Famous WW2 Aircraft

TexasHighlander

TexasHighlander

Active member
Just curious to see if yall know of some famous ww2 aircraft.


The Memphis Belle was an 8th Airforce B-17g. It was the first aircraft to complete its 25 missions and return home.
 
There's a good book about exactly this topic by Eric Brown. Only can give you the german titel though
Berühmte Flugzeuge der Luftwaffe 1939 - 1945.
 
Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown Royal Navy was an extraordinary man and pilot. He is credited with flying more aeroplane types then anyone in history, the first to land a jet on a carrier, the highest decorated pilot in the Fleet Air Arm and holds the world record for carrier deck landings.

After WW2 he commanded the Enemy Aircraft Flight.

He finally gave up flying aged 70 years.
 
A photograph that I took many years ago of a B17 making a low level pass at RAF Station Biggin Hill, the logo on the plane was Memphis Belle


86b82d4c.jpg
 
"T" Tommy

"T" Tommy, one of 617 Squadrons Lancaster Bombers which attacked the Sorpe Dam. After the raid she was reconverted back to standard and was later shot down on another raid over the Ruhr.

George "Johnny" Johnson bomb aimer on “T” Tommy during the Dambusters raid manged to find the crash site during a recent his tour of the Ruhr Dams. A archaeologist team dug up what remains there were of “T” Tommy including the perspex window through which Johnny Johnson aimed his bomb site.
 
BritinAfrica said:
"T" Tommy, one of 617 Squadrons Lancaster Bombers which attacked the Sorpe Dam. After the raid she was reconverted back to standard and was later shot down on another raid over the Ruhr.

George "Johnny" Johnson bomb aimer on “T” Tommy during the Dambusters raid manged to find the crash site during a recent his tour of the Ruhr Dams. A archaeologist team dug up what remains there were of “T” Tommy including the perspex window through which Johnny Johnson aimed his bomb site.
Click to expand...

I have just finished watching a documentary on this exact thing, they identified the aircraft by finding the gun mounting for an experimental belly turret, only about 3 Lancasters had the mounting and the others were accounted for.

They went to all of Dambusters crash sites during the course of the show and explained what happened where the crews were buried.

LeEnfield said:
A photograph that I took many years ago of a B17 making a low level pass at RAF Station Biggin Hill, the logo on the plane was Memphis Belle


86b82d4c.jpg
Click to expand...

I cant imagine they could get a hell of a lot lower than that without the wheels down.
 
Famous WW2 Bombers

G for George - W4783 was delivered to No. 460 (R.A.A.F) Squadron on 27 October 1942, where it became "G" for George.

It went on the first of its ninety operations on the night of December 5/6th, 1942 to Mannheim. During its sixteen months of operations, it was flown by 29 different pilots and taking into account the various crews, some 200 different men, mostly Australians, flew in this Lancaster during its 664 flying hours with the Squadron. Several crews completed their tours on this machine. Its first pilot was Flight Sergeant J.A. Saint Smith and alongside the bomb insignia to signify each bombing sortie appeared a Leslie Charteris "Saint" insignia. On the night of January 13/17th George operated against Berlin taking a war correspondent as passenger, and returned with 13 flak holes for him to write about!

 George first operated from Breighton, until June 4th, 1943 when the squadron moved by air to Binbrook. The ground crews and equipment were moved in Horsa gliders while the aircrew flew in their Lancasters.

​
Some unusual incidents occurred on the night of October 22/23 in an electrical storm on the way both to and from the target - Kassel. Balls of fire, other than German pyrotechnics, were observed and blue flames of St. Elmo's fire appeared to dance on the propellers. Worst of all, a lump of ice hurtled through the Perspex side window and struck the flight engineer on the head, causing minor injuries.
g4g04.jpg

The old war horse "G" for George with its crew at the time, P-O CHERRY CARTER, the Pilot standing in the middle, with Sgt. HARRY TICKLE (fourth from the left) who was responsible for the bomber's maintenance, and its ground crew.
Strike and Return by Peter Firkins​


In the air "G" for George was damaged over twenty times by enemy action and once when on the last day of August 1943, over Munchen Gladbach, and incendiary dropped from another bomber in No. 460 Squadron's Lancaster catastrophe already related. On April 22nd, 1944, after its 90th and last operation the previous day, it was officially retired from operations.


This was the aircraft that was presented to Australia in mid-1944 for display in the War Museum at Canberra. It was extensively overhauled for its flight and the unit letters AR-G disappeared but the bomb silhouettes remained together with a small "G" on the nose.

​
The crew :-
Captain Flt. Lt. E.A. Hudson, D.F.C. & Bar of Rockhampton
Second Pilot Flg. Off. E.P. Smith, D.F.C., of Newcastle
Navigator Flg. Off. W.C. Gordon, D.F.C., of Raleigh
Bomb Aimer Flg. Off. T.V. McCarthy, D.F.C. & Bar, of Brisbane
W. Op./Air Gunner Flg. Off. G.H. Tindale, D.F.M., of Cremorne
W. Op./Air Gunner Flg. Off Young, D.F.M., of Matraville
Fitter Flt. Sgt. H. Tickle, of Adelaide
Fitter Sgt. K.A. Ower, of Telamon​


George left Prestwick on October 11th, 1944. A message before take-off was received from H.R.H The Duke of Gloucester, the Governor General Designate of Australia, who sent a good-will message wishing them a safe voyage and hoping that George would be joined by many Australia-built Lancasters.


George finally reached Australia at 11:32 a.m. on November 8th 1944 when it landed at R.A.A.F Amberley, to the west of Brisbane.

​

g4g03.jpg

"G" for George W4783, the Lancaster now preserved for the Australian War Museum, at Archerfield Airfield, Brisbane, Queensland, during a wartime Loans Rally.
"Lancaster, The Story of a Famous Bomber" by Bruce Robertson​


On 6 April 1945, "G" for George flew in formation over Brisbane with nine Beaufighters of 93 Squadron, six Liberators, nine Mustangs, three Kittyhawks, and one Boston as part of the "Victory Loan" campaign. 93 Squadron had earned the nickname the "Victory Loan" Squadron buy raising over 8,000 Pounds towards the Victory Loan fund.


By July 1945 "G" for George had become surplus and was parked out in the open, but when the Netherlands East Indies aircraft moved from Canberra in late August 1945 and made space available, it was stored at Station Headquarters earmarked for the Australian War Museum. Meanwhile the original Queenie was at No. 7 O.T.U East Sale for synthetic training pending the introduction of Lincolns. In February, 1946, it was transferred to Tocumwal, New South Wales and the following November was converted to Instructional airframe No. 1. Queenie was broken up in mid-1948, leaving "G" for George the sole Lancaster survivor in Australia - until recently.

(excerpts above from 460Sqn related site)
 
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