana California. Later in the fifties it became Costa Mesa California and the base became Orange Coast College. My brother and I both ended up going to OCC.
@@evanswinford7165 ok, well where my grandfather was training (Tampa bay) crashes were common with the b-26 with how complicated it was to fly they had the saying “one a day in Tampa bay”
I remember reading a book some years ago called "They hosed them down" it was mostly about Lancaster Tail gunners, who had a life expectancy of 2 weeks @ the height of the bombing over Germany late 1944, the subject of this book has never been forgotten, "They hosed then down" was reference to what happened when/if the Lancaster returned to base, the Tail of the plane was the first point of contact, so the tail gunner was inevitably the first one to get shot up !! hence the ground crew had very little option other than hose down what was left of the gunner & the rear section of the plane, the guy's who went to war in these bombers, in fact any bomber/Plane should never be forgotten.
My grandfather was a tailgunner in one of these, hlad he made it home thanks for showing us all this hope there one big episode
My old friend John was a rear gunner in a Halifax,a few years ago i was lucky enough to ride in Lancaster NX 611 in the mid upper turret their at East Kirkby where Guy is.Well worth a visit.
Great video. Puts me in the seat of my great uncle, (SG MACKENZIE) the mid-upper gunner in a legendary Lancaster crew led by 'THE BERLIN KID" (Roger Coulombe). They did 12 missions over Berlin and lived to tell the tale! Below is an account of one of those missions. Legends!
"For the fifth consecutive time the sqdn. went to Berlin on Dec. 2/43. F/S Coulombe was flying over the target when 50 to 70 searchlights coned and held his Lanc Mk2 for 5 minutes. The flak gunners made several hits while a Ju.88 attacked five times. Four times the mid upper gunner skillfully directed his pilot in corkscrew maneuvers and the night fighter had to brake away without opening fire. On the fith pass, however, the enemy pilot closed to 60 yards and before breaking and gave the gunner (Sgt. S.G. MacKenzie) a sitting target. His tracers were seen to enter the belly of the Junkers and further strikes and ricochets were observed as it dived steeply away. The fighter was probably destroyed, During these attacks, a Mel09 was flying about 1000 yards away dropping fighter flares; a FW.190 also tried to engage the Lancaster but had to break away to avoid the fire of the Junkers and did not reappear. Searchlights blinded the rear gunner in the bomber, preventing him from taking part in the combat. The Lanc 2's port outer tank and hyd. system were damaged and the R/T was put out of
service. This incident was cited when Coulombe was promoted to W/O, & was later awarded the DFC. 8 of his sixteen sorties at that time had been against the
German capital."
My grandfather was a tail gunner on Lancaster bombers, he survived but must have seen horrific things and lost many friends and never talked about his time during the war. I respect what he did for King and Country and the people of the UK.
Respect my grandfather flew b-26s. I sadly never got to meet him
some brave lads back then awsome video again cheers :)
The Lancaster is a legend, and this Guy must be one of me most likeable Englishmen in existence. Love this videos.
We're all like him !
Cor! What a cracking sound those guns make.
...lotta editing magic in that shooting footage...
My maternal grandad survived the last two years of the war as a rear gunner. My dad tells me he said you pressed the buttons and waggled it up and down. You couldn’t see anything so went off sound.
kinda bit like Warthunder in reguards to aiming, As you have no idea where your bullets will land, just a vague guess from tracers flying 300ft away from you
@@julmdamaslefttoe3559 don’t know the reference. He said it was noisy and the glass was steamed up. You just hoped for the best.
@@Oooo-bi7bi ah, steam makes sense with the altitude.
@@julmdamaslefttoe3559 yeah condensation. Apparently one time the bottom of his bubble was shot off over Germany. He nearly got frostbite. They joined for the uniform because the RAF guy’s got the better looking girlfriends. He wasn’t proud of what he did and didn’t collect his medals. There’s a great book about Bomber command if your interested. Forget the name of it.
@@Oooo-bi7bi Frostbite was the most common injury for bomber crewmen.
You get-’em Guy!
You're in my old man's office, Guy. Except he was in a Halifax B-III mid-upper turret with four .303s. Got the radio switch on on the nose of his oxygen mask shot off on one raid.
Did a full tour plus three. Just a regular lad from Ontario.
My grampa was a tail gunner in a PBJ-1D, over the South Pacific, in WWII. VMB-413 Shamrocks.
@Detroit Micro Sound, I used to know a guy that flew PBJ-1D's.
Told me they removed the top turret and replaced it with a bubble so the navigator could shoot the stars for navigation.
He flew at night on harassment raids over Japanese held island. Carried a mix load of bombs including hand grenades.
Even carried empty beer bottles. The bottles would whistle, which would keep Japanese soldiers awake.
They even used an early version of LORAN
"LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. "
He said, when it did work, it worked very well.
@@MaxCruise73 That man, is the "Radio Gunner" My gramps was in charge of most of the guns on the plane. He was a heckler. They were all night hecklers. They only flew nighttime missions. Some say, there was no plane the Japanese feared more than the 1D being flown by the Marines. Grampas big worry most nights, was trying to remember if he left any food out, at base, because the monkeys raided anything anyone left out, while THEY WERE OUT ON A RAID.
@@DetroitMicroSound Don't remember if the Marine I used to know used the term "hecklers" or not.
Basically the Marines flying the PBJ's were the "Washing Machine Charlies"
Wish I could have had a sit down with the WWII vet and really pick his memory.
@@MaxCruise73 They were all known as hecklers. Like I say, grampa was VMB-413 Shamrocks. their missions were to never allow the enemy any rest at night, in any of the small islands. That of course, meant bombing runs. He was trained at Cherry Point. I have his log book, and his scratchy wool blanket, a bunch of pictures he took, and some other items he brought home. My cousin has his bibs and jacket.
@@DetroitMicroSound Thank you for sharing the story of your Grampa!!
If Guy was having so much of a struggle climbing into the turret on terra firma, I can’t imagine how he would be able to do that while wearing his flying gear and uniform including the sheepskin lined over trousers, jacket and boots, along with his parachute harness(canopy detached and stored nearby in the aircraft) and his Mae West life jacket, I imagine that he would be unable to operate the turret especially under battle conditions and as for exiting the turret in an emergency, I can only presume that he would probably have passed away. He would have been frozen to the marrow and disoriented and very probably scared to death, trying to extricate himself from his position whilst locating his parachute canopy and connecting it to his harness, and trying to exit the aircraft whilst it would be getting thrown around as the pilot tried to evade the enemy fire. Not many aircrew managed to complete the full number of flight’s that they were supposed to do and for the most part they got very little recognition for their actions.
as they said, Guy is about 3 inchs taller than the avg guy in WW2.
@@0Zolrender0 true and also he is of a heavier build than the average adult during the war years due to his normal diet being so much more nutritious than than the average adult male of the period. The point that I was trying to raise is that Guy would be facing added difficulties during his training for this role and that I admired him for trying and warning him and the audience of his struggles to come.
And Guy buys his own for his back garden. 😃
Great shots, earing eraphones the sound are amazing.
A sister of my Grandmother, moved in 1922 to Canada where she settled in Winnipeg. Her first-born son joined the Canadian Air Force as a nineteen-year-old in 1942 and was trained as a tail gunner on Lancaster bombers. He was sent to England in 1944 and flew 19 flights over Germany, France and the Netherlands. Last mission was mine laying in Kattegat. On the way back, the plane is shot down by a German night fighter 30 km west of Nymindgab and he dies.
A thought-provoking fact is that less than half an hour before the shooting, they passed his grandparents' home in Hammel, a few kilometers away. May be they could hear the roar of the Lancaster in Hammel when it passed by at a height of 20-30 m.
whatever he tries guy is awesome at . back in the days in the arcades of chapel st leonards and inglemells they had an machine where you tried to shoot down a german bomber or fighter plane , i always won, was so good. not so lucky on the penny slots or bingo, such is life!
Wow... loved this one
Love your work 👍
I thought I'd commented on this already. Apparently not, I live in Chadderton, Oldham. About a mile from an old Avro factory where many Lancaster's were built, not that you would know if you didn't already, there's nothing to commemorate it. No statue or anything. Not even a poster. There is a roundabout where one road off it is where the factory is, another is the road I live on. It would be a great spot for some sort of sculpture or something advertising the fact, but nope. Nothing..... I also have a distant relative who was on a Lancaster crew, got shot down.
Great stream and an awesome Insite to how hard it must have been in these Lancasters
Great video. Any chance you could reproduce the training where they practiced on scale targets on the tracks or clay pigeons or any target, please.
Twin .50 cals in the dorsal turret? I’m reaching way back in my memory here, but doesn’t that mean the turret was from a Canadian built (flown?) Lancaster?
Definitely a late war Lanc. .50’s were a definite improvement on previous armaments, but even they were inadequate due to limited range and hitting power compared to the night fighters they were up agains. Gun laying radar fitted to the rear turrets was the biggest improvement.
The Martin 250 CE 23A turret was fitted to Mk VII and late Mk X Lancs (I don't know if these were Canadian built so you could be right) whereas previously the mid upper turret was the Fraser Nash FN50 with twin .303 Brownings.
the Lincoln which was designed to replace the lancasters had 20mm hispano cannons in the upper mid ball, same guns that were fitted to spitfires.
I love firing the M2 Browning!
It’s so much fun spittin those big ass bullets! The M134 is also a serious adrenaline rush to shoot.
That's really cool.
i want one of these
The majority of 'today's average man' would fill the whole bubble.
Now that's has got to be fun fantastic just Fantastic. Well done guy.👍🇬🇧😃
I once knew a navigator from the RAF who had a titanium knee from being shot up by Nazi flak 88s. Nice guy. That was 30 - 35 years ago.
What amazes me most is how young these guys were,facing danger every day they flew,and the youth of today moan about having to do a day's work,they don't know they're born the lads of today...
And they'll suffer stress ! 😩
Guy, you’d have been a WWII hero, either in the air, on land or sea.
Splendid fire demonstration. However, while the RAF did adopt some American electric turrets with twin .50 caliber Browning M2/AN HMGs, most British bombers had quad-gun mounts of four .303 LMGs, like the ones pictured in the period photos.
On WW2 British four engined heavy bombers it was only rear turrents that had four machine guns, the front and mid upper turrets were twins only
@@davegoldsmith4020 Thanks for the clarification.
Correct me if I'm wrong but this looks more like a top turret off of a B-25 rather than any lancaster that I've seen
I've heard that Guy Gibson was shot down by a lancaster tail gunner, who mistook his mosquito for a German nighter. The tailgunner in
question only confessed to the fear that he'd shot Gibsons mossie down when he was on his deathbed.
The hardest part of that would have been to not shoot other planes in your squadron. Especially at night, when you're terrified, freaking out because bullets are whistling all around you realize you're fighting a rich man's war. Add to that the knowledge that gunners, especially tail gunners, were the first target enemy fighters try to take out. They'd take out the tail gunner, then sit in the blind spot and concentrate on the engines and wings.
Awesome!
They used. 303 on all Lancasters. They did experiment with. 50 but the air ministry rejected them mostly because of weight and slower firing rate compared to. 303. They felt that in the dark greater fire rates were more beneficial.
That turret looks like the top turret from a US B25, B17 or B24.
When guy enters the turret there is a United states emblem just visible near the bottom of the tub unit. Very similar to a standard B-25 type. Although late war Canadian Lancasters had US built mid uppers with twin 50's. Very few saw combat in this configuration. Probably why this example survived.
That Guy named "Guy"!
Is that Turret a late/post war Lancaster turret? .50cal late war when they were thinking of going to Pacific theatre to help finish off the Japanese?
I think that the Canadian manufactured Lancs were equipped with .50's, and crews would specifically try and seek them out due to the greater firepower of the 50's.
Definitely .50 cal. Same turret found on the B17G. I think it’s made by Sperry and the model is an A9B.
And say goodbye to your night vision as soon as you open fire. Then there is the small matter of escaping from the turret, whilst the aircraft is on fire and in a spin or steep dive.
You might want to read the book about Wallace McIntosh who flew over fifty operations with eight kills to his credit with three kills in one night .
I would think this is not a lancaster turret. this turret is armed with 50 calibre guns instead of the usual 303, and its shape is more US in designed as seen on B-17's and other US Aircraft. later versions of the Lanc was later sometimes were fitted with twin 50's in the top turret. Of course, i stand to be corrected.
This does look more like a B -17 upper turret, Lancaster turret more dome shape
Kind of surprising that they never up-gunned the Lancasters to .50 cal brownings. In any case, brownings generally are pretty easy to keep running. I would hazard to guess most of the issues were qc on the ammo and links. Not surprising, as, they were in a fight for their national survival, and were throwing as much ammo out the door, as quickly as they could. You'd be amazed at how much ammo you go through, and how fast, when people are shooting back.
Next most vital crew member the Gunner? WoP and Navigator......hold my beer! No offence to the AG but hands down the Nav absolutely no2
I think this is a Martin turret. They were introduced quite late in the war. The common turrets were made by Fraser Nash and had .303s…far less effective than .5s…
Look at the size o those bloody bullets🙉...✌️🧐🇬🇧🇺🇦
Surprised the planes could even take off considering the weight of the aircrew’s balls
How was the rave Guy?
From Aus.
Hi Guy, as an ex Pom born in 1936 may I suggest on a pitch black Freezing cold Winter night, you grab a chair and sit out side in the complete DARK....Now imagine you are in the Tail End Charlie (REAR GUNNER) position(The mid upper was eventually removed).... your territory of responsibility is now the TOTAL area your head can be revolved Left...Right....Up....and Down... OH and also as far behind and around as you can contort yourself into YES even between your Tootsies ..... you are looking for the very slightest glint/shadow/give away that may be an Me 109 setting up a beam attack..From take off to landing the Rear Gunner was not only responsible for the Security from behind but also in the event of a Beam attack instructed the Pilot the exact moment to Take evasive action ie Corkscrew...Left or Right.... So in my best Michael Caine impersonation "Not a lot of People know that".
I had the immense pleasure as a Veteran of being invited by local Schools to address their Pupils (ages from 5 to 18/19) on ANZAC and Remembrance days...Never spoke about the Muck and Bullets ...rather educated them about the Sacrifice and Legacy left by the ANZAC'S....
By the way Guy.... the average time a Tail End Charlie was in his very Cramped and Very Cold Position was 7(Seven) Hours..... So 7 Hours it is Mate... and even in the hardest of U.K. Winter nights the temperature on the ground will not replicate the Temperature at say 14,000ft .... -20 c.. That is the temp you keep Ice Cream at in your Refrigerator...... And NO HOT DRINKS.
Look forward to you taking up the challenge and you making a Video of your torture of staying awake, numbness, boredom, isolation and worst of all not seeing the Me 109 that flashed by and sprayed your position with Cannon fire.
The cannon fodders. They did not hit anything in night. Average ammo consumption per hit was 200,000 rounds. One bomber carry about 2000 rounds.
Belly guns were even more cramped.
Lucky Guy ! Lol
Looks more like a b-17/b-24 upper turret with two .50 cal rather than a lanc turret with twin. 303, jus sayin
Bomber Command Museum in Canada in Alberta documents that some Canadian built Lancasters were built with twin fifty turrets, "The Martin turret is electrically powered (24 volt), contains two, heavy .50 calibre machine guns, and is much more robust in its construction. Four ammunition boxes each carried 200 rounds of ammunition. American bombers such as the B-24 Liberator and B-26 Marauder carried Martin turrets. There is a large piece of armour-plating to protect the air-gunner, although his view was quite limited.
When mounted on Lancasters, the Martin turret, because of its greater weight, was placed much closer to the wing than the Frazer-Nash. So, the Frazer-Nash turret currently on the museum's Lancaster has been placed, technically incorrectly, at the location formerly occupied by the Martin turret when the aircraft was built.
All but one of the first 155 of the 430 Canadian-built Lancasters carried Frazer-Nash mid-upper turrets. Lancaster KB783 was trial fitted with the Martin turret. The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets. The plexiglass cupola on KB763 was of a different design to the one introduced with KB855 and subsequent Canadian Lancasters. Very few, if any, shots were fired in anger by Martin-equipped Lancasters.
The Martin turret on display at the museum is from a 420 Squadron RCAF Lancaster that was scrapped at Pearce, Alberta. The turret moves with its manual control handles, but the electrical components are not operational."
Leave the Euro fighter a loan , I will eat you for breakfast, nice one Guy, 👍👍.
*Alone 😉
@@THE-BUNKEN-DRUM cheers buddy, I do this all the time 👍.
@@busterboy7505 : We live and learn my friend. PEACE ✌
There would not even be a Eurofighter, if it were not for the guys who flew and fought the Lanc and all the other aircraft used to gain the freedom of , not just Europe, but the world.
Sorry, after spending years reading and learning about Bomber Command through archives and the stories from the men who were there I have never seen any mention of a .303 in a bomber jamming during an attack. Those guns were meticulously stripped and cleaned before each flight - each squadron maintenance wing had a specific section that dealt only with maintaining them. Suspect the narrator is taking one or two wild exceptions and blowing it up into a “FREQUENTLY JAMMED” skewing of facts.
Those are .50 Cal's from a late war Lanc mate 😉
But that's an American turret not an original Lancaster turret. Unless it's a Canadian one.
I thought the same. Didn't the Lancaster use the .303 Browning and not .50 cals?
@@geegaw14 Latter production Lancasters built in Canada were built with the 2x.50 turret; from Bomber Command Museum in Alberta, "The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets."
Thanks for the info Scott. You learn something new every day.
thats a b25 upper turret
I thought it maybe a late war/slightly post war lancaster turret as some were converted to a new. 50 turret
From Bomber Command Museum of Canada, in Nanton, Alberta; "The Martin turret is electrically powered (24 volt), contains two, heavy .50 calibre machine guns, and is much more robust in its construction. Four ammunition boxes each carried 200 rounds of ammunition. American bombers such as the B-24 Liberator and B-26 Marauder carried Martin turrets. There is a large piece of armour-plating to protect the air-gunner, although his view was quite limited.
When mounted on Lancasters, the Martin turret, because of its greater weight, was placed much closer to the wing than the Frazer-Nash. So, the Frazer-Nash turret currently on the museum's Lancaster has been placed, technically incorrectly, at the location formerly occupied by the Martin turret when the aircraft was built.
All but one of the first 155 of the 430 Canadian-built Lancasters carried Frazer-Nash mid-upper turrets. Lancaster KB783 was trial fitted with the Martin turret. The last 275 Lancasters (from serial # KB855 to KB999 and FM100 to FM229), including our museum's aircraft, were fitted with Martin turrets. The plexiglass cupola on KB763 was of a different design to the one introduced with KB855 and subsequent Canadian Lancasters. Very few, if any, shots were fired in anger by Martin-equipped Lancasters.
The Martin turret on display at the museum is from a 420 Squadron RCAF Lancaster that was scrapped at Pearce, Alberta. The turret moves with its manual control handles, but the electrical components are not operational. "
It was staying alive you shot as much as you could to keep aloft / hoping you took them out before they got you
Wow imagine having a malfunction trying to stay calm enough to clear it while there’s enemy planes shredding your plane and killing your friends plus add a little AA Anti Aircraft Chaff and explosions literally everywhere and the new generation think they have it hard or have PTSD from that random person who didn’t use your preferred Pronouns 🤦♂️🤷♂️😂😂😂💯
1:41 argh imagine if you had a bad back. wouldn't make a very good lanc gunner i suppose