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Bomb aimers briefing 1 March 1944 - Stuttgart
Annotated 'Stuttgart, MINOL YLXZTU'. Shows three bomb loads for operation. Details preselection, delay and false height settings and other information. Includes weights, Window, effort level and marking method. Mentions Pathfinders, route marking and…
Weight table for squadron aircraft 25 February 1944
Title 'A/C AUW'. Table with tare, petrol, Window, spare, actual bomb and take off all up weights. Columns for main (five aircraft), H2S (six aircraft), windfinder crossed out (two aircraft), WS&D H2S crossed out (two aircraft) and H2S (one aircraft)
Bomb aimers briefing 25 February 1944 - Augsburg
Annotated 'Augsburg, MINOL Filled, SXUHOTML'. ) Shows four bomb loads for operation for seven, six, one and two aircraft respectively. Details preselection, delay and false height settings and other information. Includes weights, zero hour, Window,…
Bomb aimers briefing 25 February 1944
Shows two bomb loads each for a single aircraft. Details preselection settings and includes window, route and marking method. On the reverse marking and bombing instructions.
Weight table for squadron aircraft 24 February 1944
Table with tare, petrol, extra Window actual and take off weights for six configurations. Three configurations are H2S and two are backers up.
Bombing notes - Schweinfurt
Covers marking method, route markers, Pathfinders and bombing instructions. Shows five waves with aircraft allocated to each. Details Window and effort level. Annotated 'Schweinfurt' at the bottom left.
Bomb aimers briefing 22 February 1944
Shows four bomb loads for operation. Details preselection, delay and false height settings and other information. Mentions MINOL filled and H2S. Page is struck through and annotated 'Scrubbed' in large red letters. On the reverse two routes, marking…
Interview with Bernie How
Bernie How was 14 when war was declared and remembers aircrew socialising at his father's pub. He volunteered for the RAF at 17 and trained as a flight engineer on Stirlings. He describes a crash on take-off in a Stirling. He completed 35 operations,…
Interview with Bluey Mottershead
Born on a farm in Shropshire, his best friend from his youth joined the Royal Air Force as aircrew and was killed at RAF Honington when a German aircraft bombed the station. A desire for revenge made him enlist for flying duties in January 1941. He…
Interview with Thomas James Page
Thomas Page grew up in a farming family before joining the Royal Air Force in 1940, training as a flight mechanic. He was initially posted to 257 Squadron (Hurricanes) but soon went to Gloucester to train as a fitter from where he was posted to 71…
Interview with Thomas Peter Payne. Two
Tom joined the Air Training Corps as a deferred service airman even though he was under-age. In April 1942 he received his call up papers to report to the Air Crew Reception Centre at St John’s Wood before being posted to Ludlow. He then went to…
Notes on RAF Foulsham
Squadron Leader A N Banks, Station Intelligence officer, RAF Foulsham notes that the station was engaged on special duties with two squadrons, one of Halifax and the other Mosquito. Halifax was used for dropping window and the Mosquito with radio…
Letter from Arthur NM Banks to Paul
Letter from Squadron Leader Arthur NM Banks to acquaintance Paul concerning an incident where at RAF Foulsham where a Halifax landed on top of a Mosquito. Aircraft were from 192 Squadron conducting special operations. Halifax windowed in front of…
Jack Warner’s navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book
Navigator's, air bomber's and air gunner's flying log book for Jack Warner, flight engineer. Covering the period from 2 July 1943 to 28 January 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Topcliffe, RAF Leeming,…
Interview with an anonymous interviewee (An00509)
The interviewee was born in Berlin in 1924, his father being a British Army surgeon who was posted there to treat badly wounded soldiers. He went to school in France then attended boarding school in Hertfordshire. He volunteered for the Royal Air…
WO Donald Keith Fraser
Memoir describing his life and service career in the RAF. He also gives a list of 29 operations he participated in with notes on specific operations, and recounts a brief history of the Lancaster.
Aviation Memory
A detailed account of Reg Payne's service in the RAF. He starts with a list of 18 RAF bases where he served in his 5 years of service. He was 16 when war was declared but volunteered for the RAF at 17. After tests he was selected for training as a…
Before I was in the RAF by Reg Payne
An account by Reg Payne of his wartime experiences. Too young to sign up at the start of the war he spent two years in the Home Guard. Training started at age 18 and lasted for two years. He served at RAF Skellingthorpe and his brother served at RAF…
Interview with William Frederick Chubb
Bill Chubb had several challenges in his early life and his father died when Bill was 12. After several jobs he joined the RAF as a flight engineer. He became part of a Canadian crew, despite some objection! Bill tells many tales of his RAF time,…
Interview with Harry Hooper
Harry Hooper enjoyed watching the planes at Heston Airfield as a child. He volunteered for the RAF in 1939 and began training to be a pilot. He flew with 115 Squadron and undertook operations over Northern France and Germany using Gee, including…
Interview with Harry Hughes
Harry Hughes volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1940 and trained in America, where he was washed out as a pilot and then retrained as a navigator in Canada, flying Ansons and Wellingtons. In 1942 he converted to Halifaxes and flew operations with…
Interview with Peter Lovatt
Peter enrolled in the Air Training Corp before joining the Royal Air Force. He went to Walney Island, the Air Gunnery School, and was given the option of becoming a Bevin Boy or an air gunner choosing the latter. Following training on Ansons he…
Interview with Bob Leedham
Bob Leedham was a flight engineer who carried out twenty-one operations on Stirlings. At the outbreak of war Bob was an apprentice motor mechanic, and along with other apprentices, was left to operate the garage when all the engineers were called up.…
Interview with Geoff Packham
Geoff’s father had been in the Royal Flying Corps and Geoff joined the Royal Air Force at RAF Cardington. He was posted to various stations before going to Halifax in Canada to train as a pilot on Tiger Moths and then Oxfords.
On his return, Geoff…
On his return, Geoff…
Raid Assessments
Five 'raid assessments' carried out at RAF Spilsby. Detail of problems encountered in each operation. Final sheet is an extract from Operations Record Book by three different Lancasters.