what did your relations do during ww2

[PeteB]

Saw that documentary about the Stanley raid something else eh?

 

Quite! The Vulcan crew took a lot of convincing that they wouldn't burn through all the leaks in the refuelling system even though the Victor pilots lived in jet fuel! 13 Air to Air tankers to get one Vulcan there and back! They were fated as the hero's in the film but little or no credit was given to the Tankers because they refuelled everything on a daily basis worldwide!

[csservices]

Grandpa (mums dad) was in the Royal Engineers on map making, lost his hair when a petrol tanker exploded during an air raid, went on to be a Printing lecturer at Manchester university after the war, Grandad (dads dad) never spoke about the war but his uniform hung in the wardrobe in the spare bedroom until he died last year and we donated it to the Sherwood Foresters museum, in his latter years after 3 strokes his short term memory went and he would talk about the war but only bits and pieces, one thing I remember was that he was below decks on a ship on D day making sure everyone was ready to go when it got shelled, my Nans brother was in North Africa with the RAF I think, got some pics I inherited from when Churchill and Montgomery were addressing the troops, and also had a great uncle who was a Captain, can't remember which regiment, but apparently was very well regarded and they wanted to promote him but he turned it down, have the letters as well as his captains hat and field glasses and service revolver holster, one day when I have time I need to look through all this family history properly.

[LGP Eddie]

Quite! The Vulcan crew took a lot of convincing that they wouldn't burn through all the leaks in the refuelling system even though the Victor pilots lived in jet fuel! 13 Air to Air tankers to get one Vulcan there and back! They were fated as the hero's in the film but little or no credit was given to the Tankers because they refuelled everything on a daily basis worldwide!

 

That mission was incredible!

I had the honour if you can call it that, of breaking up a complete Victor Tanker at RAF Lyneham with a 20 tonne excavator fitted with a grapple.

They were huge things, and it was scary the amount of fuel left in tanks, lines etc!

The same week I dispatched 5 fully serviceable Phantoms and 2 Canberra bombers, all ripped apart and baled up for scrap.

It was pretty heartbreaking at times, and a lot of the ground crew were visibly upset as they towed the Phantoms to their fate.

 

As for the Vulcan, I watched it at the Goodwood festival of speed, I was truly moved by seeing such an awesome machine in action. I hope they keep it flying forever.

 

Eddie.

[PeteB]

That mission was incredible!

I had the honour if you can call it that, of breaking up a complete Victor Tanker at RAF Lyneham with a 20 tonne excavator fitted with a grapple.

They were huge things, and it was scary the amount of fuel left in tanks, lines etc!

The same week I dispatched 5 fully serviceable Phantoms and 2 Canberra bombers, all ripped apart and baled up for scrap.

It was pretty heartbreaking at times, and a lot of the ground crew were visibly upset as they towed the Phantoms to their fate.

 

As for the Vulcan, I watched it at the Goodwood festival of speed, I was truly moved by seeing such an awesome machine in action. I hope they keep it flying forever.

 

Eddie.

 

Eddie, those Canberra's weren't bombers really, their main role for many years was a very stable platform for very high spec photographic equipment. They could get unstuck at only 75% throttle and fly for many hours at getting on for 60,000ft, yet were highly manoeuvrable and very robust. They lost their role with the emergence of digital photography and satellites.

Dad crashed landed one in Malta back in the 60s - officially, he was a bad pilot having one more take - off than landing!

[LGP Eddie]

Eddie, those Canberra's weren't bombers really, their main role for many years was a very stable platform for very high spec photographic equipment. They could get unstuck at only 75% throttle and fly for many hours at getting on for 60,000ft, yet were highly manoeuvrable and very robust. They lost their role with the emergence of digital photography and satellites.

Dad crashed landed one in Malta back in the 60s - officially, he was a bad pilot having one more take - off than landing!

 

That's the one's.

 

The guy doing the scrap project was very switched on as to the odd bit that may be worth salvaging?

They very carefully cut the glass nose off them, before I dispatched them.

Of everything I've ever broken up Plane wise, these were simply a piece of tissue paper!!! It was anticipated to take a whole day at RAF Scampton to make them ready for the baler that would arrive the following day.

It was a lovely summer evening and the guys cut the nose off them to get a good start for morning, I'd got the machine there so said I'd play with the first whilst they cut the nose off the other.

I'd completely torn it apart before they'd got the nose off the other in under 20 minutes!

Needless to say we had a steady day next day!

 

If your Dad got one anywhere near 60,000ft in one of them tin cans, he deserves a medal I can tell you!

 

Eddie.

[penfold]

my grandad who served in africa and italy saw mussolini being hanged with clara petacci and had a photo of them which very rarely came out. Again he only told us of the funny things that happened. The only time he spoke of anything bad was at the time of the kings cross fire which brought back memories of when he was in london during the blitz and he was one of the first people into a tube station that had taken a direct hit.

[Brushcutter]

Eddie, those Canberra's weren't bombers really, their main role for many years was a very stable platform for very high spec photographic equipment. They could get unstuck at only 75% throttle and fly for many hours at getting on for 60,000ft, yet were highly manoeuvrable and very robust. They lost their role with the emergence of digital photography and satellites.

Dad crashed landed one in Malta back in the 60s - officially, he was a bad pilot having one more take - off than landing!

 

I think the one or two of the Martin version of the Canberras (B-57) are still in service with NASA.

 

My mothers dad was in the Artillery man and was El Alamein. A lot of dads side built DH Mosquitos and i think an uncle was at monte cassino.

[treedave]

I had three uncles involved, but then my mum was the youngest of 6! Two uncles joined and made it to Burma, ended up as POW on railway and bridge building. They survived that only to be sunk in a transport ship by allied aircraft. My mum says they were locked in the hold to ensure the ships safety and reduce the need for Japanese guards, but I'm not sure where that comes from.

The third uncle was a paratrooper dropped on the Arnhem bridge operation, but didn't survive it. My mum still has his diary / sketchbook and the telegrams for her other two brothers.

 

 

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