Berlin Airlift
Discussion
What are the chances!!
Lovely to hear your story NapperTandy.
I need to get the grave cleaned up in Andover now that lockdown is easing.
I think I posted the picture I took last year, but if not here it is, along with a picture of my grandmother at the graveside not long after the burial by the look of things.
Lovely to hear your story NapperTandy.
I need to get the grave cleaned up in Andover now that lockdown is easing.
I think I posted the picture I took last year, but if not here it is, along with a picture of my grandmother at the graveside not long after the burial by the look of things.
Was at RAF Tempsford on Saturday for a reunion which was very emotional but a fantastic experience.
And dropped down to Andover to see what a great job Dave at Grave Concerns has done to the grave in Andover Cemetery.
Which is absolutely fantastic and nothing less than the four heroes deserved.
I'm now on a search for relatives of Donny's err, bedmates Reginald Heath, Alan Burton and Cyril Taylor.
And dropped down to Andover to see what a great job Dave at Grave Concerns has done to the grave in Andover Cemetery.
Which is absolutely fantastic and nothing less than the four heroes deserved.
I'm now on a search for relatives of Donny's err, bedmates Reginald Heath, Alan Burton and Cyril Taylor.
A little while ago, beginning of July to be precise, I requested the report into the crash from the National Archive at Kew. This week it arrived. All 396 pages of it. Luckily I had requested it be emailed (the cheapest option) and have just spent the afternoon reading through it all.
It would seem that the navigator was working by DR as there were 10/10 cloud cover over Southern England. And as suspected was following the beacon at Netheravon rather than Tarrant Rushton. There were descending from 2000' on what they thought was final approach to Tarrant Rushton, except they were quite a bit north and flew into the hills around Chute on the Hants Wilts border. It makes very interesting reading and has some photographs of the crash site. How anyone survived is amazing.
It would seem that the navigator was working by DR as there were 10/10 cloud cover over Southern England. And as suspected was following the beacon at Netheravon rather than Tarrant Rushton. There were descending from 2000' on what they thought was final approach to Tarrant Rushton, except they were quite a bit north and flew into the hills around Chute on the Hants Wilts border. It makes very interesting reading and has some photographs of the crash site. How anyone survived is amazing.
Gents, if I don't get a response here, I'll start a new thread.
Radio beacons. How do/did they work? It would seem that Jig Willie crashed at Conholt because it was following the wrong beacon which was at Netheravon instead or Tarrant Rushton. They were apparently close together in frequency, but obviously in dense fog and poor visibility, they were 35 miles off course and flew into the North Downs that obviously weren't supposed to be there. They thought they were much further South over flat ground.
Radio beacons. How do/did they work? It would seem that Jig Willie crashed at Conholt because it was following the wrong beacon which was at Netheravon instead or Tarrant Rushton. They were apparently close together in frequency, but obviously in dense fog and poor visibility, they were 35 miles off course and flew into the North Downs that obviously weren't supposed to be there. They thought they were much further South over flat ground.
uncinqsix said:
The type of beacons used back then (and are still around now) are NDBs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-directional_beac...
They provide more of a vague indication of direction than an accurate means of navigation, especially with the relatively primitive ADFs used back then.
So, sorry for being a bit slow, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but would this scenario be correct...?They provide more of a vague indication of direction than an accurate means of navigation, especially with the relatively primitive ADFs used back then.
Plane flying to Tarrant Rushton is scanning the airwaves for their NDB broadcasting on say 204Mhz (no idea if the frequency is correct, bear with me) and locates a broadcast on 204.3Mhz and wrongly homes in on that beacon thinking it's Tarrant Rushton, but it's actually Netheravon? Do the beacons broadcast a morse letter or something? Like for instance TR broadcasting a N (dash dot) and Netheravon broadcasting R (dot dash dot) or how are the beacons differentiated?
Hello!
I don't know if your profile accepts direct messages, but I'll try in a moment or two.
It would be great to meet up either at the grave or somewhere else. Or both actually, a beer and swapping of stories and stuff would be fantastic.
I pay a man in Andover to maintain the grave, he keeps it looking brand new and places flowers on it four times a year, 25th April (Anzac day) 9th July (Donny's birthday) 11th November (Remembrance Day) and 22 November of course.
Whenever I visit I always say good hello to all of them, usually something along the lines of "Afternoon gentlemen, you're looking particularly smart today"
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I paid for the complete Air Investigation Branch file for the crash last year, makes for sombre reading.
Great to hear from you, I did a little bit of digging on the Internet and discovered something about Cyril's school honouring him back in Rhodesia (as it was).
I don't know if your profile accepts direct messages, but I'll try in a moment or two.
It would be great to meet up either at the grave or somewhere else. Or both actually, a beer and swapping of stories and stuff would be fantastic.
I pay a man in Andover to maintain the grave, he keeps it looking brand new and places flowers on it four times a year, 25th April (Anzac day) 9th July (Donny's birthday) 11th November (Remembrance Day) and 22 November of course.
Whenever I visit I always say good hello to all of them, usually something along the lines of "Afternoon gentlemen, you're looking particularly smart today"
.I paid for the complete Air Investigation Branch file for the crash last year, makes for sombre reading.
Great to hear from you, I did a little bit of digging on the Internet and discovered something about Cyril's school honouring him back in Rhodesia (as it was).
Having finally caught up with one of my brothers, I received a lot of stuff about my grandad. Including this picture of his Halifax (?) from his time in 138Sqn. Note redesign of the nose because it carried no armaments save for a tail gunner. Picture is simply entitled 'kite'. A bit more digging and it was LL290 NF-L "Jive Bomber".
They then transferred to Stirlings, his being NF-J "Kiwi Express" another crew took it up in October '44 and FTR from France. I've got some pics of the the "Kiwi Express" which I'll post up this weekend.
They then transferred to Stirlings, his being NF-J "Kiwi Express" another crew took it up in October '44 and FTR from France. I've got some pics of the the "Kiwi Express" which I'll post up this weekend.
yellowjack said:
138 Special Duties Squadron?
That's sneaky-beaky stuff, dropping SOE agents and supplies for the resistance into occupied Europe, etc, isn't it?
Correct. Although 161sqn flew (mostly) Lysanders and dropped agents by landing in fields, 138Sqn dropped all sorts of supplies, from bicycles to ammunition and armaments to pigeons. As well as parachuting agents. My grandad had a very interesting war. From NZ to Canada, to Coastal Command in Devon to 138Sqn at RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire. And then back to NZ only to return for the Airlift.That's sneaky-beaky stuff, dropping SOE agents and supplies for the resistance into occupied Europe, etc, isn't it?
138Sqn dropped the men and supplies 'The Heroes of Telemark', and Douglas Bader's replacement legs after he bailed out and was a POW. My grandad flew 32 sorties with 138Sqn in 1944 into 45.
Irish1961 said:
Good morning all.
My name is David STANLEY, son of Vincent....
Vincent is now 96 and living still in Dublin....
Last weekend, The British Embassy and The RAF invited us to a show in Baldonnel Aerodrome just west of Dublin.
There he was able to see for the 1st time in 74 years a Lanc up close....
It was a very emotional afternoon for him where he spoke to everyone about his friends who all perished in the crash....
Say a very very heartfelt hello from Donny's grandson. My name is David STANLEY, son of Vincent....
Vincent is now 96 and living still in Dublin....
Last weekend, The British Embassy and The RAF invited us to a show in Baldonnel Aerodrome just west of Dublin.
There he was able to see for the 1st time in 74 years a Lanc up close....
It was a very emotional afternoon for him where he spoke to everyone about his friends who all perished in the crash....
I did a bit of colourisation of a pic of my grandad this week, please ask your dad if he remembers anything good or bad about him.
That's very very kind. I'd love to meet your dad, he's the last person I know that has spoken to my grandfather. I'd happily and willingly fly over from Bristol if he's willing and able to speak to me.
Please let him know I'm going to be at the grave in Andover this weekend and will pass on his best regards to his chums there. I'm sure they'll be delighted to know he's still going strong.
Please let him know I'm going to be at the grave in Andover this weekend and will pass on his best regards to his chums there. I'm sure they'll be delighted to know he's still going strong.
Ludibar said:
Belatedly joint this thread. Vincent Stanley, sole survivor of this crash, is my uncle. He is still surviving at age 96 and I visited him this morning.
Wow! Hello!I'll be sure to mention thus when I visit the grave this weekend. I'm sure the chums there would love to know that Vincent's family have made contact.
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