Great Escape Veteran lecture - food for thought.

[Grob Queen]

I know this thread would probably be more "at home" in the history and nostalgia forum but I put it here for one reason which I hope will become clear.

At work, we have just had a lecture from a chap who was at Stalag Luft III during the Great Escape. He was an Air Gunner on Hampdens and was shot down on his second sortie. He had only had two weeks training and was only really there as a stand in before going to Canada to train properly.

His story of the planning, preparing and actual escape from Sagan was incredibly powerful, moving and amazing just what could be achieved by determination. Although his number was 215 and he did not actually escape, it was as moving as the Great Escape Veteran Jimmy James who I heard a few years back who did actually escape through "Harry". He was 87 and still spoke as though it was yesterday and with much emotion as he spoke of his friends who were executed.

I have posted this here as it really made me think about PPL flying. We fly for the love of it and the thrill as a hobby, we fly with all the CAA regulations they can throw at us and yet these guys flew night after night, against flack and enemy fighters with very little training and none of the gizmos we have.

It really is awesome and although I have always very much admired WW2 aviators, i admire them even more since I have been learning to fly, especially as I fly over the old Bomber County of Lincolnshire. I wonder how I would have reacted in similar circumstances...i realise how much you have to learn and how little time they had to get to grips with their aircraft before facing the enemy or going miles over enemy occupied Europe at night...where we have the luxury of taking as long as is needed to learn, no enemy fighters and no hostile territory awaiting our arrival if things go wrong...

I hope that the PPrune community will take this post it in the spirit that it is meant, I don't mean to sound pompous or anything, i just wanted to share my genuine thoughts as a fledgling pilot as I was certainly very moved by Mr Clark's lecture.

[foxmoth]

My thought always go back to those pilots in WW1 who "learnt" on aircraft that were FAR harder than a modern trainer,they were often sent to the front line with less hours than most students go solo on these days, they were then flying at heights that need o2 - but did not have it. The oil system was a dead loss castor oil one that gave them the runs and they would drink Brandy to overcome this. So these low hour pilots flew difficult aircraft, hypoxic, with the runs and half pissed - no wonder there were so many killed in landing accidents - massive respect for them.

[kevmusic]

I was partially inspired to fly by my voracious reading of the exploits of First and Second World War aviators. I fly over Kent and I am very conscious of this being the same airspace, landscape and coastal features of the Battle of Britian.

As for going up in a Camel after 5 hours basic - sod that!

[thing]

I'm always impressed by the guys who got their wings, went to a Spit squadron at probably 19 years old, were shown the taps and then told 'Off you go, don't bend it.'

I'm the same as you, inspired to fly by a plethora of wartime autobiogs and brought up on Sunday afternoon B/W films like Reach For The Sky and Angels 15.

As I fly over Lincolnshire I'm amazed at how close the bomber airfields were to each other. Many are still visible and their circuits must have overlapped with each other. In fact my house is built on the old site of RAF Skellingthorpe which is about a minutes flying time from Lincoln Cathedral, half that time in a Lanc.

One of the popular 'scenic Sunday' flights from here is to go up the Peak District to the top end of Derwent Dam and fly down it and Ladybower, which are the dams the Dambusters flew down when they were training. You can't help but think as you hurtle down at a whole 110kts that those guys did it in the dark, twice as fast and 60 ft off the deck, then did it for real while getting shot at after finding a dam in the middle of Germany in the dark. Different breed of men.

Incidentally my Dad has a fantastic book about the guys who flew the Lancs in the film and what they had to do, I'm damned (scuse the pun) if i can remember what it's called. They were Lincoln pilots from Hemswell if memory serves me right.

[Grob Queen]

...I'm exactly the same, Lincoln Cathedral is a awe inspiring sight from the air and one of my main thoughts when I see it is that this was the last sight of home for many a bomber crew...

One of my first trips when I qualify will be the Dams run. Having been inspired for all things RAF and aircraft by the Dams Raid and other WW2 achievements and acts of aerial courage this really will be a thought provoking and thrilling flight for me. You're soooooo right, the guys then were a different breed...how many 24 year old Wing Commanders does anyone know now??? The youngest I know is 33... and he's an adminer!

[thing]

If you fancy a run up there some time pre your skills test give me a shout, always happy to share the flying and costs etc You need a 3,000 ft cloudbase though to be completely safe up in them there hills which is bottom twitchingly close to Manchester's class A TMA.

[Grob Queen]

Many thanks thats very kind of you. May well take you up on that, sounds like a trip for the summer!

[thing]

Spring onwards is best when the trees have a bit of green on them.