...and very few people even acknowledge Lancaster PD329 from 463 Sqn RAAF, that filmed the event. The Buckham crew remained overhead to film the ship rolling over: the aircraft then went back to Waddington, rather than Lossie, to get the film developed quickly. They were airborne for 13 Hrs 40 minutes which is believed to be the longest duration operational sortie flown by Bomber Command during the war.
463 Sqn was the home of the 5 Gp Film Unit and had 3 specially adapted Lancasters which carried additional film camera positions. Much of the film taken of Bomber Command during the war came from these aircraft. The photograph shows the pilot, Bruce Buckham, taken on 18th April 1944 during his first tour on 463 Sqn - here flying his crew's usual Lancaster, ME701 JO-F "Whoa Bessie". The aircraft's name came from the tail gunners shouts during the landing run. The crew volunteered for their second tour on the film unit immediately after their first in order to stay together on the Squadron.
