Back on pp 66-69 (posts 1301 to 1366) I posted the story of Sqn Ldr Peter Jensen, a WOP/AG on Sunderlands with 461 Squadron RAAF. One of the points that he raised in his narrative, the way Coastal Command considered one hour as the maximum time a gunner should man his turret without relief, drew someone to ask how this could be so when Bomber Command gunners would man their turrets without relief for up to seven hours.
I spoke to Peter today regarding this point and he said the difference was that the Bomber Command aircraft usually operated at night, while the Coastal Command Sunderlands conducted the majority of their patrols in daylight.
(Before someone leaps in to correct me, I know the 'Leigh Light' Catalinas and Wellingtons were very much creatures of the night, but I'm just repeating here what Peter said to me.),
(Probably not a whole lot different to the Bomber Command crews), the Sunderland crews, operating alone, relied totally upon seeing an enemy first, which meant from as far away as possible, (and running, or hopefully making for cloud a.s.a.p.) as their only means of survival. This meant their gunners had to be always totally on the alert rather than just gazing out into the distance, so they switched over after an hour when possible. As well armed as the Sunderlands were, as Peter's story shows, they were usually no match for six Ju88s conducting a properly co-ordinated attack.
It's probably also a case that they did so because they
could, because, unlike the Bomber Command aircraft, they had the extra crew to do so.
Please note also that after receiving a list of hand written corrections and a few additions to his story from Peter, I've amended all the posts to reflect his amendments and additions.
Through a friend, I've managed to find the addresses below for Luftwaffe Associations. If there is someone out there who can write in German who is willing to contact these associations, perhaps they'd like to establish the contact and ask them if they'd like to add their contributions to this wonderful thread.
GEMEINSCHAFT DER FLIEGER DEUTSCHER STREITKRÄFTE E.V.
Gemeinschaft der Flieger deutscher Streitkräfte e.V.
•
Präsident: Peter Vogler
• Vizepräsidenten:
• Walter Jertz
Gaustr. 27
55276 Oppenheim
Tel. 0 61 33 / 49 11 97
Fax 0 61 33 / 49 11 98
E-Mail:
[email protected]
• Friedrich Busch
Loherstr. 8
29348 Eschede-Dalle
Tel. 0 51 42 / 17 42
Fax 0 51 42 / 41 67 66
E-Mail:
[email protected]
• Gunter Fichte
Dorfstr. 22d
01774 Höckendorf-Obercunnersdorf
Tel. 03 50 55 / 6 12 06
E-Mail:
[email protected]
• Ehrenvorsitzende: Anton Weiler, Jörg Kuebart
Geschäftsführung und JÄGERBLATT-Vertrieb:
• Rolf Chur
Südstr. 66a
53797 Lohmar
Tel. 0 22 46 / 18 36 4
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Schatzmeister:
• Jörg Böttcher
Rothusener Weg 2
50374 Erftstadt
Tel./Fax 0 22 35 / 69 00 30
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Referent „Geschichte/Tradition – Suchdienstzentrale – Historisches Archiv“:
• Wilhelm Göbel
Krahwinkeler Straße 34 A
53797 Lohmar
Tel. 0 22 47 / 30 03 96
Fax 0 22 47 / 30 03 98
E-Mail:
[email protected]