Danny, the locked Bomb doors. I remember when discussing it with him, many years ago that the Bomb doors on the Lancaster could be padlocked from the outside. The impression that I got was that it was done to prevent the crew inadvertently opening the bomb doors, with the "air experience " personnel in the Bomb bay. I wonder if a padlock would be sufficient? His time on 617 was after Gibson and the dams, I believe they were at Woodhall Spa at the time. He spent most of his service on 75 (NZ) Squadron at Mepal, Cambridgeshire. I had the luck to be the SNCO i/c the team that renovated the wings of PA474 many years ago, and took great delight in having him come to stay with us and having a good look around the beast, I was very pleased that he enjoyed it. I certainly always understood that he enjoyed his time in the RAF, making many friends who he maintained contact with through his life. It's good that you can confirm that the camaraderie was pretty well the same across the service, as you say, you were all in the same boat. Thanks for your post.
Smudge
