Bomber!

Last updated on August 23rd, 2023 at 12:13 pm

Avro Lancaster, bomber, S-Sugar, visit RAF HendonAt the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London, there is a massive aircraft hanger entirely dedicated to bombers.  Most of the aeroplanes on display in Bomber Hall are World War Two vintage, some are more recent – and some aren’t bombers at all (so we’ll omit those for the time being).  It is an uncomfortable contradiction that weaponry designed, as of course all of it is, to kill and maim fellow human beings, can occasionally evoke intense feelings of pride and comradeship.  This is particularly true of aircraft and ships, in which (mainly) young men achieved amazing things, often as part of a close-knit team.  And how can something that is intended to perform such an ugly job at the same time sometimes also appear so beautiful?

Perhaps because I was brought up on a cultural diet that included Captain WE Johns, Nevil Shute, heroic biographies and a myriad of old war movies (“On your tail, Algy.”), some of these aeroplanes seem like old friends.  Making plastic Airfix kits at an early, impressionable, age can’t have helped.  So it is hard not to look at some of these machines without admiration and a sense of nostalgia – even though I hasten to add that I wasn’t there.  “OK, chaps, starting my bombing run now…”

Heinkel, German bomber, Isle of Dogs, London, Blitz
German Heinkel He III bomber over the Isle of Dogs, London, 7th September 1940

Aerial bombardment remains one of the most contentious aspects of warfare.  Precision targeting is obviously preferable to indiscriminate blanket bombing, but is cold, clinical – and terrifying because of the seemingly inexorable inevitability of the result, and the intelligent power behind it.  Laser-guided missiles that can take out particular buildings were the stuff of science fiction when British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin claimed in 1932, that, “The bomber will always get through”.  In the 1930s, it was thought that any future war would be hallmarked by devastating air attacks against civilians, including the widespread use of gas.  The destruction of the Spanish town of Guernica by the German and Italian air forces in 1937 seemed to support this theory.  Immediately prior to World War Two, military expert Basil Liddell-Hart predicted 250,000 casualties in Britain in the first week of war.

Balham High Road, bombed, 1940, WW2
Double-decker ‘bus in a bomb crater – Balham High Road (gateway to the south), London, 15th October 1940.

Yet the German Luftwaffe never really seriously developed the sort of heavy bomber that the British and Americans did, instead relying on medium bombers and dive bombers that could be used as mobile artillery – dive bombers were more accurate than the indiscriminate dropping of bombs from a great height.  In the initial stages of World War Two, the main protagonists usually shied away from bombing civilians – though the Germans regarded both Warsaw and Rotterdam as legitimate strategic targets.  The RAF spent a lot of time dropping propaganda leaflets during the so-called phoney war, before the invasion of Denmark and Norway, and some in Britain regarded the bombing of Germany as an outrage against private property.  The reality was that no one had the technical ability to hit specific targets with any real precision – whatever the officials and newspapers said.

Dresden, bombing, 1945
Dresden after the Allied bombing of 1944-45

Baldwin was right – the bomber always got through, though the human cost was mutually appalling.  Some 60,595 British citizens were killed during air raids on the UK in the Second World War, including 8,300 killed by Vergeltungswaffen, ‘reprisal weapons’, the pilotless  V1 and V2.  The British, joined by the Americans from mid-1942, embarked on a still controversial strategic bombing campaign that was intended to reduce Germany’s ability to continue the war by hitting the means of production, as well as military targets.  RAF Bomber Command flew by night, while the USAAF operated by day.  However, anything between 305,000 and 600,000 people, including civilians, POWs and slave labourers, died in Germany from Allied bombing between 1939-45.  It is estimated that perhaps 45,000 alone perished in the raids on Hamburg in July 1943 and up to 25,000 in Dresden in February 1945, when the concentration of high explosives on both occasions was so great that it caused firestorms – similar to the effects of an atomic bomb.  Royal Air Force and US Army Air Force (USAAF) crew were christened, Terrorflieger, ‘terror flyers’, by the Germans.  The fear of being caught in a bombing raid is, thankfully, incomprehensible to most of us; helpless, unable to retaliate or take much action that would guarantee survival for themselves or their loved ones, often the only thing people could do was wait, and hope, until it was all over. They were, on all sides, truly victims.

B17, bomber, Berlin, bombing, WW2
USAAF B17 Miss Donna Mae II over Berlin on 19th May 1944. Donna Mae drifted underneath another bomber on its bombing run. A bomb tore off the left tailplane, sending the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin. All 11 on board were killed.

RAF Bomber Command included many nationalities – for example, American, Australian, Canadian, Czechoslovakian, French, Indian, New Zealander, Norwegian, Polish, Rhodesian and South African.  It suffered horrendous casualties; 55,573 air crew of Bomber Command died – an atrocious death-rate of 44%, the worst of any branch of the British armed services.  USAAF deaths were 26,000 out of 305,000 aircrew deployed in the European Theatre. Many thousands more were wounded or taken prisoner.  Most of these were very young men, convinced they were doing a job that would win, or shorten, the war.

Memorial, RAF, Bomber Command, Beachy Head, East Sussex
Memorial to RAF Bomber Command on Beachy Head, East Sussex. Often the last piece of Britain a crew saw – and a first welcome sight when they returned.

All of which is pretty sobering when you survey the impressive exhibits in Bomber Hall.  Here is a bit about some of them.

Avro Lancaster I

The ‘Lanc’, designed by Roy Chadwick and initially equipped with four Rolls Royce Merlin engines – the same powerhouse that drove the Spitfire – was the iconic RAF bomber of the Second World War.  More than 7,000 were built and it is believed 17 survive, though only two are still airworthy – one in the UK and one in Canada.

The one at RAF Hendon is S-Sugar, a famous aircraft that survived at least 125 operational sorties over Europe between 1942 and 1945, first with 83 Squadron based at Scampton, Lincolnshire, then with 467 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Lancaster, bomber, RAF, Hendon, S-Sugar

Boeing B17G “Flying Fortress”

Called ‘the Flying Fortress’ because it was so heavily armed, from 1944 this was the mainstay of the 8th Air Force of the USAAF, ‘the mighty 8th‘ operating from Britain over occupied Europe. 12,731 B17s were built – it is said that one rolled off the production line at Boeing’s factory in Seattle every 90 minutes – and they were supplied to air forces all over the world, including the RAF.  The Brazilian Air Force was still flying them up to 1968.  Hollywood stars Clark Gable and James Stewart both flew in B17s.  They were massive aeroplanes, with a crew of 10.

The B17 at RAF Hendon was built in 1945 and was in service until 1956.  It was actually flown across the Atlantic to the museum in 1983.

B17, Flying Fortress, US, bomber, RAF Hendon, aviation museum, LondonHandley Page Halifax II

The Halifax took a major part in the night bombing campaign against Germany, dropping more than 25% of the RAF’s bombs.  But it suffered major losses and was restricted to less hazardous targets and duties from September 1943.

In April 1942, this particular aeroplane, W1048, attacked the German pocket battleship Tirpitz, anchored in a fjord near Trondheim, Norway, from a height of 200 feet.  It was badly damaged in the attack.  The pilot, P/O Don MacIntyre, a Canadian, skilfully managed to land the fatally wounded aircraft on the surface of a frozen lake.  All six crew got out alive: one was captured by the Germans and the others made their way to neutral Sweden with the help of the Norwegian resistance.  The Halifax sunk.  The wreck was discovered in 1971 and was recovered in 1973.  Amazingly, after 30 years in an ice-cold lake, the instrument panel lit up when connected to a battery.

Halifax, bomber, Tirpitz, NorwayNorth American TB-25J

The B25 ‘Mitchell’ was a highly successful World War II American medium bomber, supplied to air forces all over the world, including the RAF and the Soviet Union.  The US mostly employed it in the Pacific theatre and did not use it in Britain.  It was 16 Mitchells that took off from the carrier USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo in the famous ‘Doolittle Raid’ of April 1942.

The aeroplane in the museum at Hendon was built in 1944 and served as a training aircraft with American forces until 1959.  It was used in two films, Catch 22 and Hanover Street (which I confess I’ve never heard of) and flew to Britain across the Pond in 1978.

RAF Hendon, B25 Mitchell, American, bomberV1 (Vergeltungswaffen or Vengeance Weapon 1)

Photographed in a separate hanger and now at the RAF’s other museum at Cosford, the V1 ‘flying bomb’ or ‘doodlebug’ was a pilotless aircraft powered by a distinctive-sounding pulse jet. The noise has been described as ‘like a badly-tuned motor-bike’. When the engine cut out, the aircraft would fall silently to earth, the explosive in the nose detonating on impact. It had a limited range.  Some 9,500 V1s were launched against Britain from 13th June 1944, of which 6,208 fell to earth, mostly on London.  The remainder were shot down over, or fell into the sea; it was discovered that, by skilfully flying precisely alongside and tipping them with the wing of an aircraft, the V1’s gyroscope would be unbalanced and they would crash.

Museum V1, Flying BombV2 (Vergeltungswaffen or Vengeance Weapon 2)

The V2 was a long-range rocket which flew at c3,600 mph and arrived without warning 5 minutes after it had been launched. It could not be tracked.  The first one to fall on Britain landed in Chiswick, in West London, in September 1944. It killed 3 people. Initially, to avoid mass panic, the government line was that the explosions were caused by defective gas mains, though it was forced to admit the truth by November. There was no defence against this kind on attack at the time and the rockets only stopped after the launch facilities had been overrun in March 1945. This too was photographed in a separate hanger and may no longer be on display in Hendon, though there is a V2 at Cosford.

V2, rocket, museumPanavia Tornado GRIB

Not all of the aeroplanes at RAF Hendon are particularly ancient.  The Tornado was jointly developed by the UK, Germany and Italy in the 1970s and was also supplied to Saudi Arabia.  Although no longer in production, Tornados are still in service at the time of writing (2017).

The particular aircraft shown on display at the museum was built by British Aerospace at Warton, Lancashire, in 1983.  It served in Operation Desert Storm, the Gulf War in 1991, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and with 617 ‘the Dambusters’ Squadron.  It was withdrawn from service in 2002.

Tornado, aircraft, museum, RAFAvro Vulcan B2

The distinctive delta-winged Vulcan was one of the RAF’s ‘V bombers’, carrying Britain’s nuclear deterrent until the advent of Polaris submarines in the 1960s.  They were operational from 1956 until 1984 and served in the Falklands War of 1982.  The aircraft had a range of more than 2,500 miles – and a massive wingspan of almost 100’ (30.3 metres).

The one on display flew with 617, 83 and 27 Squadrons RAF between 1961 and 1981.

Avro Vulcan, bomb, nuclear, bomber, museum, LondonThe superb RAF Museum at Hendon is within easy walking distance of Colindale tube station – Northern (black) line, Edgware branch.  If you’re driving, there is parking on site – which is charged for – but entry to the museum is free.  From J4 of the M1 – left, left, steady, right, right, left, steady, hard left now Skipper.  OK Chaps, we’re home; all switches off.

Other aviation museums are available; you will find some listed under Places to Visit.

27 thoughts on “Bomber!”

  1. I enjoyed this immensely and thank you for your work. My father flew 28 bombing missions out of Tholthorpe with the Alouette Squadron. While he trained on Lancs in Wellesbourne, all of his operations were flown in the Halifax III. I think there might be only one of these remaining, beautifully restored, here in Canada. One day soon I hope to actually see it. BTW, if it’s possible, you might consider having your webmaster fix “The Halifax sunk.” It actually sank. 🙂

      1. Hi ‘Hawsug’ – thanks for dropping in. It is humbling to think of what your father’s generation did – let’s hope you get to see your Halifax! My step-uncle flew Wellingtons; sadly, he didn’t make it. Enjoy the rest of A Bit About Britain!

  2. As you know, my dad served in Bomber Command, ending his days on Lancasters flying ‘pathfinder’ missions. Thanks for pointing me to this interesting post. The Vulcan was not the only ‘V’ bomber. There were also the Victor and Valiant, one of them characterised by its ‘crescent’ wing shape. I went to school not far from Wisley in Surrey and used to see them on test flights over head.

  3. Fenella Smith

    An Avro Vulcan was part of the Toronto International Air Show for many years. I’m not sure when it stopped. It was an impressive sight looking up at the huge delta wing plane, and seeing the bomb bay doors opening above you.

    1. Look forward to reading it., Bill. Duxford’s just amazing, and I think bigger than Hendon (not sure). I haven’t been to Duxford for ages – need to revisit with a decent camera!

  4. Hi Mike – yes a really informative post … I’m going to let a chap (88) I’ve met who worked on systems for these machines here at the latter end of the war, and thereafter before going to Canada and the States – so I’ll let him see this post – I think he’ll be fascinated to read it. Our next meeting is next Wednesday …

    War is dreadful … but so many new ideas and technical developments come from those periods.

    Last time I spent time at Beachy Head looking at the Memorial was in thick sea fog in May a few years ago!! Cheers Hilary

  5. “For many Beachy Head would have been their last sight of England.
    “Remember Them.”

    Thanks for showing the monument to the RAF Bomber Command on Beachy Head. The above is carved onto one side of it.

  6. A great run through the role of aircraft, notably bombers, during WW2. As you say, we can view it with a mixture of horror at so many deaths as well as pride. The museum looks a wonderful place, and I’d never get my husband out of there if we visited. Lancasters are a particular favourite. We see them flying over here from RAF Coningsby, along with Spitfires and Hurricanes. The distinctive engine sounds never fail to grab the attention. It’s generally as part of the Battle of Britain commemorations.

  7. Thank-you Mike. One of my uncles flew in Lancasters during the war. His plane was eventually shot down, his Australian pilot sacrificing himself while insuring his crew got out of the plane. My uncle was on the run in France for three days, was sheltered for one of those days by the English wife of a farmer and was eventually captured and interrogated before being sent to a POW camp in Eastern Europe. He had his 21st birthday in the camp.
    My mother tells me that it didn’t take too long for people to accustom themselves to the V1 and V2 bombs though they were hated.

  8. Lots of interesting history at the museum but as you say, sad all the heroism and valor has to do with war. I especially like the quotes you interspersed.

  9. Always had a soft spot for the Vulcan after living just off the end of the runway at Harry Wadders when I worked in Lincoln. They were affectionately known as ‘tin triangles’ by the fly boys. I once met the RAF’s official display pilot whose name escapes me for the moment (i blame old age and the passage of a great deal of time!) Lovely man.

  10. Thanks Mike…for another informative bit on our history. I don’t think I’ve seen the subject of WW2 bombing summarised so clearly in a short article before!

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