BBMF Lancaster poppy drop

[Seloco]

Like millions of others I watched with large lump in throat as City of Lincoln flew down the Mall yesterday afternoon and dropped its load of poppies.

After the emotion had died down (as well as the realisation that I have in the past flown in three of the five Rapides that gloriously led the flypast....) I got to wondering: just how were all those poppies loaded into the Lanc's bomb bay in the first place? Were they simply lying in a pile on the closed doors? In which case how did they get there as I did not think that the bay is accessible from inside the aircraft? Or were they perhaps in some form of secondary container?

I'd love to know too just how easy/difficult it was to calculate the right point at which to initiate bomb door opening in order to ensure that the poppies did actually driftdown to the Mall; in other words, is poppy dropping a science or an inspired art?

Anyone out there who knows the answers? Whatever they are, it was the most fantastic and emotional sight.

[treadigraph]

What I can tell you is that they didn't dare open the bomb doors during her display at Duxford earlier in the afternoon, as "they wouldn't have time to repack them..." They do normally (open the bomb doors I mean, not have time to repack poppies)...

[Beeayeate]

There are serveral small access holes cut in the roof of the bomb bay/floor above. The loose poppys are stuffed through them. Takes hours I believe.

[Background Noise]

Pictures here from the BBMF (http://www.raf.mod.uk/ww260/images_1.html)

[Seloco]

Thanks Background Noise - that's the first of my questions answered then! I can't help feeling that, if the BBMF were going to make a habit of this sort of operation, they would rapidly come up with a rather less manually-intensive loading process!

[FJJP]

According to the RAF News (fortnightly newspaper, to those of you that don't know) it takes 3 days to load the bombay.

There was a Discovery programme a while back about the BBMF and poppy dropping - including trials work.

[Brooklands]

There's a picture of the drop taken from the lanc. Somebody has posted a link to it on this thread (http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=15191&sid=253372373e9eb797cab7cea064fb2902) on the Flyer forums.

Brooklands

[Kolibear]

A fantastic sight and a fantastic photo.

I bet it takes them another 60 years to clean all the poppies out from the inside of the aircraft .:O

[Milt]

Poppies - a new form of radar chaff?

Did they show on radar and can anyone post a shot from the ground.

Used to fly Canberra displays armed with a weapon bay filled with air filled met ballons. The little boys and many of the bigger boys in the crowd received adrenalin surges when the doors were opened above them.

The doors were partially closed to load the balloons.

[WG774]

The drop over the Mall would be an emotive sight at any time in the last 60 years, but considering the events of the last week it has added poignancy...

Words fail me...

(Thanks for the posting the link)

[WHBM]

I would have presumed it was loaded in a similar way to that used to load the bombs when on active duty long ago.

Would have asked my father (WW2 Halifax aircrew) how the bombs went in but alas he has long since moved on to a place where such things don't matter any more.

Regarding the release point anyone who has done parachute dropping and wind drift assessments would be able to help.