Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

Hello there, Although not a fixed upward firing installation,the curved 'Foster Mount',used to mount a Lewis gun on the upper wing of the Nieuport 17 and the Se.5a allowed the gun to be slid back and fired almost vertically above.It was also used to allow the pilot to pull the gun back to change the...

Steve, There are a number of combat reports in AIR27/1911 that explicitly mention A.G.L.T. on 460 Sqn.,starting on 28-29/7/44 and ending 23/2/45.They are (in date,target,A/C serial,fighter type,claim order); 28-29/7/44 Stuttgart ND791 Fw190 Probable; 8/8/44 Aire PB176 U/I No claim; 17/8/44 Stettin N...

Hi Steve,
For the sake of completeness,it would appear that the other aircraft in your uncle's log book would be;
'M' LJ823,failed to return Arnhem 21/9/44;
'J' LJ824;
'B' LK196,undercarriage collapsed on take-off at Great Dunmow on exercise 'Amber' 4/5/45.
Regards,Mark.

Hi Steve, During the war,R.A.F.aircraft carried two sets of identification codes.One set identified the squadron the aircraft flew with-in the case of 190 Sqn Stirlings,I believe the code was G5.The individual aircraft was then given an identification letter-in this case it appears that it may have ...

Hi Steve and Dave,
Just a suggestion.Could your uncle be referring to EF214,coded 'L'? As Dave says,the only Stirling serial containing the numbers 214 is EF214.Just a thought,
Regards,Mark.

Hi Chris, Looking at the published material to hand,it seems possible that your father encountered an Me 410 of II/KG 51,the unit responsible at that period for intruder operations over Britain.On the night of 28-29/5/44,an estimated six aircraft from this unit were operating over the south coast an...

Hi Paul,
You could try to contact Mr.Bowyer via the publisher Crecy Books at www.crecy.co .uk
Regards,Mark.

Hi Paul, It is a picture of BK654 taking off from Bourn on 13 April 1943,the day XV Squadron moved to Mildenhall.The reproduction is not terribly good,about a quarter-page size and there is no credit under the photo-it might be an idea to try to contact Michael Bowyer to see who has the original and...

Good morning Stephen, Although I have nothing original to report,here is what I have on your relative. Ralph Waters and his crew were lost on the night of 27/28 June 1942 during an attack on Bremen.However ,this was not the 1,000 aircraft attack,which took place on the night of 25/26 June 1942,but a...

Hi Paul,
A photo of a Stirling coded LS-W and reckoned to be BK654 appears on page 184 of my edition of Michael Bowyer's book 'The Stirling Story'.
Hope this helps,
Regards,Mark.