Lancaster Bomber Command
Sanders DFC Out Of The Darkness
Extracts
"If the Lanc had any weakness, it was its landing gear. The olec legs - the struts supporting the wheels - were lighter than on other heavies, and so you had to be careful that you didn't land too hard. It was said that the Lancaster wanted to fly but didn't want to land." pg 41
"I had the feeling that this was not a happy crew. They certainly didn't seem to have the same cooperation and feeling of teamwork that Andy's crew had. I was relieved and pleased to finally go and have
breakfast, and couldn't wait to get back to Middleton St George" pg 84
"This time their aircraft was Lancaster KB-744 P-Peter. Along with nearly 900 other bombers, they set for the attack. But when the stream arrived over the target, less than 300 were able to drop their bombs
due to the large amount of low cloud obscuring the entire area." pg 108
"There were no easy trips - you had to keep on your toes all the time. Concentration was the big essential - all our crew did a wonderful job at that. But I suppose if I had to pick trips that were easier than others; Calais would be one of them." pg 112
"We weren't told about these things at interrogation. I didn't find out the size of the civilian casualty rate until I read it after the war finished. I felt sorry for the people caught up in it. But our job was to knock out Germany's war production and that's what we did. The only aircraft lost was one of our Lancasters from 419 Squadron - it hit a hilltop just north of Middleton St George - there were no survivors" pg 122
"We walked around the plane and counted 167 holes, a lot of them from our own ammo. I was still shaking, but I was more angry than upset. Even though I knew it was the blinking navigational lights, I remember thinking it wasn't fair the bloody Huns picking on us. The other lanes beside us on the dispersal bay were barely damaged. It had been one hell of a rough trip." pg 127
|