A wonderfully entertaining RAF pilots war story

[A37575]

This thread from Pprune Forum (Other Aircrew Forum - Military Aircrew) is a must read. It is all about a former wartime RAF pilot who has put his memoirs on Pprune rather than in a book. He writes with great humour and self deprecation and in my opinion it is is really worth settling down with a coffee and enjoying a thoroughly entertaining read. The thread is still on-going.

I copied it to a memory stick in case one day Pprune disappears like The Bill. :ok:

JL

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/329990-gaining-r-f-pilots-brevet-ww11.html

[nomorecatering]

Oh the Bill. what a wonderful show. watched it for 24 years.

Now we have to put up with that hollywood crap.

[Nkosi]

I have spent a few hours, and it was to be just a casual glance at the thread, reading the wonderful memories of those pilots, and associated folk, who went through the dramas of WW II. I am sure that the younger generation of today would see that fashions change but the fortitude of the young men, and women, who put their selves forward for duty in times of war were not all that different from one generation to another. My family were very involved in that war, and the war before that, and I continued the tradition of military service, and I'm proud of that.
What tales the older generation have got to tell, with the number of those WW II vets now getting smaller.
Nokosi:

[Biggles78]

It is all about a former wartime RAF pilot
It was started by one pilot as stated but has been added to by several other WWII pilots. And yes, it is a brilliant read.

I hope we can get some OZ and Kiwi pilots posting there before their stories are lost forever.

[Aerozepplin]

The husband of my grandmother's best friend (there's a mouthful) flew Lancasters in the war and I've always regretted not meeting him before he died. He enjoyed chatting to my younger brother about things so I'm sure he would have shared a few aircraft stories if I'd asked. Sad to think of how few WW2 veterans there are left now.

[frangatang]

Reminds me of my initial instructor Fred, 97 trips in the Lanc and luckily wrote it all down before he passed away. His other claim was telling Guy Gibson to stuff it when asked to join
his band for the dambusters raids.

[Propjet88]

I wonder how many of them had 1500 hours? :)

[Rose_Thorns]

This great thread has gone on and on. Wonderful stuff. This is aviation writ large, as it aught to be, (the odd laugh Joyce) not the pathetic, puling, nanny smack rubbish we have to put up with today.

Read Gann again if you want to know your roots. Enjoy a true story of that which made us what we are. Real pilots, real risk managers and a very normal bunch of guys who try hard.

Don' t want to kill anyone; and would much rather have the odd few beers, talking over and laughing about the mistakes we make (made ?), rather than facing some form of criminal charge over a paper work mistake.

Miss the old days, you betcha.

[emeritus]

" I wonder how many of them had 1500hours"

Not many I suspect. In the 70's I had the pleasure of having Leonard Cheshire on board a Friendship flt from ADL to MGB. He spent the greater part of the trip in the jump seat chatting. A very humble Christian man.

He said he did about 800 hours before walking away to do other things in his life.

Years ago I read/ heard that an Australian was credited with doing the most hours during the war. He was Joe Palmer an early aviator and apparently spent the war instructing all day and virtually every day including taking a cut lunch. Was reputed to have amassed something like 5000 hrs.


Emeritus :)

[frangatang]

Old Fred reckoned the one book that described what he went through on lancs
was Bomber by Len Deighton.

[troppo]

sitting around a fireplace at a farm in north otago, which was also home to a gliding club, in my youth, the grandfather of the current All Blacks Captain seldomly told his war stories but when he did the room fell silent in awe of the stories that were told. Tempests and typhoons tipping the wings on V1 flying bombs over England and so forth.amazing stories and a pity that the internet didn't come along earlier to record the stories of the 'so few' that did so much for so many.