Re starting techniques, a reminder of posts relating to my father's service in France, winter 1939/40, when 12 and 142 Sqns were based in a field at Berry-au-Bac, under canvas in temperatures down to -20C. The RR Merlins in their Fairey Battles objected to these low temperatures and had to be run for 10 minutes every hour to prevent the oil from solidifying. They had only a few trolley-accs so each engine was started by three men on a rope, with a leather cap placed over the airscrew tip, hopefully thrown off as the engine fired.
Note the empty bomb trolley, the aircraft were bombed up during daylight hours, and the bowser trailer with its rear compartment containing a Lister or Petters donkey engine for petrol pumping. Similar trailers were still fuelling 9, 12, 101 and 617 Sqn Lincolns at Binbrook in 1950.