Speke2me
Press on regardless and I hope that you are enjoying it.. 7hrs would be regarded as a short trip...the Ruhr (Happy Valley as it was derisively called. Even so the heating was usually either too hot or non existent and was notorious for it's unreliability. There was no doubt that the two Gunners and particularly the tail Gunner suffered from the cold and were usuall padded up with all sorts of clothing. The forward compartment (W/Op. Navigator and Bomb aimer) was not too bad whilst the Cockpit with the Pilot and the F/E would differ from plane to plane and from altitude. There was one constant though. The Pilot would eventually suffer for many years to come from the fact that his left side was only a few inches from the side of the aircraft and the port window and the temperatures of the 20 or more degrees below zero that reigned outside. (No double glazing in the Halifax...or the Lancaster for that matter.) Despite all that we survived but we were not always very happy .! Regle