A Night to Remember -- part 11 Bombs gone, now let’s head for home
BOMBS are beginning to go down over the target now, and I tune into the frequency for the Master Bomber. His voice is just audible over the static saying that the marking is good. Fires are beginning to light the night sky over the target and more flak is coming up ahead. Five minutes to run. “Pilot to navigator, turning onto the bombing run now, speed 175” “Nav, OK skipper.” “Pilot to bombaimer, all set?” “Bombaimer OK skip, bombs selected.” “Pilot to crew, OK chaps here we go, keep your eyes open, but with this amount of flak coming up I don’t suppose there’s any fighters about.”
The Master Bomber’s voice is clearer now saying “Bomb the red and green TIs, the marking is good”, as we slowly, oh so slowly advance towards that huge dome of fire. Exploding anti-aircraft shells sparkle in clusters like iron fillings dropped in a flame, just at our level but still a little ahead. The fires below begin to reflect a glow on the underside of the aircraft and other Lancasters come into view like little black toys silhouetted over the fires of the target.
“Bombaimer to pilot, starting the run up now, we’re a bit to port, right-right” “Roger bombaimer, over to you.” “Roger, bombdoors open skipper” My left hand drops to the lever and selects the bombdoors open: “Roger, bombdoors open.” A slight change of trim as the two massive doors under the aircraft fall open, fluttering in the slipstream and a tremble comes up through the controls. Everything has to be very steady now, keep the heading and airspeed correct. Airspeed steady at 175, heading 071 degrees, steady, steady. A sudden change will upset the bombsight and we will miss the target.
“Right right” says the bombaimer, slight pressure on the starboard rudder pedal and the direction indicator swings slowly through two degrees. “Steady” responds the bombaimer. I hold it at 073 degrees, brilliant flashes in the target area as bombs burst sending out concentric ripples in the fires below. The tension mounts, everybody seem to be holding their breath...CRUMP..CRUMP.. two shells burst near enough to be heard above the roar of the engines and the aircraft jumps.
Steady, check airspeed, check the heading, OK. “Left-left” calls the bombaimer, “Steady-steady”, as the red and green TIs slowly creep up the wire on his bombsight. Flashes from exploding shells seem to be all around us now, the bombaimer’s instructions become more frequent, “right….steady……left-left……steady……steady….s.t.e.a.d.y….. s..t..e..a..d..y - BOMBS GONE!!! ” Donk….Donk….Donk…. go the bombs as they are released from their hooks and the aircraft rears up as its massive six ton load drops away.
Trim nose down to keep the airspeed steady, check the heading, keep her steady now for a long, oh so long two minutes, while the flak bursts seem to be getting closer and closer, until the photoflash goes off and the camera takes a picture of where our bombs would strike. Then “Bomb doors closed” from the bombaimer, my left hand pulls up the lever and my right hand pushes the control column forward to build up speed while the engineer pushes the throttles forward.