Lancaster
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- 125,000 men volunteered to fight for RAF Bomber Command during World War II. 55,573 never returned.
From the dusky English coast to the flak filled night skies of war-torn Europe, 'Lancaster' tells the story of a young bomber crew as they fly one final daring night raid over occupied France in the face of insurmountable odds.
‘Lancaster’ explores the human, personal experience of the war that raged in the skies during WWII, the reality of the bravery and fear, the indiscriminate nature of combat and the impact on the individual.
From award-winning director Philip Stevens and award-winning producer Tom Walsh, ‘Lancaster’ is a powerful and moving portrayal of the courage and sacrifices of the men who took to the air in the name of duty during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War.
Written and Directed by Philip Stevens
Produced by Tom Walsh
Director of Photography - Stewart MacGregor
Production Designer - Amy Nicholson
Editing and VFX - Tom Walsh
Music - Lee Gretton
Sound Design & Mixing - Chris Hainstock
Colourist - Boyko Stankov
Executive Producers - Sam Wardhan & Lorrie Stock
Boy - Lincoln Cupples
Pilot/Skipper - Mark Burman
Bomb Aimer - Philip Stevens
Flight Engineer - James Richards
Navigator - Joe Richardson
Wireless Operator - Lewis Gemmill
Mid Upper Gunner - Giles Kristian
Rear Gunner - William Clayton
Eleanor - Kirsty Averton
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Here in France we know how high has been the price paid by the RAF to free France. As a former NCO of the French Air Force, I salute each and all of those who have fought and died for our freedom.
Thank you. My dad always felt bad about bombing France, but he saw it as one of the ways to flush out and drive back the Germans in order to end a war. Unlike many (mostly post War generation with connections with the Army) he never called the French cowards, but quietly said being occupied is an unpleasant experience (he was a master of the British understatement), and we should not judge people trying to survive. RIP Dad.
I recently discovered my great uncle who I was told was lost is actually buried in a French cemetery. Thank you to your country for looking after him and his crew. It means a lot.
While serving in the Royal Navy I was assigned to H.M.S. Mersey, a Royal Navy Reserve minesweeper for special exercises. After, three minesweepers went to St. Malo, north France and spent a week there. I went to a quiet bar by myself one evening and started talking to the owner/bartender, a lady of about 40 years of age. During our talk, I noted a Croix de Geurre propped up on the bar. I mentioned that and she told me the story of how she had been part of the French Resistance and she told me that many people in St. Malo had done the same. Many people, especially the great unwashed in England, poo-pah the bravery of the French during WWII. While talking to her, a few others came in the bar and they had also been in the Resistance. I learnt many things from them, especially that they appreciated what the British did to help them during the war, and their disdain for many of the French politicians during the war who mainly did nothing to help their war effort and that included de Gaulle who they considered as a runaway because he went to England and really did nothing to help them, only himself.
'nuf sed
Thank you !!
Both my Grandfathers were with the BEF & evacuated at Dunkerque . Both of them told me the French Army fought like lions to hold back the germans . Even tho they knew they were on a loser. So a force could get back to the UK & regroup. Then eventually liberate France & the rest of occupied Europe . The French are far from pushovers & despite our history & differences.. They remain one of our biggest allies to this day.
My Uncle Billy flew the Lancaster's as well as other bombers in WW2. He was 20 years old at the time. He made it home in one piece. He was a patriot and a gentleman. RIP Ernest William
Just had me in tears~ I lost my dad over Harburg, Nov 11,1944, in Lancaster DX-H 57 Sqd. He was the rear gunner. What stunned me was that in the movie the Rear Gunner was nicknamed Titch, the same as my dad, The real shocker was to hear another says his wife was Maisie, my mothers name! I lost it right there. I have often visited "Just Jane" at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage museum while attending 57 Squadron Reunions from the USA! Wow did this bring it home again! It looked like the gentleman that spoke at the end was wearing a 57 Sqd Lapel pin, can anyone confirm please. A wonderful tribute and so well done, Thanks to all involved in this wonderful production!
My God, how heartbreaking. One day I pray we will all be united in peace and there will be no more loss of precious lives.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It must have deeply affected your life, I can not imagine your loss or pain.
Your father was a good man, you should be proud to be his son mate.
The comments here sound so staged , its just like hassbar shills, 😊
@alisonhilll4317 True lol
My father flew 57 missions in the second world war and died this week aged 97
Nick Taylor I am sorry for your loss I’m sure he was a great man
Thank you for his service he's a hero among many others
Rest in peace sir
I wish you long life and the blessing of happy memories.
my grandfather Sgt A.J. Laney was at normandy beach, got shot 8 times and kept going. he died in 95.
My Dad was a Navigater on Lancastors in WW 2 ;- they sure had guts to do what they did.. He survived the War and Died in 2004, R. I. P Dad..
Mine too. I wish he was still here.
Most of the crews were barely out of their teens, yet proved themselves to be men of the highest order. I am humbled at their selflessness.
You call these men of the highest order? I don't see how cowardly blowinf up cities and people from the air is in any way glorious.
@@removankebabzic887
When you learn how to spell feel free to get back to me.
In the meantime why don't you educate yourself and learn who started this carnage.
Here's a hint, it wasn't the British.
@@davewilson9772 In my little village in the Netherlands we have 4 British airman buried at the graveyard. They got shot down in 1940 close to my home in a Handley Page Hamden , every 4th of May ( our memorial day ) we honor them for giving their lives for our freedom. they were all in the early 20s
@@bertstokroos6138 That's why I have a problem with the above video. The pilot looks like he's over 40. Rarely were they over 30. Bad casting.
All wars are bankers wars , international zionist bankers the Rothchilds declared war on Germany in 1933 after Hitler took back control of the German central bank from rothchilds and locked one up ( Kennedy was about to take back the federal reserve from international zionist bankers), because hyper inflation was making Germans walk with a wheel barrow full of paper money to buy a loaf of bread , do some research try Churchills " zionism vs bolshevism " or Henry Ford's " The International Jew " then just research Rothchilds front man George Sorros who's, funding NGOs like IsraAid and then just listen to Barbara Lerner Spectre, also research the USS Liberty ect .
my dad was a twenty year old navigator on halifaxes in the later parrt of the war when their odds were a little better , a mixed crew of aussies and poms. no safe spaces ove the night skies of germany. will a always be my hero . RIP. luv u dad. so happy to come across this , the tears are pouring out as i write this.
Bill Hunter my wife's uncle was mid upper gunner in 466 Squadron. Killed on bombing raid to Magdeburg Germany.
Well said Bill, we had many Aussies,Kiwis, Poles, Canadians and Rhodesians and South Africans at the airfields around where I lived in Britain, all fighting for the same cause. We should thank all these amazingly brave individuals. Terry Offord
to me they were all heroes, amazing how all the different commonwealth nations flew in the crews
Bill, my Dad was also a navigator on Halifaxes. He was born in 1912, and was definitely one of the older members of aircrew. He did 32 trips [actually 34 but trips to the French coast were only counted as half a trip]. He survived.
My granddad was also a 20 year old Halifax MkIII crewman in the later stages of the war- 1944 onwards with 578 Squadron based at Burn in Yorkshire, with a Canadian bomber squadron. He was the signaller. Thank God for all the heroes from around the Commonwealth who took up arms alongside our grandparents. May their sacrifice never be forgotten.
Our father Group Captain N.S. Dickie Dower passed away at Christmas 2020 at 99 years-old. RIP Dad ❤
Thank you for service sir! HOORAH
@@EVERYDAYLAWNCARE Thank-you 🍻
Group Captain N.S Dickie Dower I salute you and your comrades RIP sir and thank you for your magnificent courage
One of my uncles piloted a Lancaster. He survived being shot down once, and flew again, in a brand new Lanc. He and his crew were all Australian.
461 460 RAAF ?
"One of my uncles"; not very believable: name, squadron, can the affiliation to yourself be checked, etc?
@@elrjames7799 Gee what an arse you are
@@d.thomasmoore3020 Thanks: very much appreciated, I'm sure.
@@elrjames7799 There's an excellent book titled LANCASTER, written by M Garbutt & B Goulding, the contents include Names/Ranks of the Major Australian Squadrons who fought As Australian Squadrons and also Aussies who flew with Mixed Crews, Poms Canucks, Aussies,Kiwis Poles,etc listed also are the Air Bases they flew from, the Aircraft Registration Numbers/Sqdns and where known, Crashes/shot downs and accidents are listed, some with photographs of the actual aircraft. Quite a few with Photographs of the crews. As a Pom, I had relations who lived near a few Bomber stations where I was, as a kid, able to see/meet the brave and amazing men who flew from Lincoln bases and some Yorkshire bases, I actually lived four miles from the Yeadon A>V> Roe Factory where the Lancs were built. hence my particular interest, I respectfully suggest that you try find the book Originally written 1971 but reprinted seven times, the latest being 1999. ISBN 1- 85648-055-0 The book actually includes a picture of a Lancaster shown in Leeds Yorkshire, P-Peter 97 Sqdn Straits Settlements B1 Model Reg No R5552 OF-P (This aircarft did 47 Sorties.I can not forget that I recall seeing this as a very small boy (6 years old) that was 77 years ago!!!Best of luck. Terry Offord
Just completed research into an RCAF pilot who flew the Lancaster in 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, RAF......He flew nine combat bombing missions....his last being a night bombing raid on the German Navy U-Boat pens at Lorient, France in February of 1943. After dropping their bomb load, their Lancaster was hit by Anti-Aircraft fire and then seen turning away from the U-Boat pen target area, heading due west out over the Atlantic and........was never heard of again. No crew remains nor aircraft parts were ever seen and thus they "failed to return" to their station at RAF Waddington. The crew were comprised of the pilot, Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Officer John Millar, six other RCAF aircrew and two RAF aircrew. John's older brother, Lieutenant William Millar of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) had been captured as a Prisoner of War during the 19 August 1942 Operation Jubilee raid on Dieppe......then repeatedly attempted escape as a POW no fewer than four times, ending up in the Oflag IVC POW camp, Colditz (the highest level of security camp for officers who had a record of attempted escapes)....where in January 1944, he successfully escaped, travelling to Czechoslovakia, where he was recaptured from his fifth escape, and subjected to the German state security service (SD) order "Kugel Erlass" (Bullet Decree), whereby all recaptured escaping POWs were ordered into Gestapo custody, taken to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria and shot by the SS, body cremated and ashes scattered in June 1944. Thus he, like his brother John, has no known grave......
May they both rest in peace, never forgotten.....
Absolutely correct Scott Fuller:: Amazingly ,the simple minded 'Revisionists' who show a tendency toward being pro NAZI' would deny this information or perhaps even turn it around to show how 'evil' those brave bomber crews were Terry Offord.
Can we ever honour such men enough? No, but we can actively fight for the same values they sought to preserve. Particularly now there is a serious attempt to foist by subversion, Islam with it's barbarous Sharia laws onto our societies and our children.
Amazing story Scott. And a very sad one. I'm always amazed by these stories of bravery. Thanks for sharing this one with us. It keeps their memories alive and in a way, gives John Millar and Willaim Millar a place to be remembered.
Bless em 😢💔..
(/-\)..
@@terryofford4977 they weren't evil guys.just normal guys in their 20s who fought in their opinion the nazis and probably they werent thinking about whom they actually killed.
But even if you despite the missions they had you have to admit they must have had enormous balls going in this flying coffins over germany.
My best friends father was transferred from the Infantry to the RAF to be a rear gunner in a Lancaster because of the heavy losses of bomber crews. He survived the war but suffered from " nerves" for the rest of his life.
“When you go Home, tell them of us and say,
For your Tomorrow, we gave our Today”
We will remember!!
My father was a country yokel from Hinderwell , North Yorkshire and went to join the R.A.F. at Binbrook as a teenager where he was trained as a wireless operator /air gunner on Lancasters other wise known as a WOP/AG . He met my mother at Grimsby . The last words I ever heard him say was that he has a WOP/AG on Lancasters whilst some youth made fun of him at Princess of Wales Hospital , Scartho , Grimsby after he had a heart attack ! Next thing I got a phone call from the hospital to say he had passed away ! Only 57 ! So proud of his service !
My great uncle survived the war flying as a wireless operator, my uncle died in the rear turret of a lancaster, I joined in 76 till 85 and this really moves me because I know that I could never be as brave as these men. Never forget.
My Dad and Granddad were both RAF.
The lads that went up in those tin cans, getting strafed and and taking flack. No idea if this was the last mission, where they give all they have to give.
Nerves of steep. Greatest generation!
Well done film. For those who have actually been in combat, they recognize the detachment of the crew to the danger they face. It is testament to their courage and their dedication that they flew into battle night after night doing their jobs with professionalism and energy. Thank you, Royal Air Force, for your service and your sacrifice. I agree with the previous comment. This deserves a full feature treatment.
My best friends father enlisted as a pilot with about 30 guys from his home town. His graduating class at flight school had over 170 guys just as pilots. He was shot down on his first mission over Germany and was the only crewman from his airplane that survived. After the war was over, he returned home to find out that out of his flight school class and all of the guys he enlisted with, he was the only one who survived the war. His entire life after the war was fairly typical, got married, raised a family, had a good job teaching math and coaching football at a local school. But just before he died he told his children the stories of his captivity and the guilt he felt being the only survivor. Sadness followed him daily, even though he tried bravely to not show it. My father, who was his best friend at work, once told me that the man carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, I never really knew what that meant until I heard the final stories of my friends fathers service. The pain of war will never replace the woe of the aftermath. Those men saved a nation.
My granduncle was a tailgunner in a Lancaster. His crew flew a dozen missions, but all were K.I.A. after being shot down on Dec.31, 1944.
May all those brave men.
Rest in peace.
Their likes will never come again.
Bless them all.
Lest we forget.
There was an unusually large draw of young men from my high school who served as bomber crews in the Royal and Royal Canadian Air Force in WW2. A documentary entitled 'The Boys From Kelvin High' is heart breaking as mere teenagers and the senior 'old' guys of a mere 21 years-old went into the meat grinder night after night losing 50% of the crews during the course of WW2. Following in their footsteps two generations later, 30+ years of military service cannot measure up to their sacrifice.
Proud Canadian veteran saluting those who served before us.
Which "high school" would that be then, eh?
@@elrjames7799 Kelvin High School. It's in Winnipeg.
@@andrewcharles459 "How far is Winnipeg from Montreal?"
@@elrjames7799 A little over 2,200 km.
My great uncle was a RAAF pilot assigned to RAF Bomber Command "Pathfinder" SQN flying a Lancaster. He was not required to fly since he completed his tour with the RAF, and just waiting on his transportation papers to return home. But he decided to go on one more mission to Berlin while he waited, and on the return leg was intercepted over Holland by a German night fighter. His Lancaster was hit, and Dutch villagers reported the crippled bomber was deliberately steered away from the town it was flying over, before crashing just outside of town. Instead of bailing out and letting the bomber crash inside the town the pilot and crew sacrificed themselves. People from the town retrieved the bodies and gave them a proper burial, and even today they still tend to the graves of those men.
AUSSIEDAVEROCKS m
That's an amazing story. My respect
AUSSIEDAVEROCKS That’s a great story.
A true story......
Dambusters pilot Les Knight honoured by Dutch village
Remembering Dambuster Les Knight DSO permanent memorial to Australian pilot Les Knight can be seen in the village of Den Ham where he is buried A memorial service has been held to commemorate a pilot who saved his seven-man crew and a Dutch village during World War Two.
Flt Lt Les Knight was killed during a Dambusters raid on Germany in 1943.
After his Lancaster bomber was badly damaged he is said to have steered the aircraft away from Den Ham, in the Netherlands, before crashing outside the village.
The service was held in Den Ham to mark the 75th anniversary of his death.
Les Knight was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery
Flt Lt Knight was a member of 617 Squadron, based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, and had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery during raids on three German dams four months earlier.
The 22-year-old Australian was taking part in another raid on 16 September 1943 when his low-flying aircraft hit a tree.
He told his crew to bail out and flew his aircraft away from Den Ham, saving its inhabitants, said Melvin Chambers, who organised the memorial service.
"We regard Les Knight as a saviour of our village," he said.
"The local villagers actually hid five of Knight's crew and helped them get back safely to England.
"We're very fortunate to have traced family members of some of the crew. They are in the village right now and it's the first time they've been together since Les Knight sacrificed his life."
Fred Sutherland was one of the crew members saved by Knight during the Dambusters air raid 75 years ago.
Les Knight was also a Dambuster, that's how he got his DSO. Knight was killed later the same year while taking part in Operation Garlic, the Dortmund Ems Canal raid. His aircraft hit a tree and after ensuring the crew bailed out, he could not land the aircraft. It was Knight's bouncing bomb that finished off the Eder dam during Operation Chastise.
Heart wrenching, this should be shown in schools so the few little thugs can see what real men only a few years older did so they could have their today.
If I know the kids from my school theyd make fun of their accent and masks
@@Use-or-Lose how so? it seemed pc to me
@@Use-or-Lose still what would stop them from showing it in school?
@@Use-or-Lose nah, they'd still show us the movie even if they thought it was a warcrime
@@Use-or-Lose but the germans were also bombing the heck out of Brittan as well
My father was a navigator in the RCAF and finished his tour on August 8th, 1944 which was also his birthday. He was 24. He was awarded the DFC.
As an ex RAF guy, I was sickened at the Brit government's attitude toward Bomber Command re the Bombing of Germany, yet the same government gave a medal to Chin Peng, the communist leader (of the Malayan Terrorist campaign,1949-60) Chin Peng was also in the Victory March, Bomber command were not even represented! Thanks to the Australian POP Group 'The BEE GEES' a superb Memorial was eventually to be built and dedicated to the fifty plus thousand men (all volunteers) of Bomber Command. The Hypocrisy of the politicians it appears is an integral part of their nature, Politicians are 'in it' for one thing only, THEMSELVES and they are prepared to go to extreme lengths to get a mention or a Medal of 'Honor' for 'Service indeed,' like many Lawyers, politicians are in the same 'box, Me, Myself and I and if there's anything left it's ME again.Disgusting low life. Thank God for the men of Bomber Command without whom, Britain would be speaking German.Terry Offord
Skipper looks old. My Mums cousin was 24 and a Lancaster Squadron Leader shot down over Holland by German night fighter. A group we should never forget.
Being in that cockpit probably adds about 10 years to you. Ever notice how in old war photos all the boys going off to fight look like teenagers but all the ones just coming out of combat look 40?
John Everidge what village did the plane crash?
Rather suspect a "my mum's cousin" assertion because that would be your cousin also, if true.
I didn't realise the fact that B17 pilots had a higher life expectancy than their Lancaster counterparts.
My Dad was a tail gunner, I have his log book, 300 miles on one engine, shot up by FW, etc, He was an Irish volunteer, ended up in the RCAF, flew one tour and a bit, a stint in the pathfinders, etc, came home to Ireland and treated as less than dirt. The tried for a time to talk about it but none was interested. Lest we forget!
I salute your Dad.
My uncle volunteered and completed 32 Ops as a Navigator in a Lanc. My Dad said he was never the same afterwards, he wouldn't drive at night for example. An intensel private and quiet man, he never, ever discussed his wartime experiences. He died in his 60's. I loved him.
My dad was a navigator in the Eighth Air Force, I asked him how did they get anyone to go twice. He didn't answer.
12% of flight crews never made it beyond training. 17's 29's
No offense to the British bu the Americans flew in broad daylight.
@@stephenpowstinger733 only because the Brits knew the dangers of daylight bombing thus switched to night bombing , the lanc could carry more bombs then the b17
I would never take away from the payload of powerful Lancaster and the brave crews that manned her but somebody had to do the precision but more dangerous daylight bombing and we Americans did it. In those days relations between the two leading world powers, U.S. and Great British, was strong but disagreement plagued the allies throughout the war. At some points the dissension hampered the war effort. Churchill was a great and inspirational leader but some of his ideas reflected the mere desire to preserve his precious Empire.
G.B., with allies, won the war but the aftermath was such devastation to the whole British economy that you would have thought they lost. the people threw conservative leaders like Churchill out and went on a foolish nationalization spree. All that beautiful military hardware like the Lancaster was suddenly useless against the new enemy who fought by different methods.
My Grandfather was a rear gunner for Lancs He survived the war. Being a rear gunner he saw the mesesmits coming at him, prayed to god he would not be hit, for out of all the crew, his compartment was so tight he had no parachute. Thank you Grand Pa and all who served to keep us free. We will never be able to repay the debt.........bowing.
The Doctor My biological father was also a rear gunner. I only remember meeting him once when he was in hospital I was maybe 5-6. He died not long not after that. I remember that he had horrible scarring across his torso from from being shot up in the war. Seems he was quite a character and lived a colourful life. I would have loved to have got to know him but sadly never had the chance.
Remarkable short film. There are surviving recordings of Lancaster crews made during their missions, and the actors in this short sound exactly like them. Very casual and laid-back, very matter-of-fact, like they're commenting on a cricket match as opposed to a situation in which their lives could end at any moment. They sound unflappable. This is an excellent recreation.
All air crews were volunteers, if they showed the slightest bit of fear/ nerves or refused to fly they were convicted of LMF (lack of moral fibre) stripped of their rank and sentenced to 2 years hard labour for cowardice if face of the enemy. Many were scared witless to go up time after time but they had to hide it
@@cgmillington that doesn't sound like volunteering to me.
@@enriquemunoz704 yup no-one was drafted into the air force
A neighbor from my childhood was a Scottish immigrant to the US. During the war, he was one of "The Few", and shot down 6 German bombers during the Battle of Britain. He flew Hurricanes at that time.
Later in the war, he transitioned to Typhoons, flying ground attack and tactical bombing missions. He was shot down twice - the first time by an FW-190, the second by ground fire.
After the first time, he managed to evade capture and found allied troops - free Polish infantry, if memory serves. The second time, he was captured and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.
I once asked him how frightened he was. He responded that, after the first combat sortie, it's all adrenaline and the fear is pushed to the background, but still there.
He added that getting shot down was terrifying, but nothing compared to the dread of getting back into a plane after that. Nothing but white knuckles and eyeballs.
He described it as, gambling against the odds with borrowed money when you're already in debt to the house.
Great uncle was tail gunner in Lanc. Never came back. The greatest generation, turning in their graves in 2020.
brave men looked death in the eye while people now will beat you to a bloody pulp for not wearing a mask/being submissive.
Storm the beaches in 2020?! Like fuck. Storm the pubs and KFC after lock-down more like.
Lancaster Crew of 2020.
"John Lad, reports of a 110 hanging back low stalking our stream, keep a close eye out for him"
"I'm sorry, but did you just ASSUME my gender. When we get back I'm filing for a hate crime. You're worse than the nazis."
@@paulgoodsort1824 lol! people of today would only storm Omaha Beach if there was fast food joints behind the seawall.
What is so great in killing people and then get killed? It is stupid.
My history teacher at school had been a tail gunner in Lancaster. He was part of the Pathfinder squadron(s). They had a special insignia on their uniform but the Germans figured out what it meant and it resulted in much harsher interrogations for any aircrew captured. So they took off the insignia but then the Germans realized that if there were two holes in the uniform in just the right place that was where the pathfinder insignia had attached. So they had to get new uniforms.
Amazingly, Mr Lewis said he never even saw a German 'plane, due -- in his telling -- to the excellence of their navigator who kept them right in the middle of the formation. He was a hero to us 10 year olds.
My father in law flew 26 missions as a tail gunner in a Lancaster.
I remember him telling me that his job when over the target was to watch for bombs from above. He had the pilot do a hard left one night and bombs from above fell through the gap between the right wing and the tail. He saved them all that night.
Last year in spring I cycled through France from Toulouse. My goal was the Normandy Beaches. It is one thing reading and dreaming about what it must have been like in my youth, and surreal to be in the very locations. At a campsite in Esnandes, I met an older couple scouting out their retirement in an RV. In a chat over beer and sodas, the burly Englishman told me his grandfather was a tailgunner on a Lancaster. He is buried somewhere in Germany. He passed along to me wisdom only realized and understood by survivors of those noble young men.
I would love to hear
55.573 killed, including my uncle April 1943 (my mother still talks about the last time she saw him). Their graves are scattered throughout Europe, please take the time to pay your respects. We will remember them.
'Enemy Coast Ahead' by Guy Gibson is an excellent source if you really want to understand the RAF (and Bomber Command) during the first years of war.
There are 3 outstanding books - generally considered as classics - written about Bomber Command in WWII. They are essential reading on the subject:
1) "Enemy coast ahead" - Guy Gibson.
2) "No moon tonight" - Don Charlwood
3) "Lancaster Target" - Jack Currie
yep, we got one close by me in denmark. every year we get a scotsman out that stands in the bell tower playing his bagpipe for the crews that were shot down and killed over the area. and im pretty sure the homefront fly a missing man formation as well to honour them
That is an exceptional short film. The tension of the flight and the personal moments are amazing.....
I probably owe the very possibility of my existence to the true bravery of those who were fighting the Germans. But that probability contains a painful irony as my parents’ home was in Rotterdam; a city bombed by both the oppressor as well as the liberator. My mother served in a Red Cross squad which recovered bodies of men, women and children from buildings that were hit during the raids. The emotional scars of her experience did never heal. Indeed, the NAZIs were hated in our home, but the deep drone of the British night bombers had caused too much pain for celebration. War has nothing glorious about it; it is cold and miserable.
Yes, there absolutely nothing glorious in killing other human being.
Largest percentage of comments is about being thankful, about bravery and freedom.
The smallest of the smallest condemn war.
War itself is what has to be avoided.
How?
Education, love....
I have had the privilege of meeting a Lancaster pathfinder navigator who flew 35 missions, he was so humble. he received the DFC but said he was just doing his job. RIP Don Cruden.
There is an excellent radio play done by the BBC which is a narration of Len Deighton's book Bomber. It is excellently done. Well worth a listen.
PLEASE post the link!!!
I was just about to recommend that remarkable book.
Have a recording of that a brilliant drama.
Read it decades ago but the imagary it generated is still with me. A very powerfull book.
You can find it on youtube by searching. Someone has posted it in four parts. I only recently found it myself and now have it saved in a 'playlist' so I can listen again
May I recommend a wonderful book on the subject called 'Bomber' by Len Deighton.
Read that eons ago. Quite a stunning novel. Good rec
A superb book.
RIP boys, Lest we forget. From Australia, with sincere love.
In Australia we DO NOT FORGET God Bless them all.
We never forget down here. Keith Miller was a Mosquito Bomber pilot before he was a test cricket hero. More heroism than I will ever possess. God Bless.
Thanks to the Aussies for all that they did.
Ditto for us Kiwi's.
@@terryofford4977 Not true we forget the Korean War servicemen and we have forgotten about the Boer War servicemen during ANZAC days
Winning a world war is not done by the feint hearted, not without great sacrifice. Lest we forget - all of them!
Great Men and the Greatest Generation!
Being on any bomber crew is WW2 would have been balls to the wall, my hats off to these men. I'll take my chances on the ground boys 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Medic Randy until the 88mm mg34 and fighters open up on your ass
Wow Tom
You and your crew did a fantastic job on this short film. An excellent story, well told.
This was so absolutely amazing! I had a friend who was stationed in England during the war.
What struck me the most was the very end scene where the elderly gentlemen spoke aboutWatching the planes coming back and finding out who made it and who didn't.
It was exactly what my friend said
It was the only time I got him to talk about the war
and the only time I saw him cry
He was part of the Mighty 8thThank you for making this film.
I am a volunteer at the Commemorative Air Force in Mesa AZ where we are so fortunate to have TWO B17G pilots still with us Every Saturday. They both flew 25 or more missions over Europe and take precious tome at their age (98 and 100) to spend with visitors and tell stores about their experiences. God Bless their humble dedication 🙏 thank you for sharing your stories!
The first mistake was to bring a photo of his sweetheart. In war movies, that always a bad sign.
Bringing a photo of a Sweetheart or Loved one on combat Missions builds Courage and the feeling that someone dear back home Loves you and is waiting for you to come home, its this COURAGE that tells you to saddle up or strap in knowing that you might not make it home or die trying, these young men faced Full Scale adversity head on, knowing that it might not end well and seeing the photo of their Woman at home made them push on to fight the Evil Nazi Army of Crime
The free people of America don't forget that you Brits fought the Nazis alone and that many of you died for the freedom of the world when it looked like you had no chance of victory and could have cut a deal with that evil that would have allowed your empire to survive. Thank you
just a shame a lot of them try to overlook our accomplishments and efforts which is a bit offensive. But nice to meet a nice American Mr Fleming.
john fleming Unfortunately many of your countrymen, brought up on Hollywood propaganda aren't aware of that. Some even think you 'liberated' us, and D Day was an American show only. We couldn't have won it without you though - and Hitler's lunacy in invading the USSR.
They didn’t fought the Nazi, they fought GERMAN...
dont forget the canadians, poles, south africans, irish, french, czechs, jamaicans and many more foreigners who were by englands side since the battle of britain, many of those men made huge sacrifices for a country that they didnt even call home.
...for the freedom of the world under the control of the Rothschilds and illuminati?
It's amazing how a film so short can have such a lasting impact.
Agreed more stories and movies need to be told about the RAF crews in WWII.
There is still so many untold acts of bravery and heroism that are not known, so important to get the stories from these vets before they leave us. I was stationed in the UK with the USAF and had the awesome opportunity to meet and talk with aircrew vets and normal citizens who lived through the blitz on the ground. I salute my RAF brothers in the sky and on the ground.
Cheers Lads
My mates dad was a tail gunner in a Wellington in a pathfinder squadron, took some guts for these young men, bally heroes all of them
76 years ago tonight, 27th April 1944, my father piloted LL903,166 sqd, on a mission to Friedrichshafen. His plane was shot down by an ME110. He and the Bomb Aimer were the only ones that managed to get out. I suspect this film is the closest I’ll ever get to understanding what it must have felt like that night. He never talked about it and I never asked.
My 6th class reacher was a Lancaster navigator. When I was a kid - 11 yrs old (am now 71)we went on a school excursion to the Australian War Memorial. My teacher just stood beside the Lanc on display for about 15 mins and did not speak or move. I can only imagine what was going through his mind.
Wow this short movie gives me goosebumps... Im 21 and from Austria and just the thinking, that if I was born some decades earlier, I would just be on the other (german) side, fighting against other young fellas, gives me that feeling again, how for nothing war really is.. All that pain and casualities just for some crazy guys and ideologies... And still the human race does that pervert war thing..
Wait they were fighting for freedom from Nazi domination taking over the world - not nothing
@@gaillynch7417 I absolutely know what you mean. But I think as of the German perspective. For what did all the fellas die? For the nazi regime? The nazi motivation for the war was a really shitty ideology. So the Germans really died for nothing in the end.
The allied side had an aim for which it was worth fighting for, which was to give Europe back its freedom.
With the benefit of hindsight one can look back and judge the bombing campaign from the comfort of their own lounge chair. These fellow's didn't have that luxury they were fighting for survival and the freedom they knew, that which could be taken from them at any time, and replaced with a new dark age. For that we should be truly thankful.
An excellent film, my thanks to the writer, director and everyone involved with making it. My Dad, Gordon Craig, was Flight Engineer with Lancaster C-Charlie, 44 Squadron, RAF Waddington. They were shot down over Osnabrück on 6th October, 1942 - two crew lost, the rest taken prisoner. My Dad went to Stalag Luft III, then after several escape attempts he was moved to the harsher Stalag VIIIB in Upper Silesia. With the advancing Eastern Front, the guards used their prisoners as human shields and forced them in freezing conditions onto what became known as the Lamsdorf Long March, or as he always called it, the Death March. They were being held in a marshalling yard on the outskirts of Dresden during the awful firestorm, which they witnessed at close range. He told me that they all cheered at first as the Allied bombers appeared, but fell silent as the full horror of the raid became apparent.
Wow. Thanks for sharing this. There are so many remarkable stories. Incredible for their bravery, resilience, triumph and indeed horror. It’s so important that these stories remain alive. And important to remember that these soldiers were so often boys being sent to war with no control or real understanding of the reasons for going or the terror they were to face. Thank you.
This is effective- and moving- as a short film. The restraint and the quiet add to the tension, and the result is a great story. That said, I would love to see this as part of a full-length film.
Excellent work. Top-notch stuff!
I think it is hardto do a full length film without falling into the Hollywood trap of over playing the patriotism. We were not that way.
Absolutely Stunning, bought a tear to my eyes. True Hero's should never be forgotten.
Well done
should be a short in before every movie shown in the theater for a least a yr.
Some of the bravest men crewed those bombers and they are probably the least recognised, gratitude to all of them.
My late grandfather, Stan Jones, was the radio operator on 101 Sqn RAF's 'Bad Penny', part of the two-ship Lancaster recce drop for Operation Manna in Holland. An amazing storyteller with many a tale from his time in the war. Miss him. This film does a good job of realizing the circumstances he'd share in those tales of boredom and terror.
Pity about the use of the term 'bombardier' for that chap's role, as it is an Americanism. That man was called the 'bomb aimer' in commonwealth aircrews. Fantastic effort regardless. Well done!
I spotted that too. Glad they got the correct 'left-left' instruction though. Mostly well done.
We cannot today speak for those who died. Why they fought and what they would think of the world since.
I have a DVD of some bomber command recordings made on actual missions and one of those also uses the term bombardier. I do know that some USAAF crew were seconded to the RAF for various reasons and I wonder if the bomb aimer on that aircraft was actually American. On the other hand, the recordings were made specifically for radio broadcast, so I wonder if the term was used deliberately for the benefit of American listeners.
These men are so damn brave. I can't imagine the feeling of being up in the air knowing that with just a blast you and your crew will be toast.
Brave men they are.
My father flew the Lanc on many dangerous missions over the Atlantic into battle with the enemy. Thankfully he survived. 🇬🇧
Honour our heroes.
And in the going down of the sun - we will remember them
Paul Treslove wow! Really? You know Germany started the Second World War right? Typical liberal fucktard who thinks he knows it all and ends up looking like a twat at the end of the day. Embarrassing.
Paul Treslove If your a genuine veteran then I oppologise for the tard comment. I know my country's history in the wars, I have family that fought in both wars and they are heroes. I have shaken hands with many veterans over the years (Normandy Arnhem Dunkirk to name but a few) and I am honoured & humbled by them. To pick what our lads & lasses did during the war when fighting an enormous enemy and as a country having suffered regular blitz attacks where thousands of innocent men women & children lost their lives due to Adolfs ideals. I don't want to get into a who started it debate but when my country was attacked night and day for years I have very little sympathy for the German population during our bombings of Germany during ww2.
Actually, Germany was under-castigated. It is an utter lie that Germany was treated too harshly: they weren't even forced to return all the lands that Prussia had annexed by force. People often talk about how much territory Germany lost after WWI, but in fact they didn't lose a single inch of German land: all the territory they returned had belonged to other states, and had been seized by Prussia over the course of the 19th century (and the second half of the 18th). Similarly, there was no attempt to force into the German consciousness the fact that they had been the occupier, not the rightful owner or inhabitant of the Polish lands in the east. The ultimate cause of WWII is that Germans were allowed to wallow in self-pity over the loss of just a *part* of the historically, culturally and ethnically Polish lands they had occupied. When a violent bully cries foul over being forced to return a part of the money he had stolen from others, you don't feel sorry for them - you punch them in the face for the insolence of complaining about rightful retribution. Had this happened, had Germany been treated after WWI the way they would later be treated after WWII - in other words, being told repeatedly in clear terms that their hardship was the result of their own evils - then perhaps we could have avoided all the millions of casualties the German spirit (and it certainly wasn't the Nazi spirit!) inflicted upon the world in 1939. All that having been said, however, I absolutely agree that the victims of bombings should be recalled, because indiscriminate bombing of a civilian population, in other words, total war - is an evil. It's a method of fighting invented by the Germans in WWI, and one that should never have been adopted by any civilised peoples.
placid renegade i
Paul Treslove+ Germany could have stopped the bombing of her cities at any time but chose not to. The same can't be said for all the people that the Germans killed during the second world war. Not that I'm without sympathy for some of those under the air raids.
this warrants a full movie
scott garvey
Yes! Defiantly!!! This is an excellent short film with great potential for a feature film!!!
I humbly offer my utmost respect to all the aircrews of Bomber Command who fought and died in the skies over Nazi Europe and elsewhere.
A production of this quality based on the Novel 'Bomber' by Len Deighton would be a great tribute.
Well Done Tom to you and your team, Great idea, your mini film had me gripped, very interesting, you should look at filming a bigger production it is so needed, not enough people around the world really understand what those brave aircrews of Bomber Command went through day after day, night after night. My heart goes out to them all. We must never stop flying the flag for them and doing what we can to remember them. We must also never forget or lose sight of the massive death toll all over the world during the Second World War.
Air Vice Marshal Donald Tyndall Clifford Bennett CB,CBE,DSO wrote this message when he was chairmen of the United Nations Association, of which he was the founder. During WWII AVM Bennett was the leader of 8 Group Path Finder Force, I can tell you that he really did understood the heartache and stresses of the war so much so that all he ever wanted was to find peace around the world. He wrote this message which bring home his feeling about WWII.
In time of war, men strive and men die for the protection of their country and their loved ones and for the ideals in which they believe. No sacrifice is too great and no ordeal too bitter to deter the tide of human effort towards victory. Indeed, in the agony and squalor of war, man reaches his true greatness - but it is only when peace comes that there exist the conditions in which the ideals for which we fought can be achieved. I have seen two great wars in my lifetime and after each I have seen the political leaders of almost every country in the world fritter away the opportunities which their warriors have created for them. After each war, I have seen the return of pessimism and of distrust - and the vitiation of human relations by intrigue, fear, greed and dishonesty. Moral standards in matters great and small have sunk appallingly to impossible levels. In short, man in peace has proved unworthy of the dead of two world wars. This need not be. We are the same men and women who fought beside those who died. We are made of the same stuff which achieved greatness in time of war. Therefore in peace, let us pray and - and act as aggressively and courageously as we did in war, so that we may achieve freedom, fair play, decency and integrity internationally, nationally and personally - which the sacrifices of two world wars so nobly earned.
Wow - thanks for sharing that Christopher.
We are free from tyranny due to these brave souls. We can wear what we want, go where we want and do whatever job we want and study what we want and love and marry whoever we want xanthine pray to the God of our faith, or not, as we want. So given this sacrifice why do the mothers keep b ongoing us in the streets? Why are so any people jealous of our happiness and freedom? Am as poor as f---k me but am free due to them boys in them fuselages. God bless them all.
Suprised i saw Lancaster Skies a few weeks ago
Respect to those who volunteered for bomber command.....I had an Uncle who's Lancaster was shot down over Bremen 1943...he didn't survive, he was only 21.
God bless bomber command.
Why should god bless somebody dropping bombs on a city?
@@Horsti2307
You stupid asshole
@@Horsti2307 You can thank the arsehole Churchill for that. They should have concentrated on German airfields.
@@thierryruellan6581 :*
"I had an uncle", presumably your mothers brother since you didn't mention what your dad did. Do you expect us to believe that simple assertion just on your say so?
Whoever the Producer and Director of this short film is should seriously think of producing a full length film! The filming, framing, costuming and atmosphere is done so very well!
My uncle was a Lancaster pilot. He survived the war.
Mmm, quite moving. My dad was a young pilot In 61 Sqn during the war. His second tour of ops was on Lancasters. He was a lucky chap and never lost any crew, though his aircraft often came home slightly ventilated. The letters he sent to his father are fascinating and full of detail of his experiences. So many young men were, sadly, not so lucky...
My dad became a POW but lived to father me post war. Horrible horrible waste the war was
55000 lost in Bomber Command. More than entire American losses in Vietnam. And it took decades to get recognition for them due to the political 'guilt' of area bombing. Could only happen in Britain.
as an American i would love to see a high budget movie about Lancaster bombers. why isnt there one already?!?!
David Puttnam tried in the 80's with "Lancaster Target" based on a book by Jack Currie but his financial backers said it had to suit the US market so he ended up making "Memphis Belle" instead. The film "Appointment in London" is the closest movie ever made.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_(film)
I'm afraid night bombing doesn't make for a terribly great visual experience
@@percyprune7548 thanks for the info! Will look that up! Such invaluable info this day in age!
My Father's brother was one of the 55,573.
AVRO Lancaster rear gunner killed by a ME109 in 1944.
Still very upsetting.
It was kill or be killed worker against worker. Dad did 2 tours of ops. Looked for a better way to arrange things for the world post war. He died at 65yrs in 1990, disillusioned with society, still largely at war. Ashes scattered from the Southern Cross replica aircraft, over the ocean, off Kapiti Is, to join his comrades, no marker a requirement of his will. Mission accomplished.
Why would anyone give this a thumb down? Brave young men, all of them heroes. Gone but never forgotten.
Germanphiles
The men of Bomber Command fought a long, awful, solitary, necessary war for years. And when it was all over they received little credit and much unfair opprobrium for what they had done to save a free people. It's interesting, and tragic, to see how often that happens. Those who enjoy their freedom the most (not appreciate, but enjoy) seem to have difficulty acknowledging what that freedom costs; both from our heroes and from our adversaries.
So, so many people post negative judgemental comments about these brave young men. All I can say is if YOU were not there, you have no right whatsoever to judge anyone!
I would add too that, the critics and other left wing idiots who criticise the RAF Crew and their amazing courage appear not realise nor appreciate that THEY, (the warped critics of our Bombers crews) wouldn't be alive today to make such inane comments. AS Ex RAF myself, I have always been proud and will remain proud of what the RAF (and Army and Naval allies of many nations) achieved against an insane, heroin addled Nazi Leader.Those who comment against the Bomber crews are oblivious to the atrocities of the Nazis with their DEATH CAMPS,Organised to kill, in a factory style purge MILLIONS of Jews, Poles,Gypsies and indeed, ANYONE not of Aryan descent. I suggest to such individuals that they read up (assuming they are capable) the history of WW2.
The right wing twats who feel a need to bash today's generation for no reason are no better in my opinion. Seemingly the greatest generation didn't fight for us to be free after all according to them, they fought so that we should live exactly as they want us to lest we get called snowflakes, cowards and whatnot.
Magnificently done! Thank God we had the men we had in those days instead of the increasing number of whining twits that we have today.
Bruce Harris
EXACTLY!
Too bad that this generation was raised by men like you. Maybe things would be different if „you“ were competent parents.
Bruce Harris Hi - You are 100% spot on, my friend. The world is so full of whinging, moaning, weak softies who think the world owes THEM something. WTF? And don't start me on muslims and the homosexuals/lesbians who expect red carpet and doors opened for them as they approach. How has the world sunk into such a cesspit? That means a shithole for all you delicate darlins' who haven't been out and about much but tucked up in Mum n' Dad's house your whole stupid, useless life.
ross mcgarry
You sir are correct! 👍
We can all agree that the men of the generation around 1920 were great men, sure. But those people aren‘t responsible for the situation in our society nowadays. Neither can be the children of this generation, we are merely 20 years old. We can just shape the future for the better, because the babyboomers turned it all to crap from the 70s onwards.
The bomber crews did amazing things in the face of incredible odds. Whether they were Americans in B-17s and B-24s or British in Lancasters, Halifaxes, Stirlings and Wellingtons, they were heroes. Americans flew by day for better bombing accuracy and faced more fighters and concentrated flak. Brits flew by night to get around the defenses, but still faced night fighters and flak, and you often couldn't see the night fighters to shoot back. Both did an amazing job, and both took horrible casualties. God bless them.
As for terror bombing, the nazis did it first, then cried foul when the Brits returned the favor.
Perhaps you do know that roughly 50.000 civilians in the UK got killed by the Luftwaffe and the V-weapons. In Germany perished about 500.000. In france and in Italy quite a lot, to the Bomber Command and the US Air force. And in Japan ... For more information got some reasonable books. I would recommend AC Grayling.
If I may a long quotation by Grayling in the Guardin, March 2006:
(...) Details are more eloquent than statistics. Night after night, for years, the RAF rained upon Germany's cities a mixture of high-explosive and incendiary bombs, the latter outnumbering the former by four to one. The high explosives blew out windows, doors and roofs, allowing fires to spread. The incendiaries variously contained petroleum jelly, phosphorus and oil-soaked rags. When phosphorus splashed on to a human being, burning ferociously, it could not be dislodged. Victims leapt into canals, but the flames would spontaneously reignite when they clambered out. Among the bombs were time-delay devices, set to explode at intervals in the hours and days after a raid to disrupt ambulance, firefighting and rescue services.
Compared to the weight and ferocity of RAF and US bombing, the Nazi "blitz" and its V-rocket attacks of 1944 were small beer. Yet it was not allied civilian bombing that won the second world war, any more than did "shock and awe" in Iraq in 2003. What both show is that bombing civilians is not only immoral, but ineffective. (...)
Yes, as a matter of fact, I did know that. So you're argument is that the krauts should be considered victims because they started the war, started the "terror bombing" of civilians (in Guernica, in case you didn't know), got the favor returned by the enemies they used it against, and those enemies turned out to be way better at it. Same deal for Japan. Read up on what they did in China, or maybe ask somebody from there, or Korea, or the Philippines, etc, who's old enough to remember what Japanese occupation was like, and ask them if they have any pity for the Japanese.
War is hell, as Sherman reminded us in 1864, especially total war. Hitler gained power because the Germans followed him. Yeah, there were lots of decent people in Germany. I'm sure that's very comforting to 12 million Holocaust victims (6 million Jews, 6 million more homosexuals, physically/mentally disabled, suspected communists, political dissidents, Catholic clergy, etc, give or take). They followed the genocidal madman, and they got what they paid for. Had they recognized him for what he very obviously was in 1932, Germany today would look very, very different. He had power because people followed him. He proceeded to burn Europe. Yes, we can talk for days about the Versailles Treaty, red scare, the Great Depression, the Weimar Republic, and so on and so forth. Those are basically excuses. The people of Germany didn't have to follow him, at least not until he had already been calling the shots for a few years.
So no, I don't feel a bit bad for them on that score. Human suffering is terrible, and many innocents died, but it could have all been avoided by a generation of Germans who failed to step up.
Dear anonymus, the topic here is the allied bombing campaign: was ist criminal or correct, meaningful or nonsense? If you dislike Hitler that would be fine, but that´s not the point. Here we are talking about people like Arthur Harris or LeMay. And about the people who suffered, in the bombers and in the bunkers. Btw. why do you hide yourself, not offering your name?
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind." - Sir Arthur Harris
"War is Hell." - William Tecumseh Sherman
@@liousevropaecvstos7711 2 words: horse shit
On many day light American bomber raids over germany.. We lost 2000 or more men in a single raid.. Daylight was quite a bit more horrific than night raids..yet, .near 48 % of all lancaster crews were lost during the war.. God bless them all .. Brave souls!!!!!!!!!!!
We have one of those who did not return buried in our graveyard in my hometown. on The evening of 9 Juli 1943. on a attack to gelsenkirchen. F/Sgt John Ingram's Avro Lancaster was hit above the city of Gronau by FlaK. Burning and with the payload still in the bomb bay. F/Sgt Ingram ordered his crew of 6 to bail out, keeping the lancaster in the air to give them all a chance. They all made it out, hurt but alive, for the Flight Sergant it was too late He was only 25 years old. From the attack force of 218 lancasters, 190 halifaxes and 10 mosquito's 7 halifaxes and 5 lancasters did not return.
just like my Dad told me it happened...300 Squadron Polish Bomber Command
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._303_Polish_Fighter_Squadron
Though I knew over 50,000 air crew from Bomber Command died, I didn't know it was from such a small 'pool'. So nearly 50% died! Those poor buggers. And to think their efforts were played down for so long as carpet bombing may not have been very PC post war!
When they bombed Hamburg and Dresden it was on Churchills.Eisenhowers.Stalins orders esp Dresden as was a major rail crossing route and they didn't want the Germans holed up there stopping the advancing Russians so Harris was instructed to flatten it.Also many forget Germany had many shops in towns making parts for the war effort any opticans was making optics along with jewellers and so on so those towns and cities was legitimate targets.
Another thing (which is highlighted in the Churchill film which he was afraid of from his time on Gallipoli landings was failure with them getting all shot up)Due to the crews constantly bombing industrial targets and Germany Germany had to keep likes of 88's and crews back to man them because if we had failed to do hitler would have built is ring of steel on the coast of France and D day would have been a failure which would have most likely cost us the War.
So anytime you get those Squeaking and Squealing about it just tell them that and in war there are no easy ways just hard or not so hard.
Thank you for this. My great uncle was a Navi in the Lancaster. Said he was part of the day raids... Said he wished he died with his mates... He passed on at 95 years old. I am grateful for this snippet because I often wonder how it must have been...
Andre McBurney I know exactly what you mean! My father survived 50 missions as the tailgunner in B24 (U.S. 8th Army Air Corps). It has always been hard for me to grasp the reality.
Andre McBurney I
bomber command was awful, but we were forced into the situation where it was nessasery to stop the nazis from becoming unstoppable.
too many people focus on either saying it heroic or disgraceful. it was both and neither. it was doing what had to be done for damage limitation and the greater good of humanity.
the sad fact is doing what is nessasery to save lives in the long run often contradics that in the short term in a time of war.
have a guilty conscience for bombing the Germans or breifly have no conscience before all of Europe would become slaves to build our own execution chambers. then beyond Europe.
wouldn't you rather commit murder to stop a genocide?
My grandad flew 27 missions on lancs, survived the war, died in 1981,always was an still is my hero yet died a broken man being branded like Sir Arthur Harris a murderer
Be assured he was a hero !
claire lambert fuck the branders salute
Pygmies condemning giants. To people who matter, He & Sir Arthur were true heroes. Noble gentlemen both.
An interesting contrast with American 'bomber' films, congratulations to those who made this. My mother's first husband flew over 30 missions with Bomber Command.
One morning his plane did not returned; no survivors.
That left her a wartime widow, very poor, with a baby.
Although she eventually married my Father i don't think she ever really got over the trauma.
The baby became my step brother and eventually a 'right bastard' who even stole from his own Mother, like that maybe as the result of the death of his real father and from jealousy caused by my birth. That despite my father being very generous and kind to him.
Years later I was privileged to be asked to paint "Lost, Halifax heavy bomber" for sgt J. Loban, the sole survivor. I built a model and Mr. Loban provided technical detail even down to the number of rounds fired by the Me 110 that shot them down on their very first mission, killing all except Mr. Loban.
You can read Flight Sargent J Loban’s very remarkable story…on my web site, page 'Lost, Halifax heavy bomber', url: www.frickers.co.uk/art/home-page2/gordon-frickers-art-information/archive/aviation/the-loss-of-a-new-handley-page-Halifax/
War destroys normal human behaviours... since I read "hidden History" by Docherty and have a better understanding of how western society has been semi-deliberatly horribly malformed and damaged by the last hundred years my heart has been saddened
Oh my. Thanks for sharing this story.
Gordon Frickers poor Jewish cannon fodder
beats the American films
...ps... this is not to denigrate the courage of the American aircrews.. The films are too overblown and badly portrayed. 12 o clock high was the exception. great movie.
Watsonmill.....I could not agree more, Harris was treated despicably.
Disgraceful that the Poles where not included in the Victory parade!...all because SWC did not want to upset uncle Joe....good film!
what happened in poland (poles,slavs,jews and gypsies and even ethnic germans) was summed up well by someone who survived those tragic years...they said something like ....if we start crying for the innocent....we would drown from all the teardrops..
So true.
303 squadron was the best one, during the battle of Britain as far as loses to victories are concern. Such a great story of real flash and blood heroses, still so little known.
My GF hated Churchill, he turned his back on Bomber Command after war and sold Bomber Harris as the scapegoat. Harris was simply following Churchill's orders. Once a politician...
You should read the book 'Lancaster' by Leo McKinstry, and excellent history of the aircraft type and its squadrons and Bomber Harris. There is much much more to the story of 'Bomber Harris scapegoat' and 'war criminal Churchill' theories. Too many soundbite comments without reading the wider picture. Takes nothing away from the Bomber crews, but sets out a far better balanced view.
Very moving little film. I have a relative who piloted Lancs during the war. His Squadron was seconded to Coastal Command. During a disastrous month for that Command, he and his crew were killed on ops. They are buried in the military cemetery in Bilbao. So many of those aircrew are still listed as missing.
Justin Lee My father's younger brother was a B-24 co-pilot, shot down over Austria in 1944. His body was never recovered. There's just a memorial stone in cemetery back in Virginia. I salute your relative's sacrifice, and all the other young men who never came home.
Aldis Barsevskis hey, only Arthur Harris ordered his bombers to did that
Aldis Barsevskis War is always regrettable and a savage waste of life. When there is a struggle to liberate people from a tyrannical regime, it inevitably involves unpleasant measures. As a bomber pilot during WW2, my father didn't choose to bomb cities, he far preferred military targets but, like young Luftwaffe bomber pilots, that was their alotted role. It is easy sit back now and condemn when one is not in a struggle for survival and the liberation of the oppressed.
I AGGREE WITH YOU! Sorry for my hot temper words. bUT I AM REALLY cannot understood why allied pilots bombed for example CHuRCHES? tHEY WERE OUTSTANDING BIG BUILDINGS WITH GOOTHIC TOWERS- THEY cannot be targeted as an error!
Hi Aldis, Churches weren't bombed deliberately. I believe that R.A.F. Lancasters bombed from between 18,000 and 22,000 feet at night, so they couldn't even see a church at that height over a target in the dark with flack bursting, searchlights, tracer bullets, etc. Targets from 1942 were accurately marked by the Pathfinder aircraft with coloured flares (Target Indicators) and the aircraft bombed on those. Similarly, during the day the U.S. Air Force couldn't bomb to avoid churches at height - it needs low-level bombing to achieve pin-point accuracy. In 1941 in a Hampden Bomber, my father pressed on to the target after being attacked and his aircraft significantly damaged by a JU88 night-fighter. Because of engine trouble, he couldn't climb much, so made four runs at low level (4,000ft) over the target before dropping the bombs accurately. That took guts and determination - he didn't just jettison the bombs indiscriminately on people and run for home!
probably the best short film I have seen on WW2 yet. However if this ever happened to you precious Milinials you would all run to the hills.
British historian Frederick Taylor wrote of the attacks: "The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality to it. It was a wonderfully beautiful city and a symbol of baroque humanism and all that was best in Germany. It also contained all of the worst from Germany during the Nazi period. In that sense it is an absolutely exemplary tragedy for the horrors of 20th century warfare and a symbol of destruction".[122]
Millions of people dying paint the destruction better I think
As a 14 year old my Saturday job was at a shoe repair shop. Willie worked there. He was a Lancaster rear gunner. I'm short at 5' 6" but Willie was even shorter. He would still wear his flying jacket on those Saturday's when I'd see him. He said it was so cold you couldn't chew gum.
My college (Twickenham College of Technology) Maths teacher was a Wellington pilot. At the end of class he would always say "OK chaps, bail out". He was shot down over Germany. Each went their own separate way and he hid in a barn to try and elude the German army finding him. A soldier went into the barn and my teacher swears that they locked eyes. The soldier closed the door and went away.
A friend at my local in Iver, Bucks (a long time ago as I've been in the US for 26 years now) was a Lanc pilot. He would say that after every mission the first thing that happened was the fire crews would hose inside the fuselage to clear out the blood, guts and feces. I don't know how true that was, he said it though.
Anyway, many, many young men from all the Commonwealth countries gave their lives. Many, many young men from America who probably couldn't find England on a map gave their lives too. God bless every one of you.
Yep when they returned Ground crews would hose plane out then get rest of day off.Many bodies was just a uniform containing strawberry jam as cannon shells and flak would destroy the skeleton.My uncle flew in Lancs survived the war minus a leg and my Great uncle was shot down over France in a Halifax never to return.
This film induces a suffocating feeling of terror in me. Though I've seen it before and know the ending, watching it again is a form of paying respects to these lads. Well done guys, well done. And thank you, from the USA.
Those kids, those kids.... those unbelievable, wonderful kids. RIP, and fly free forever.
For those who might not get the anxiety of the radio operator and the navigator ... you are inside a windowless Chevy van, with a thin wall built in the van between the cargo section, where you are, and the driver, while being in the middle of a Los Angeles riot, and everybody outside is beating on the van, wanting a piece of you.
An excellent and well thought out initiative, Thank You.Terry Offord
Reminded me to ensure that my 5 year old is made fully aware that his current way of life was made possible by Commonwealth aircrews’ sacrifice