I am in my 70s. As a child I was near the Shorts factory in Belfast. One of my first memories is the number of dirty white aircraft in the water. I now know as Sunderlands and they were my favourite aircraft. A number of years ago I was back there to see a privatly owned one land on Belfast lough again. A sight I realise I will never see again. A great memory from years past.
An RAAF crewed Sunderland was attacked over the Bay of Biscayne by 8 Ju88 long range fighters. Shot down 6 and only 1 Ju88 made it back to base. The Sunderland so full of holes and a dead crew member was beached and broke up in the surf. Sadly the crew was lost months later in another Sunderland when again attacked over the Bay of Biscayne by Ju88s. I was navigator on last military Sunderland flight RNZAF April1967 Fiji to Auckland.
My Great uncle flew in a Short Sunderland during the war dropping depth charges on U-Boats. Him and his crew were shot down in the bay of Biscay and had to float in an inflatable raft for days before they were rescued. Back home in Canada his family received a telegram saying he was lost at sea because of how long they had been missing.
My dad commanded a Sunderland towards the end of the war in 205 Squadron out of Koggala Ceylon. He was on patrol in the Indian Ocean when the Japanese surrendered and therefore flew one of the last missions of WWII.
Many Sunderlands were converted into Sandringhams following the war. TEAL used some of them on the trans-Tasman service between Australia and New Zealand until 1954 when it switched to land-based aircraft.
I remember reading, in the early 1960s, about an Australian squadron's boat that was so shot up it had to land (successfully) on the grass alongside a runway. All possible weight having been previously ditched overboard. I have to assume that this was true. There were so many wartime memories being printed in paperback during the '50s and 60s.
Richard Richard -one Sunderland managed to fight off 6 JU88 -downing 2 and damaging 2 others -they were a formidable opponent armed with 10 guns The best way to attack them was from underneath so the pilot would go down to sea level to make attack difficult .
The narration script lists the Short Brothers as "...Horace, ALBERT and HUGH..." ?? Nope! They were Horace, Eustace, and Oswald! How could a British filmmaker get such an easy and widely known fact wrong? And while showing a photo of the Singapore I the narration states that it had "...tractor and pusher propellers...". Not only is it an easily verified fact that the Singapore I only had tractor props, the photo used in the video shows it as such!
I am in my 70s. As a child I was near the Shorts factory in Belfast. One of my first memories is the number of dirty white aircraft in the water. I now know as Sunderlands and they were my favourite aircraft. A number of years ago I was back there to see a privatly owned one land on Belfast lough again. A sight I realise I will never see again. A great memory from years past.
An RAAF crewed Sunderland was attacked over the Bay of Biscayne by 8 Ju88 long range fighters. Shot down 6 and only 1 Ju88 made it back to base. The Sunderland so full of holes and a dead crew member was beached and broke up in the surf. Sadly the crew was lost months later in another Sunderland when again attacked over the Bay of Biscayne by Ju88s.
I was navigator on last military Sunderland flight RNZAF April1967 Fiji to Auckland.
My Great uncle flew in a Short Sunderland during the war dropping depth charges on U-Boats. Him and his crew were shot down in the bay of Biscay and had to float in an inflatable raft for days before they were rescued. Back home in Canada his family received a telegram saying he was lost at sea because of how long they had been missing.
All of this it’s in Ivan Southall’s book “fly west”
Painfully long opening
Absolutely! The Video Doesn't Start Until 3:00 Minutes In!
@@thewatcher5271 slow burner for sure. Gotta love those old birds though
For its massive size its amazing to consider the Sunderland had the same max bomb load (2000lbs) as a TBF Avenger.
My dad commanded a Sunderland towards the end of the war in 205 Squadron out of Koggala Ceylon.
He was on patrol in the Indian Ocean when the Japanese surrendered and therefore flew one of the last missions of WWII.
Many Sunderlands were converted into Sandringhams following the war. TEAL used some of them on the trans-Tasman service between Australia and New Zealand until 1954 when it switched to land-based aircraft.
SHORT? This thing goes on for 58 minutes! :)
Recognize the pilot from that modern taxi footage. Kermit Weakes. Runs Fantasy of Flight in Florida.
poor audio
I remember reading, in the early 1960s, about an Australian squadron's boat that was so shot up it had to land (successfully) on the grass alongside a runway. All possible weight having been previously ditched overboard. I have to assume that this was true. There were so many wartime memories being printed in paperback during the '50s and 60s.
'Flying Porcupine' due to the many vertical aerials on the upper mid fuselage......not the armament.
Great upload thanks.
Richard Richard -one Sunderland managed to fight off 6 JU88 -downing 2 and damaging 2 others -they were a formidable opponent armed with 10 guns The best way to attack them was from underneath so the pilot would go down to sea level to make attack difficult .
The narration script lists the Short Brothers as "...Horace, ALBERT and HUGH..." ?? Nope! They were Horace, Eustace, and Oswald! How could a British filmmaker get such an easy and widely known fact wrong? And while showing a photo of the Singapore I the narration states that it had "...tractor and pusher propellers...". Not only is it an easily verified fact that the Singapore I only had tractor props, the photo used in the video shows it as such!
Fantastic, very interesting. Love the story about the pigeon at 15.20
20:14
*that's quite american of you*