Conversation with Jo Lancaster. Part two
Title
Conversation with Jo Lancaster. Part two
Description
Jo talks about aircraft he liked and those he did not. He did not like Oxford and Halifax and was uncomplimentary about B-17 and B-24. He recalls an incident of accidentally feathering two engines on B-24. Jo loved the Wellington Mk 3; he liked aircraft with plenty of power. He recalls that he flew many types while a test pilot at RAF Boscombe Down, including recovering Me 410 from Germany.
Coverage
Language
Type
Format
00:06:35 audio recording
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Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
SBondS-LancasterJv10017
Transcription
SB: Were there any that you really thought were awful aeroplanes? [pause] or that you really particularly disliked put it that way.
JL: I didn’t, I never like the Oxford. I don’t know why.
SB: Oh right.
JL: I couldn’t tell you why.
SB: Right.
JL: I only flew the Albemarle a couple of times perhaps. I didn’t like that. I was ashamed of that.
SB: Really?
JL: I didn’t really like the Halifax because it had a lopsided cockpit.
SB: Oh yes. Right. Yeah.
JL: You know, but nothing, nothing serious. In general I liked the ones that had enough power. There was a lot of them didn’t.
SB: Yes. Well, the [unclear] I’m sure was a case in point there wasn’t it probably.
JL: Just, just a curiosity.
SB: Well, yes. yeah.
JL: Yes, well most of that vintage were underpowered. What a joy to get the hands on a Mark 3 Wellington. A really really good —
SB: Yes, a really big difference in performance.
JL: A huge difference and of course on feathering props as well.
[pause]
SB: A Vigilante. Goodness me. We’re at Boscombe down now so yes. Extraordinary collection.
JL: I think I flew about twelve types in a month there. They must be fairly [unclear]
JL: I liked the Boston.
SB: You did. Yes. Yeah.
JL: But I didn’t think a lot of the B17 or the Liberator. They were alright.
SB: Oh really. Now, that’s interesting because Terry Bulloch yesterday he was saying that one of his claims to fame was that he’d ferried the first B17 across the Atlantic for Bomber Command. I know they didn’t use them for very long because they were you know pretty were useless really.
JL: That must have been 1941.
SB: It was. Yes. That’s right. He didn’t think to —
JL: They came to [unclear] was it?
SB: That’s right. Right. Yes.
JL: [unclear]
SB: Yes. 90 Squadron and but the Liberator he thought was wonderful. He had —
JL: Well, it was the better of the two. It had a bit more power. But yeah it was alright. I still preferred ours. I had a funny do in the Liberator at Boscombe.
SB: Oh right.
JL: The undercarriage retraction the lever down there had a little button at the end of the lever if you were too [unclear] or some safety device and I took off and it didn’t, it didn’t work. We couldn’t select up.
SB: Oh. Ok.
JL: And had a flight engineer in the other seat and he started wrestling with it and the feathering buttons were up in the, at the top of the cockpit there with a sort of a Perspex guard.
SB: Yeah.
JL: Which stood up and he managed to unwittingly he feathered both starboard engines —
SB: Oh.
JL: Shortly after take-off.
SB: Ah. Right.
JL: And I I couldn’t see but I realised the engines had stopped had failed. I told him to feather them and he looked [as though they were feathers] [unclear] we were in great difficulty and still had the occasion flaps down.
SB: Oh gosh. Yeah.
JL: On two port engines. Anyway, we survived that one.
[pause]
SB: Good lord. An ME410.
JL: Yeah.
SB: Heavens.
JL: Brought one back from Schleswig.
SB: Schleswig. Wow. What did you think of that?
JL: Well, [unclear] understand the German system.
SB: Oh right.
JL: They were a bit different from ours. They, they didn’t have constant speed propellers which was rather strange.
SB: Oh, did they not?
JL: Yeah.
SB: Oh, I didn’t know that.
JL: Very well pitched and the fuel contents gauges and things were all a bit strange. Never really, never really had enough time to study everything. I came back via Schleswig and Manston.
SB: Right.
[pause]
JL: Oh, and that one yes. At Schleswiger did a quick familiar flight and the airspeed indicator didn’t work when I took off. So I don’t know whether they just somebody had been up to mischief with us. I think it was just water in the pipe.
SB: Right.
[pause]
SB: I mean we were talking earlier on about the — switch that off now.
JL: I didn’t, I never like the Oxford. I don’t know why.
SB: Oh right.
JL: I couldn’t tell you why.
SB: Right.
JL: I only flew the Albemarle a couple of times perhaps. I didn’t like that. I was ashamed of that.
SB: Really?
JL: I didn’t really like the Halifax because it had a lopsided cockpit.
SB: Oh yes. Right. Yeah.
JL: You know, but nothing, nothing serious. In general I liked the ones that had enough power. There was a lot of them didn’t.
SB: Yes. Well, the [unclear] I’m sure was a case in point there wasn’t it probably.
JL: Just, just a curiosity.
SB: Well, yes. yeah.
JL: Yes, well most of that vintage were underpowered. What a joy to get the hands on a Mark 3 Wellington. A really really good —
SB: Yes, a really big difference in performance.
JL: A huge difference and of course on feathering props as well.
[pause]
SB: A Vigilante. Goodness me. We’re at Boscombe down now so yes. Extraordinary collection.
JL: I think I flew about twelve types in a month there. They must be fairly [unclear]
JL: I liked the Boston.
SB: You did. Yes. Yeah.
JL: But I didn’t think a lot of the B17 or the Liberator. They were alright.
SB: Oh really. Now, that’s interesting because Terry Bulloch yesterday he was saying that one of his claims to fame was that he’d ferried the first B17 across the Atlantic for Bomber Command. I know they didn’t use them for very long because they were you know pretty were useless really.
JL: That must have been 1941.
SB: It was. Yes. That’s right. He didn’t think to —
JL: They came to [unclear] was it?
SB: That’s right. Right. Yes.
JL: [unclear]
SB: Yes. 90 Squadron and but the Liberator he thought was wonderful. He had —
JL: Well, it was the better of the two. It had a bit more power. But yeah it was alright. I still preferred ours. I had a funny do in the Liberator at Boscombe.
SB: Oh right.
JL: The undercarriage retraction the lever down there had a little button at the end of the lever if you were too [unclear] or some safety device and I took off and it didn’t, it didn’t work. We couldn’t select up.
SB: Oh. Ok.
JL: And had a flight engineer in the other seat and he started wrestling with it and the feathering buttons were up in the, at the top of the cockpit there with a sort of a Perspex guard.
SB: Yeah.
JL: Which stood up and he managed to unwittingly he feathered both starboard engines —
SB: Oh.
JL: Shortly after take-off.
SB: Ah. Right.
JL: And I I couldn’t see but I realised the engines had stopped had failed. I told him to feather them and he looked [as though they were feathers] [unclear] we were in great difficulty and still had the occasion flaps down.
SB: Oh gosh. Yeah.
JL: On two port engines. Anyway, we survived that one.
[pause]
SB: Good lord. An ME410.
JL: Yeah.
SB: Heavens.
JL: Brought one back from Schleswig.
SB: Schleswig. Wow. What did you think of that?
JL: Well, [unclear] understand the German system.
SB: Oh right.
JL: They were a bit different from ours. They, they didn’t have constant speed propellers which was rather strange.
SB: Oh, did they not?
JL: Yeah.
SB: Oh, I didn’t know that.
JL: Very well pitched and the fuel contents gauges and things were all a bit strange. Never really, never really had enough time to study everything. I came back via Schleswig and Manston.
SB: Right.
[pause]
JL: Oh, and that one yes. At Schleswiger did a quick familiar flight and the airspeed indicator didn’t work when I took off. So I don’t know whether they just somebody had been up to mischief with us. I think it was just water in the pipe.
SB: Right.
[pause]
SB: I mean we were talking earlier on about the — switch that off now.
Collection
Citation
S Bond and J O Lancaster, “Conversation with Jo Lancaster. Part two,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 13, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/49858.