Dambuster Lancasters

[V41LEY]

After watching the film over Christmas I was intrigued to find out what happened to the returning planes after the raid. Found this link in the Lancaster Archive which answered my interest.

http://www.lancaster-archive.com/bc_damsraid6.htm

Amazing to think G for George (Gibson's plane) was scrapped after the war with many of the other survivors and none of the Mk IIII Type 464's survive in a museum as a testament to that event.

[Eric Mc]

Preserving stuff like that was very low on the nation's priority list in the immediate aftermath of World War 2. Some aircraft disappeared completely with not one whole single example surviving.

[Simpo Two]

After the war people wanted to forget and move on. It wasn't until the 1960s and the film 'Battle of Britain' - when they tried to find squadrons of Spitfires and Hurricanes and realised there weren't any - that warbirds started to be valued.

[aeropilot]

Simpo Two said:

After the war people wanted to forget and move on. It wasn't until the 1960s and the film 'Battle of Britain' - when they tried to find squadrons of Spitfires and Hurricanes and realised there weren't any - that warbirds started to be valued.

Earlier than that really, when they went make Angels One Five in 1952, when it was clear there was only 2 x airworthy Hurricanes left in the UK. Fortunately, the Portugese AF was still flying them, and flew over 5 x Hurricanes for a weeks 'goodwill' tour, that involved them spending a week at RAF Kenley taking part in the flying sequences for the filming.
A real genuine, complete Bf.110G was also borrowed from the RAF's German Force Aircraft Equipment Centre at Stanmore Park and used in a depicted crash scene, being then scrapped after filming finished!!!

Even, when The Dambusters was filmed in 1953, they struggled to find 4 x airworthy Lancs !!

[Dr Jekyll]

V41LEY said:

After watching the film over Christmas I was intrigued to find out what happened to the returning planes after the raid. Found this link in the Lancaster Archive which answered my interest.

http://www.lancaster-archive.com/bc_damsraid6.htm

Amazing to think G for George (Gibson's plane) was scrapped after the war with many of the other survivors and none of the Mk IIII Type 464's survive in a museum as a testament to that event.

I read somewhere that someone did decide to save just one Lanc for preservation, had a choice between Gibson's and one that had done 100 missions, and decided the latter was more representative.

[aeropilot]

Dr Jekyll said:

V41LEY said:

After watching the film over Christmas I was intrigued to find out what happened to the returning planes after the raid. Found this link in the Lancaster Archive which answered my interest.

http://www.lancaster-archive.com/bc_damsraid6.htm

Amazing to think G for George (Gibson's plane) was scrapped after the war with many of the other survivors and none of the Mk IIII Type 464's survive in a museum as a testament to that event.

I read somewhere that someone did decide to save just one Lanc for preservation, had a choice between Gibson's and one that had done 100 missions, and decided the latter was more representative.

Given that when the film was made in 1954 a lot of the details of the Upkeep weapon were still on the secret list and couldn't be accurately shown in the film, so I'd be surprised if in 1946/7 there would have been any 'desire' by the powers that be to keep any of the modded Lancs. Indeed those that were not converted back to ordinary Lanc spec after the Dams raid, were kept to back for eventual disposal at sea of the remaining Upkeep bombs after the war.

[FtypeRmeister]

I recall my father telling me that when he was stationed at Scampton he secured a Lancaster to be the gate guardian to commemorate the Dams raid. I think that it is now at East Kirkby and may be restored to flying condition.

[aeropilot]

FtypeRmeister said:

I recall my father telling me that when he was stationed at Scampton he secured a Lancaster to be the gate guardian to commemorate the Dams raid. I think that it is now at East Kirkby and may be restored to flying condition.

Correct.

NX611 has just been stripped back to bare metal in the past few months as part of the work in getting her back in the air.

Edited by aeropilot on Sunday 1st January 21:58

[FtypeRmeister]

Wow! Great photo. Thanks for sharing. Is there an estimated date for completion?

[Simes205]

Does that mean there could be 3 flying?

[aeropilot]

FtypeRmeister said:

Is there an estimated date for completion?

I doubt it.

The old adage in warbird restoration to flight is usually, it will be done when's its done and not before, and when the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the aircraft!

[Simpo Two]

Dr Jekyll said:

I read somewhere that someone did decide to save just one Lanc for preservation, had a choice between Gibson's and one that had done 100 missions, and decided the latter was more representative.

And it was.

Aeropilot, is there a link to more photos of the 'restoring to flight' of NX611?

[spitfire-ian]

Brief reports here http://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/news/lancaster-nx61...

They do have a Facebook page I believe.

[SpamCan]

Not forgetting that many types that flew throughout the war (on both sides) were obsolete before the war started, some becoming so as the war progressed. As Sympo said, people wanted to move on after the war and as the military wasn't needed to be as large as it was during war time, the easiest way of moving on and shrinking it was to retire, scrap or sell off or anything that was obsolete or wouldn’t be needed in large volumes outside of wartime, back then they weren't classics or vintage aircraft they were current and or soon to be obsolete technology.

I watched an old documentary about the F4U Corsair the other week, we had a good number of them in the Fleet Air Arm on lend lease, ours for the most part ended up at the bottom of the ocean; we didn't want to pay for them because we didn't want to pay for piston engined fighters as jet engined aircraft were starting to come into service and they would soon be replaced. The Americans didn't want them back for the same reason. The mutually agreed decision was to push them over the side of the carriers; a tragic waste which when the Korean conflict kicked off the Americans regretted as its built in ruggedness made it a damn good CAS aircraft even if it was obsolete as a fighter.

[Eric Mc]

And still fighting in wars as late as 1970.

[Simpo Two]

It was the same after both world wars. IIRC at the end of WW1 we had the biggest airforce in the world, had invented blitzkreg and tank tactics; 1-2 years later 90% of the RAF had gone and all the lessons had been forgotten. Well except for the Germans who remembered them and did rather well with them the next time.

[Steve_D]

SpamCan said:

......I watched an old documentary about the F4U Corsair the other week, we had a good number of them in the Fleet Air Arm on lend lease, ours for the most part ended up at the bottom of the ocean; we didn't want to pay for them because we didn't want to pay for piston engined fighters as jet engined aircraft were starting to come into service and they would soon be replaced. The Americans didn't want them back for the same reason. The mutually agreed decision was to push them over the side of the carriers; a tragic waste which when the Korean conflict kicked off the Americans regretted as its built in ruggedness made it a damn good CAS aircraft even if it was obsolete as a fighter.

My Father told me of the worst flying day of his life when tasked (along with many others) with a ferry flight in a brand new Mosquito.
On landing at the destination he was directed through the airfield boundary into a grass meadow.
As soon as he had shut down ground crew climbed aboard and chopped the wings off with axes.

He loved the Mosquito and rated it the best aircraft he flew during his long career in aviation followed by the Vanguard.

Steve

[King Herald]

Steve_D said:

My Father told me of the worst flying day of his life when tasked (along with many others) with a ferry flight in a brand new Mosquito.
On landing at the destination he was directed through the airfield boundary into a grass meadow.
As soon as he had shut down ground crew climbed aboard and chopped the wings off with axes.

He loved the Mosquito and rated it the best aircraft he flew during his long career in aviation followed by the Vanguard.

Steve

My dad was in the RAF all his working life and told me similar tales, of watching lines of planes being 'dismantled' on the runway at some air base he was stationed at in the 50's. Basically JCB type excavators would tear off the wings and engines and rip the rest to pieces.

He played a part in setting up the museum at RAF Cosford many years ago, as he had a private stash of avionics type 'mementoes' he had accumulated for training purposes. The Vulcan navigation room and its contents in the display was something he helped put together.

I haven't been there for about 8 years now, have to make the trip again some time soon.

[muppetdave]

We've all seen the aircraft graveyard near Tuscon; do you think if we had the space/climate the UK might have held on to planes in a mothballed state? I'm guessing probably not due to the obsolescence. From reading the F117 thread, I did a bit wider reading and noted that the US effectively put them aside for recall if needs be.

[Crafty_]

muppetdave said:

We've all seen the aircraft graveyard near Tuscon; do you think if we had the space/climate the UK might have held on to planes in a mothballed state? I'm guessing probably not due to the obsolescence. From reading the F117 thread, I did a bit wider reading and noted that the US effectively put them aside for recall if needs be.

I think the money from them being scrapped was also an incentive. It may not have been much, but it was better than fields of rotting aircraft..