Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II
Hear, hear, MMitch, with very best wishes for a happy New Year, Danny, and grateful thanks for your wonderful contributions over the past year! 
Keep them coming .... I'm still chuckling about the Dr Livingstone incident.
Jack
Keep them coming .... I'm still chuckling about the Dr Livingstone incident.
Jack
I've just returned, as I'm sure many others here have, from my town's annual Remembrance. I know that there is a dedicated thread here for that purpose, but it occurs to me that this thread has its own very special cause to pay tribute and give thanks for the freedoms won for us at such great cost.
Danny is only the latest of a noble brotherhood who have described those dangerous years of WW2, and sadly some of them are no longer with us. So we remember them now, as well as those who fell, especially in those bleak times that led up to the "end of the beginning". Dunkirk, Gazala, the Fall of Singapore and of Burma. That was when true character was needed and was found. The British as ever were unprepared for war, so disaster followed disaster, but they held firm until they and their allies were ready to prevail. It was that standing firm at the Darkest Hour that we thank a remarkable generation for. Your generation, Danny, thank you for telling us of it and of so much more. I hope you had a very Happy Birthday!
Danny is only the latest of a noble brotherhood who have described those dangerous years of WW2, and sadly some of them are no longer with us. So we remember them now, as well as those who fell, especially in those bleak times that led up to the "end of the beginning". Dunkirk, Gazala, the Fall of Singapore and of Burma. That was when true character was needed and was found. The British as ever were unprepared for war, so disaster followed disaster, but they held firm until they and their allies were ready to prevail. It was that standing firm at the Darkest Hour that we thank a remarkable generation for. Your generation, Danny, thank you for telling us of it and of so much more. I hope you had a very Happy Birthday!
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My feet are slightly sore for unaccustomed standing on parade in smart (and shiny) leather shoes. 
We have paid our respects to the many (too many) who have gone before. I now raise a glass to those who are still here, especially Danny if that's not too embarrassing, and hope we will all be here next year to mark the occasion with due ceremony, respect, sorrow and thanks.
Have a good day/week/year, folks.
We have paid our respects to the many (too many) who have gone before. I now raise a glass to those who are still here, especially Danny if that's not too embarrassing, and hope we will all be here next year to mark the occasion with due ceremony, respect, sorrow and thanks.
Have a good day/week/year, folks.
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mmitch, Union Jack, Chugalug, and MPN11,
Thank you for the birthday greetings, even though the occasion has sombre overtones when it reaches this stage. Never mind: "Carpe Diem", as Iris and I say, and "Ad multos annos !"
I'm resolved to hang on till I get my Telegram (although I suppose it'll be an E-mail or a Text, or something else [thought tranference ?] by then) - and beyond, when I shall be the Grand Old Man of the "Brevet" thread (well, I can dream, can't I ?).
And I accept on its behalf all the kind things said of my generation, but I must reiterate what I've often said: we were simply the people on deck when the trumpet sounded.
I raise my glass of Guiness in acknowledgement to you all,
Danny.
Thank you for the birthday greetings, even though the occasion has sombre overtones when it reaches this stage. Never mind: "Carpe Diem", as Iris and I say, and "Ad multos annos !"
I'm resolved to hang on till I get my Telegram (although I suppose it'll be an E-mail or a Text, or something else [thought tranference ?] by then) - and beyond, when I shall be the Grand Old Man of the "Brevet" thread (well, I can dream, can't I ?).
And I accept on its behalf all the kind things said of my generation, but I must reiterate what I've often said: we were simply the people on deck when the trumpet sounded.
I raise my glass of Guiness in acknowledgement to you all,
Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 10th Nov 2013 at 17:56. Reason: Add Text.
Danny,
Belated best wishes, and like others, the glass was duly raised today. I suspect that in eight years time you might be getting a message on your wrist implant, or whatever they choose as the preferred device. I do hope the PPruners can do a better job of it, I quite fancy a pint in your local, put me in the invite list please. Keep it going sir, this is a duty now, no longer a hobby.
Ego veneratio vestri usus
Smudge
Belated best wishes, and like others, the glass was duly raised today. I suspect that in eight years time you might be getting a message on your wrist implant, or whatever they choose as the preferred device. I do hope the PPruners can do a better job of it, I quite fancy a pint in your local, put me in the invite list please. Keep it going sir, this is a duty now, no longer a hobby.
Ego veneratio vestri usus
Smudge
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Smudge,
Once again, thank you for the kind words ! (I read: "I admire your work" or words to that effect).
I'm afraid my days of "going down to the local" are a distant memory now, but you are welcome to a coffee any time in my virtual crewroom in cyberspace (don't forget to put your 3d in the jar and wash your mug up !). No, an I.O.U is not acceptable !
My tale has developed its own momentum now, I think I'd find it difficult to stop if I wanted to.
Next instalment is treading on the heels of this.
Danny.
Once again, thank you for the kind words ! (I read: "I admire your work" or words to that effect).
I'm afraid my days of "going down to the local" are a distant memory now, but you are welcome to a coffee any time in my virtual crewroom in cyberspace (don't forget to put your 3d in the jar and wash your mug up !). No, an I.O.U is not acceptable !
My tale has developed its own momentum now, I think I'd find it difficult to stop if I wanted to.
Next instalment is treading on the heels of this.
Danny.
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Danny has some Sad Stories to Tell.
The next tale is not funny at all. All was quiet in the Truck; it was just after lunchtime. A mech put his head round the door: "Something's just happened, sir". I looked out, the Crash Crew were in full cry along the South taxiway, going East. I looked in that direction, but no pillar of black smoke. A lone Javelin was swinging round on finals for 09, but that was all. I went back in.
I clicked on the Local box: "Is this a practice ?"...." 'Fraid not"... I shut up and clicked off. Local Controller has his hands full now, the last thing he needs is a garrulous goofer distracting him in the course of (arguably) the most important duty of his trade - "Crash Action".
It seemed that Mission ## had been coming back. The circuit was clear. ...."Permission for run-in and break ? .... "Affirmative". They ran-in and broke. At least Alpha did. So did Bravo - but literally ! The Javelin disintegrated in mid-air (both killed). That was bad, but it could have been far, far worse. The pieces of structure fluttered down. But the two heavy items (the engines) obeyed Newton's First Law. They travelled in a direct line - straight towards the Camp Primary School, which was full of children.
In the Farnborough Air Show of '52, John Derry's DH 110 broke up, killing him and his observer. In exactly the same way, the engines carried on: one landed on a small hillock outside the camp packed with spectators for the (free) show: the result was 28 dead, 63 injured. (Wiki)
The Sapphires weighed 1.3 tons apiece. Travelling at (say) 300mph, they could easily have reduced the school to rubble: it didn't bear thinking about. Mercifully, they came to rest some 200 yards short. Two seconds later on the "break", and...........
There were witnesses galore for the BOI. We'd moved into MQs by then. Mrs D. was in the garden with Mary: she thought that they had collided and both crashed (so did many others). But it depended on the line-of-sight: Alpha was searched inch by inch, there wasn't a dent or scratch on it. The combination of rapid rate of roll with excessive "G" had overstressed the second aircraft.
Still in sombre mood, there was a Canberra case. This one was on the ground (where you might think it might be safe). Even more, it was in a hangar. There was an electrical fault on one of the wing tanks, a young electrical mech was working on top of the wing. It had been necessary to drain the tank - and, as we all know, an empty tank is far more dangerous than a full one.
It was absolutely essential that the aircraft be fully earthed: it seems that it cannot have been. There was a spark, the explosion opened the wing skin as you might peel a banana. He was blown hard up against the trusses of the hangar roof before falling back on the floor. He'd sustained severe thoracic damage: the heart had stopped.
The medics were there in a minute or two, the M.O. worked desperately, in the end opening the chest and attempting to restart the heart with manual massage. It was no good, the boy died.
That's quite enough for tonight,
Danny42C.
Requiescant in pace.
I clicked on the Local box: "Is this a practice ?"...." 'Fraid not"... I shut up and clicked off. Local Controller has his hands full now, the last thing he needs is a garrulous goofer distracting him in the course of (arguably) the most important duty of his trade - "Crash Action".
It seemed that Mission ## had been coming back. The circuit was clear. ...."Permission for run-in and break ? .... "Affirmative". They ran-in and broke. At least Alpha did. So did Bravo - but literally ! The Javelin disintegrated in mid-air (both killed). That was bad, but it could have been far, far worse. The pieces of structure fluttered down. But the two heavy items (the engines) obeyed Newton's First Law. They travelled in a direct line - straight towards the Camp Primary School, which was full of children.
In the Farnborough Air Show of '52, John Derry's DH 110 broke up, killing him and his observer. In exactly the same way, the engines carried on: one landed on a small hillock outside the camp packed with spectators for the (free) show: the result was 28 dead, 63 injured. (Wiki)
The Sapphires weighed 1.3 tons apiece. Travelling at (say) 300mph, they could easily have reduced the school to rubble: it didn't bear thinking about. Mercifully, they came to rest some 200 yards short. Two seconds later on the "break", and...........
There were witnesses galore for the BOI. We'd moved into MQs by then. Mrs D. was in the garden with Mary: she thought that they had collided and both crashed (so did many others). But it depended on the line-of-sight: Alpha was searched inch by inch, there wasn't a dent or scratch on it. The combination of rapid rate of roll with excessive "G" had overstressed the second aircraft.
Still in sombre mood, there was a Canberra case. This one was on the ground (where you might think it might be safe). Even more, it was in a hangar. There was an electrical fault on one of the wing tanks, a young electrical mech was working on top of the wing. It had been necessary to drain the tank - and, as we all know, an empty tank is far more dangerous than a full one.
It was absolutely essential that the aircraft be fully earthed: it seems that it cannot have been. There was a spark, the explosion opened the wing skin as you might peel a banana. He was blown hard up against the trusses of the hangar roof before falling back on the floor. He'd sustained severe thoracic damage: the heart had stopped.
The medics were there in a minute or two, the M.O. worked desperately, in the end opening the chest and attempting to restart the heart with manual massage. It was no good, the boy died.
That's quite enough for tonight,
Danny42C.
Requiescant in pace.
A sombre post indeed, Danny, and by awful coincidence I am reading it as the time approaches the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
We Will Remember Them!
We Will Remember Them!
I can't find anything to support my earlier tale of the Rootes supposed full-auto development of the magnetic clutch principle.
My reason for posting is to assure Danny that he's not cracking up - Rootes did indeed have an electrically operated automatic called the Easidrive which was (news to me) made by Smith's and used magnetic clutches and electro-mechanical relays. They persevered with it for three years before switching to a proper Borg Warner automatic. Survivors are probably in single figures and I suspect they wish they'd never bothered. It wasn't entirely successful...
Regards to all.
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Chugalug,
Amen to that. It is not always appreciated how large a part war and peace accidents played in the Casualty Lists. I believe the terrible figure of Bomber Command (55,000+) included 8,000+ in training. And even in the days of peace (?) of the early '50s, there was great execution done wth the introduction of the Meteor and Vampire: there was a figure (in a Thread here) of some 900+ aircraft lost and 400+ pilots killed in accidents (many as a result of the asymmetric handling qualities - or lack of them - of the Meteor).
I was pleased to hear the BBC2 commentator make reference to this in last Friday's film.....D.
DHfan,
Aren't we all ? (De Haviland never made a bad aircraft yet - the Comet was just unlucky in that nobody then knew enough about Metal Fatigue caused by repeated compression/decompression).
Now welcome to our happy (mostly geriatric) family. All contributions are gratefully received, all's grist that comes to the mill, RAF connection or not. Don't let this be your last visit !
Thanks for the confirmation about the Rootes/Smith-Jaeger connection. It was obvious from the word go (with the benefit of hindsight !), and with the success of the single clutch, that all you had to do was to double or treble-up, organise the cogs in some way so that each clutch brought in a different ratio, and you'd have a full autobox with no messing about with hydraulic oil or Torque Converters any more. And it should be much cheaper. What's not to like ?
What went wrong on the Austrian autobahn I don't know. The current that excited the iron filings (I beg its pardon - stainless steel powder) had naturally to be fed in through slip-rings.* Our multi-clutch idea would have to have a separate ring for each, and a common earth.
Somehow the rings were bridged. All ratios (incuding Reverse ?) clutched-in together; the whole box exploded; "Easi-Drive" became "No-drive-at-all", and the Minx covertible (IIRC) coasted to a standstill at the end of a long trail of bits (they were coming back from their holiday, anyway, so it didn't matter all that much).
* If you look-up "Coupleur Jaeger" on Google. Wiki gives you a nice cutaway diagram, zoom-in and get out your old school French dictionary, and all is made plain (the slip rings are at the back).......D.
Cheers to both, Danny.
Amen to that. It is not always appreciated how large a part war and peace accidents played in the Casualty Lists. I believe the terrible figure of Bomber Command (55,000+) included 8,000+ in training. And even in the days of peace (?) of the early '50s, there was great execution done wth the introduction of the Meteor and Vampire: there was a figure (in a Thread here) of some 900+ aircraft lost and 400+ pilots killed in accidents (many as a result of the asymmetric handling qualities - or lack of them - of the Meteor).
I was pleased to hear the BBC2 commentator make reference to this in last Friday's film.....D.
DHfan,
Aren't we all ? (De Haviland never made a bad aircraft yet - the Comet was just unlucky in that nobody then knew enough about Metal Fatigue caused by repeated compression/decompression).
Now welcome to our happy (mostly geriatric) family. All contributions are gratefully received, all's grist that comes to the mill, RAF connection or not. Don't let this be your last visit !
Thanks for the confirmation about the Rootes/Smith-Jaeger connection. It was obvious from the word go (with the benefit of hindsight !), and with the success of the single clutch, that all you had to do was to double or treble-up, organise the cogs in some way so that each clutch brought in a different ratio, and you'd have a full autobox with no messing about with hydraulic oil or Torque Converters any more. And it should be much cheaper. What's not to like ?
What went wrong on the Austrian autobahn I don't know. The current that excited the iron filings (I beg its pardon - stainless steel powder) had naturally to be fed in through slip-rings.* Our multi-clutch idea would have to have a separate ring for each, and a common earth.
Somehow the rings were bridged. All ratios (incuding Reverse ?) clutched-in together; the whole box exploded; "Easi-Drive" became "No-drive-at-all", and the Minx covertible (IIRC) coasted to a standstill at the end of a long trail of bits (they were coming back from their holiday, anyway, so it didn't matter all that much).
* If you look-up "Coupleur Jaeger" on Google. Wiki gives you a nice cutaway diagram, zoom-in and get out your old school French dictionary, and all is made plain (the slip rings are at the back).......D.
Cheers to both, Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 11th Nov 2013 at 20:13. Reason: Format.
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Originally Posted by Danny42C
And even in the days of peace (?) of the early '50s, there was great execution done wth the introduction of the Meteor and Vampire: there was a figure (in a Thread here) of some 900+ aircraft lost and 400+ pilots killed in accidents (many as a result of the asymmetric handling qualities - or lack of them - of the Meteor).
We will also remember them ... the OH and I certainly have over the last week or so, formally, and at other times as a passing thought of 'bugggahhh' as a name comes to mind.
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MPN11,
I remember those days well: it was around the time I managed to get back in. We old-timers (me, all of 28!) knew all about the casualties, but comforted ourselves with the fact that we'd developed a strong sense of self-preservation over the years (which is why we were still there).
But the "new boys" (some of them the NS pilots), had, as their introduction to the Meteor, (the Tornado of its day, remember), the Oxford - of all things. I'd thought that incredible then, now I deem it almost criminal. Why not Harvard - Spitfire (or better, Mossie), and then a Meteor ?
That would have given the poor little devils some sort of a chance ....D.
Union Jack,
Never mind, Jack - time is the cure for youth !.....D.
Regards to you both, Danny.
I remember those days well: it was around the time I managed to get back in. We old-timers (me, all of 28!) knew all about the casualties, but comforted ourselves with the fact that we'd developed a strong sense of self-preservation over the years (which is why we were still there).
But the "new boys" (some of them the NS pilots), had, as their introduction to the Meteor, (the Tornado of its day, remember), the Oxford - of all things. I'd thought that incredible then, now I deem it almost criminal. Why not Harvard - Spitfire (or better, Mossie), and then a Meteor ?
That would have given the poor little devils some sort of a chance ....D.
Union Jack,
Never mind, Jack - time is the cure for youth !.....D.
Regards to you both, Danny.
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A friend of mine sent me this link, and although it may be slightly off topic, I think it fits in well with the spirit of this wonderful thread.
Hope you enjoy.
SPITFIRE 944 - YouTube
Hope you enjoy.
SPITFIRE 944 - YouTube
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OffshoreSLF,
Thanks for the link ! (It has, in fact, been on one of the Threads here very recently). But no matter: it's well worth seeing many times, and Col. Baynes is a splendid narrator, a real American gentleman of the old school.
I was very interested in his mishap with the CO² bottle. Ours were wired-up to prevent just such an incident, but of course you could, if necessary, untie/bust the wire to (as a last resort) get an u/c down if the hydraulics failed (never heard of one being "blown" in anger, myself). I had no idea that accidental use could jam the up-locks (as seems to have happened).
Just shows, I flew my last Spit in autumn '51 - and I can still learn more about them !
The wheels-up was very nicely done, I thought, but he seemed very fast. But then again, that may be simply a mismatch between the home-movie film speed and the medium to which it was later transferred.
Cheers, Danny.
Thanks for the link ! (It has, in fact, been on one of the Threads here very recently). But no matter: it's well worth seeing many times, and Col. Baynes is a splendid narrator, a real American gentleman of the old school.
I was very interested in his mishap with the CO² bottle. Ours were wired-up to prevent just such an incident, but of course you could, if necessary, untie/bust the wire to (as a last resort) get an u/c down if the hydraulics failed (never heard of one being "blown" in anger, myself). I had no idea that accidental use could jam the up-locks (as seems to have happened).
Just shows, I flew my last Spit in autumn '51 - and I can still learn more about them !
The wheels-up was very nicely done, I thought, but he seemed very fast. But then again, that may be simply a mismatch between the home-movie film speed and the medium to which it was later transferred.
Cheers, Danny.
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8000 bomber crew in training, and one dreads to think how many unnecessary deaths on bombing raids otherwise than as a result of enemy action.
Interesting to contemplate in the context of today's health-and-safety culture, and to wonder what the end result would have been of imposition of an element of that culture onto the 1940s. And certainly on those Meteors.
For all that this culture is popularly decried, workmen don't die on construction sites these days.
We'd probably have lost the war though, so it would be a moot point...
Your own prang, Danny, of your Vengeance, was - we learned many pages ago - the result of inadequate training; for all that your receiving this 'training' was 70 years too late.
Edit: Offshore, thanks for that. They've other bits on YouTube including this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etmnFrZYJG4
Interesting to contemplate in the context of today's health-and-safety culture, and to wonder what the end result would have been of imposition of an element of that culture onto the 1940s. And certainly on those Meteors.
For all that this culture is popularly decried, workmen don't die on construction sites these days.
We'd probably have lost the war though, so it would be a moot point...
Your own prang, Danny, of your Vengeance, was - we learned many pages ago - the result of inadequate training; for all that your receiving this 'training' was 70 years too late.
Edit: Offshore, thanks for that. They've other bits on YouTube including this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etmnFrZYJG4
Last edited by Reader123; 13th Nov 2013 at 16:43.
Reader123:-
Not quite sure of the point you are making there, unless it is that all deaths on bombing raids were unnecessary because the bombing raids themselves were? I only say that because it is what modern perceived wisdom seems to say these days.
I don't think the wartime accident rate was something that could be changed much, given the dangers inherent in training for, and conducting of, such a massive enterprise as the War in the Air comprised, but Danny will no doubt take me to task if I am wrong in that.
The problem was that wartime philosophy carried on into the peacetime airforce when the imperatives to carry on in that way no longer really pertained. OK the Cold War soon set in and the switch from Pistons to Jets (especially those primitive first generation ones) produced a steep and often unscalable learning curve, but in retrospect a lot of those deaths were both unnecessary and avoidable. It was after all on the back of them that RAF Flight Safety was launched.
Given the urgency of the task, the lack of time in which to properly learn one's craft, the very limited aids available and their tendency to become swiftly unavailable, and the measures that had to be taken to ensure concentration of force and defence against enemy interception, those +8000 training losses be they down to CFIT, mid-air collisions, or plain lack of airmanship were as much the price of victory as those suffered by direct enemy action. All 55573 BC deaths were a part of the waste that is war. Would that they were all unnecessary and avoidable.
one dreads to think how many unnecessary deaths on bombing raids otherwise than as a result of enemy action.
I don't think the wartime accident rate was something that could be changed much, given the dangers inherent in training for, and conducting of, such a massive enterprise as the War in the Air comprised, but Danny will no doubt take me to task if I am wrong in that.
The problem was that wartime philosophy carried on into the peacetime airforce when the imperatives to carry on in that way no longer really pertained. OK the Cold War soon set in and the switch from Pistons to Jets (especially those primitive first generation ones) produced a steep and often unscalable learning curve, but in retrospect a lot of those deaths were both unnecessary and avoidable. It was after all on the back of them that RAF Flight Safety was launched.
Given the urgency of the task, the lack of time in which to properly learn one's craft, the very limited aids available and their tendency to become swiftly unavailable, and the measures that had to be taken to ensure concentration of force and defence against enemy interception, those +8000 training losses be they down to CFIT, mid-air collisions, or plain lack of airmanship were as much the price of victory as those suffered by direct enemy action. All 55573 BC deaths were a part of the waste that is war. Would that they were all unnecessary and avoidable.
Last edited by Chugalug2; 13th Nov 2013 at 21:25.
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Reader123 and Chugalug,
It must be very difficult for this generation to comprehend the altered perception of the risks and dangers which were routinely accepted seventy years ago. Particularly was this noticeable in the world of military and civil aviation.
As I've mentioned before, Flight Safety as a concept did not yet exist - it would be considered an oxymoron then. Flying was dangerous, everybody knew that. People got killed flying. It was on a par with big-game hunting, and its exponents were ipso facto "heroes" in the same way.
And the generation before mine was accustomed to the hideous casualty lists of 1914-18. It is a sad thing to say, but they'd become almost blasé in the face of the huge numbers involved. Perhaps "numb" or "desensitised" are better words. Of course this mindset carried into the fighting Services. In the RAF, we had plenty of P/O Prunes, and plenty more where they'd come from. You can't make omelettes without breaking eggs. You must push your Prunes through the training system at a rate commensurate with your operational losses, or the whole thing comes to a stop.
I suppose most of our people would reach their squadrons with 250 hours, give or take. If they'd had 500 hours, and the training had been less intensive, and Flight Safety ruled the roost, would the training losses have been fewer ?... Certainly!... Would the subsequent accident loss-rate on the squadons have been less ?...Certainly!... Could we have afforded to do it ?...No! Time is the currency of war. Needs must when the devil drives. (No, Chugalug, you are not wrong).
The sad thing is that this attitude ("Press on Regardless") continued into the peace (if you count the Cold War as "peace"). Prune morphed into Bloggs, but the system didn't change. It was not until public unease at the level of peacetime casualties built up in the mid-'50s that the RAF had to take Flight Safety seriously.
As to my crash, my training played no part in it. Reg Levy (RIP) said that his training (like mine, in the American "Arnold" Scheme) was the finest flying training in the world, and I wouldn't argue with that. What I did was to make a wrong assumption that my oil pressure gauge was faulty - and it wasn't ! (You can't win 'em all).
Danny.
It must be very difficult for this generation to comprehend the altered perception of the risks and dangers which were routinely accepted seventy years ago. Particularly was this noticeable in the world of military and civil aviation.
As I've mentioned before, Flight Safety as a concept did not yet exist - it would be considered an oxymoron then. Flying was dangerous, everybody knew that. People got killed flying. It was on a par with big-game hunting, and its exponents were ipso facto "heroes" in the same way.
And the generation before mine was accustomed to the hideous casualty lists of 1914-18. It is a sad thing to say, but they'd become almost blasé in the face of the huge numbers involved. Perhaps "numb" or "desensitised" are better words. Of course this mindset carried into the fighting Services. In the RAF, we had plenty of P/O Prunes, and plenty more where they'd come from. You can't make omelettes without breaking eggs. You must push your Prunes through the training system at a rate commensurate with your operational losses, or the whole thing comes to a stop.
I suppose most of our people would reach their squadrons with 250 hours, give or take. If they'd had 500 hours, and the training had been less intensive, and Flight Safety ruled the roost, would the training losses have been fewer ?... Certainly!... Would the subsequent accident loss-rate on the squadons have been less ?...Certainly!... Could we have afforded to do it ?...No! Time is the currency of war. Needs must when the devil drives. (No, Chugalug, you are not wrong).
The sad thing is that this attitude ("Press on Regardless") continued into the peace (if you count the Cold War as "peace"). Prune morphed into Bloggs, but the system didn't change. It was not until public unease at the level of peacetime casualties built up in the mid-'50s that the RAF had to take Flight Safety seriously.
As to my crash, my training played no part in it. Reg Levy (RIP) said that his training (like mine, in the American "Arnold" Scheme) was the finest flying training in the world, and I wouldn't argue with that. What I did was to make a wrong assumption that my oil pressure gauge was faulty - and it wasn't ! (You can't win 'em all).
Danny.
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Danny and Family settle down in Cologne.
Before launching into the main story, I want to put one thing on record. Although our two nations had been at each other's throats a mere fifteen years before, in the whole of our 2½ years in Germany we never met any resentment or hostility from any German; we were always warmly welcomed in any shop, restaurant or hotel. And although we were at first unfamiliar with the currency, we were (AFAIK) never short-changed in any shop.
We liked the country, we liked the people. It was a tragedy that they had allowed themselves to fall under the spell (and I use the word advisedly) of a malignant madman.
The Cologne tram line ran out as far as the Volkspark (did it go on to Bonn ?), but we always took the car into town. In the Hohestraße there was a multi-storey carpark of a type we'd never seen before and would never see again. You put your Dm 1.50 (say 2/6 then, or £2.50 now) into a machine, this issued a receipt and opened a gate into a one-car lift. You drove in, the gate closed behind you (I suppose you had to press a button). Then it rose to the first floor which had vacant slots, the inside gate opened, you drove out and found one. There were stairs (but no passenger lift) down to the street. Getting out was the reverse of getting in.
Now the beauty of the arrangement: the receipt was good against any purchase in the Kaufhof across the street. This was a large department store - I suppose they owned the carpark, too. Obviouly everybody who used it would go into the shop, if only for a coffee in the coffee-shop, to get their money back. And every retailer knows, once the customer comes into the shop, you're half way to a sale.
We spent a lot of time in the Kaufhof, and in the rest of the more important shops up and down the street. Somewhere there we bought Mary's cot, a massive solid beechwood construction, and an equally unbreakable play-pen (for which there was ample room in our lounge). In this, one day when we were still in Cologne, Mary would hoist herself up and, spontaneously, take her first steps.
The speed with which the Germans had rebuilt their towns and cities was truly impressive. As we recall, there was little or no trace now of the total destruction which Gen. Arnold had found in '45. Particularly remarkable was the way that, in the smaller, medieval towns, they had replaced the lost 14th and 15th century buildings with modern backs behind a faithful pastiche front, so carefully and accurately done that many visitors (even today) cannot believe that they are seeing a '50s construct, and not something 4-500 years old.
In view of the state that the Allied bombing had left the towns and cities in, you had to wonder how the German race had survived at all. The answer is in one word - "unterkellert !"
Before the war, nearly all buildings in Britain seemed to have cellars (and very useful they were, too). Both the Volkspark and MQs in GK had cellars, down there you had a laundry room, a boiler room, coke store and plenty of storage space.
In war, they were the salvation of the German public. They were ready-made air raid shelters. Admittedly, it was hard luck if the house above came down on top of you, but you were no worse off than if you'd stayed upstairs. And in many cases they served a grimmer (but merciful) purpose.
In the great firestorms such as that in Hamburg, the fires up above (and often the street surfaces were burning) were taking all the oxygen from the air; many died painlessly in their cellars from anoxia before the fires got to them (and CO² is heavier than air, and the cellar is the lowest point).
The next one is more cheerful.
Good afternoon, folk,
Danny42C.
You can always find someone worse off than yourself.
We liked the country, we liked the people. It was a tragedy that they had allowed themselves to fall under the spell (and I use the word advisedly) of a malignant madman.
The Cologne tram line ran out as far as the Volkspark (did it go on to Bonn ?), but we always took the car into town. In the Hohestraße there was a multi-storey carpark of a type we'd never seen before and would never see again. You put your Dm 1.50 (say 2/6 then, or £2.50 now) into a machine, this issued a receipt and opened a gate into a one-car lift. You drove in, the gate closed behind you (I suppose you had to press a button). Then it rose to the first floor which had vacant slots, the inside gate opened, you drove out and found one. There were stairs (but no passenger lift) down to the street. Getting out was the reverse of getting in.
Now the beauty of the arrangement: the receipt was good against any purchase in the Kaufhof across the street. This was a large department store - I suppose they owned the carpark, too. Obviouly everybody who used it would go into the shop, if only for a coffee in the coffee-shop, to get their money back. And every retailer knows, once the customer comes into the shop, you're half way to a sale.
We spent a lot of time in the Kaufhof, and in the rest of the more important shops up and down the street. Somewhere there we bought Mary's cot, a massive solid beechwood construction, and an equally unbreakable play-pen (for which there was ample room in our lounge). In this, one day when we were still in Cologne, Mary would hoist herself up and, spontaneously, take her first steps.
The speed with which the Germans had rebuilt their towns and cities was truly impressive. As we recall, there was little or no trace now of the total destruction which Gen. Arnold had found in '45. Particularly remarkable was the way that, in the smaller, medieval towns, they had replaced the lost 14th and 15th century buildings with modern backs behind a faithful pastiche front, so carefully and accurately done that many visitors (even today) cannot believe that they are seeing a '50s construct, and not something 4-500 years old.
In view of the state that the Allied bombing had left the towns and cities in, you had to wonder how the German race had survived at all. The answer is in one word - "unterkellert !"
Before the war, nearly all buildings in Britain seemed to have cellars (and very useful they were, too). Both the Volkspark and MQs in GK had cellars, down there you had a laundry room, a boiler room, coke store and plenty of storage space.
In war, they were the salvation of the German public. They were ready-made air raid shelters. Admittedly, it was hard luck if the house above came down on top of you, but you were no worse off than if you'd stayed upstairs. And in many cases they served a grimmer (but merciful) purpose.
In the great firestorms such as that in Hamburg, the fires up above (and often the street surfaces were burning) were taking all the oxygen from the air; many died painlessly in their cellars from anoxia before the fires got to them (and CO² is heavier than air, and the cellar is the lowest point).
The next one is more cheerful.
Good afternoon, folk,
Danny42C.
You can always find someone worse off than yourself.