Tag: Bomber Command

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Bomber Crew Escaper: A Wartime Airman’s Fight for Survival and Freedom

Coming soon from Air World and authors Jack Sowter and Ian Richardson is Bomber Crew Escaper: One Wartime Airman’s Story of Baling Out, Capture, Imprisonment and Escape

Sergeant Jack Sowter had joined the RAF in October 1941, originally as a trainee wireless operator. He later re-mustered as a navigator and joined the crew of a Handley Page Halifax of 78 Squadron.

On the night of 27/28 July 1943, Jack’s aircraft, JD 148, was one of 787 bombers tasked with attacking the port of Hamburg as part of Operation Gomorrah. Having successfully unleashed its deadly load on the German city, Jack’s captain, Sergeant Les Maidment, turned for home. However, Maidment could not escape the penetrating beams of the German searchlights, nor the enemy flak. With his aircraft repeatedly hit, Maidment gave his crew the order to bale out. Continue reading Bomber Crew Escaper: A Wartime Airman’s Fight for Survival and Freedom

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Gardening with Bombs: New Book Reveals RAF’s Secret WWII Campaign

New from Tempest and author Jane Gulliford Lowes is The Invisible Campaign: Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940-1945 which details the crucial yet little-known aerial minelaying operations by RAF Bomber Command which successfully disrupted Axis shipping between 1940–1945.

The Invisible Campaign, based on Air Ministry and Admiralty archival material, together with squadron records, veteran accounts and logbooks as well as contemporary publications and press releases, provides the most detailed account of Bomber Command’s minelaying operations and their effects ever written.

Historian Jane Gulliford Lowes looks at the aims of the campaign and how it was implemented, together with the measure of its success and how it compared against the mining operations implemented by the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. The role of Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris in overseeing minelaying operations is assessed and the experiences of the men who delivered the campaign, particularly the hazards they faced, are explored.

Featuring a foreword by renowned historian James Holland, The Invisible Campaign – Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940-1945 sheds new light on a little-discussed but important and ultimately highly successful aspect of Bomber Command and is a must-read for anyone interested the RAF’s in wartime bombing operations.

The 300 page, hardcover title is currently available for pre-order with release slated for December 30.

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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held For Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument [Video]

Earlier today a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a full-scale Avro Lancaster monument that will be placed at Brills Farm adjacent to the A46 on the Lincolnshire / Nottinghamshire border.

As previously reported, the 98-foot-tall steel monument, dubbed “On Freedom’s Wings,” was unanimously approved by the North Kesteven District Council last month. The installation will consist of a steel frame mounted on a slim steel support structure to give the impression of flight, and will depict Lancaster R5689 (pictured above) heading home toward the former RAF base at Swinderby Airfield. It is intended “to remind visitors of Lincolnshire’s inextricable link to the RAF and to act as a catalyst for people to visit the many attractions in the county.”

Today’s event was reportedly attended by WW2 Bomber Command veterans, including Dambuster George “Johnny” Johnson, who assisted in the process. Click below to check out video of the groundbreaking as well as photos of a scale model depicting the monument’s proposed design.

Continue reading Groundbreaking Ceremony Held For Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument [Video]

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Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument Receives Unanimous Approval, Groundbreaking Scheduled

Yesterday, the North Kesteven District Council unanimously approved the planning application for the installation of a full-scale Avro Lancaster monument at Brills Farm adjacent to the A46 on the Lincolnshire / Nottinghamshire border.

The 98-foot-tall steel monument “is intended to remind visitors of Lincolnshire’s inextricable link to the RAF and to act as a catalyst for people to visit the many attractions in the county.” It will be built on high ground in order to depict Lancaster R5689 (pictured above) in flight, heading home toward the former RAF base at Swinderby Airfield.

The Bomber County Gateway Trust reports that WW2 Bomber Command veterans, including Dambuster George “Johnny” Johnson, will break ground at the site during a special ceremony on May 15. When complete, its proposed name will be “On Freedom’s Wings”.

Click below to check out a proposed design for the structure.

Continue reading Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument Receives Unanimous Approval, Groundbreaking Scheduled

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Proposed Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument Recommended for Approval

The Bomber County Gateway Trust’s effort to erect a monument to Bomber Command in Lincolnshire featuring a full-scale representation of the Avro Lancaster is closer to becoming a reality after North Kesteven District Council’s Planning Sub-Committee reportedly received a recommendation to approve proposals for the project.

As previously reported, the monument would represent R5689 (pictured above), which is believed to be the most photographed Lancaster of the war, likely because it was used in literature to train pilots to identify the type. R5689 served with 50 Squadron RAF and crash landed at Thurlby Top Wood while limping home to RAF Swinderby after a mission on September 18, 1942 – an incident that claimed the life of RCAF crew member Sgt. J.R. Gibbons. Continue reading Proposed Full-Scale Avro Lancaster Monument Recommended for Approval