Airfield and Lancaster rear turret
Title
Airfield and Lancaster rear turret
Description
Top - A view over an airfield with seven dispersed Lancasters and a "J" Type hangar in the background. An unidentified large structure is in the middle background and is surrounded by unidentified items.
Bottom - A photograph showing the rear view of a Lancaster that has apparently force-landed on its belly or suffered an undercarriage collapse. The starboard bomb-bay door is open and a ladder rests against the rear crew access door. Featured is the rear turret, from which the armament has been removed, that has suffered damage to the central glazed panel. An adjacent annotation reads: " 'Wimpy' Wellington's return to Coningsby, Aug 1942" and handwriting on the rear of the photo says: "R5700, F/O Wimpy Wellington's return". Both annotation are problematic, however, as Lancaster R5700 is listed in the 106 Squadron Operations Record Book as having forced-landed at RAF Hardwick on 14 Janury 1943, after an attack by a night fighter. The pilot was Sgt PN Reed. P/O RA Wellington's crew flew R5700 on several operations in August 1942, from RAF Coningsby, but there is no evidence of a forced landing in that month.
Description kindly provided by the donor.
Bottom - A photograph showing the rear view of a Lancaster that has apparently force-landed on its belly or suffered an undercarriage collapse. The starboard bomb-bay door is open and a ladder rests against the rear crew access door. Featured is the rear turret, from which the armament has been removed, that has suffered damage to the central glazed panel. An adjacent annotation reads: " 'Wimpy' Wellington's return to Coningsby, Aug 1942" and handwriting on the rear of the photo says: "R5700, F/O Wimpy Wellington's return". Both annotation are problematic, however, as Lancaster R5700 is listed in the 106 Squadron Operations Record Book as having forced-landed at RAF Hardwick on 14 Janury 1943, after an attack by a night fighter. The pilot was Sgt PN Reed. P/O RA Wellington's crew flew R5700 on several operations in August 1942, from RAF Coningsby, but there is no evidence of a forced landing in that month.
Description kindly provided by the donor.
Type
Format
Two b/w photographs mounted on an album page
Publisher
Rights
TThis content is property of the Royal Air Force Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre which has kindly granted the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive a royalty-free permission to publish it. Please note that it was digitised by a third-party which used technical specifications that may differ from those used by International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. It has been published here ‘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.
Identifier
PFOMetheringhamAF26010019
Collection
Citation
“Airfield and Lancaster rear turret,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed September 14, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/61804.