An Avro Lancaster starts up, taxies out, takes off and does a flyby. 

Allegra, thank you for posting your message. To think that a 23 year old could face the terrible ordeal that confronted many during that time makes me wonder how today's generation, including myself, would react. I bow my head in respect of your great uncle.

@@Dolomite110 ohh! You are so kind to reply. Thank you! We have a photo of Harry on a ladder next to the right inside engine of one of those Avro Lancasters - during a routine check no doubt. So special and a piece of history. He’s smiling and happy and that fills my heart. Thank you for your lovely words x

My Aunt Molly lost her fiance over Germany. His possessions were returned to her and I still have his damaged silver vesta case. Lest we forget.

What a marvellous and heart felt comment Allegra! I've been fascinated with RAF Bomber Command since I watched, 'The Dambusters,' in 1997 at 7 years of age. By the time I was 9-10 years old, I'd read Gibson's, 'Enemy Coast Ahead,' and was churning out Airfix models like a production line! Over the years, I've been privileged to meet a number of men who served in RAF Bomber Command. I was in WH Smith a few years ago looking at, 'Aviation Classics,' magazine- which oddly enough, was featuring the Lancaster in that edition. An old boy came and stood alongside me and picked up a copy, I said to him, "Now, there's a real aeroplane for you, the Lancaster!" He smiled a broad smile and said, "I flew on Lancs during WW2, I was a Flight Engineer." That started a conversation off that lasted ten minutes or so...... On two occasions whilst visiting RAF Cosford Museum, I have met and spoken to RAF Bomber boys. The first chap was wearing a green flight suit, with his Navigator brevet badge on it. He was there to engage with the public alongside a few other WW2 veterans. I approached him and said, "Ah, a navigator hey? You were the brains of the outfit then, not just a bloody bus driver!" His face lit up and he laughed, he asked me, "How do you know about that bus driver jibe then?" I told him I had a great uncle who was a navigator on Blenheim bombers (By a miracle, he survived the war) and that I had heard the term from him. We then spoke at length- at least 30-40 minute. He told me how he was on a daylight raid in December 1944, when his Lancaster was shit down. He had to take to his parachute and became a POW, I think he said that 3 of the crew didn't make it. He told me how he was taken to a POW camp in Poland initially, before the German's evacuated the camp in the face of the approaching Red horde. The POW's were force marched 250 miles to reach Germany over a 14 day period. They lived in the open and had little to eat during the move and conditions were harsh. They were then housed in a camp in the east of Germany. Eventually, Ivan was 'knocking on the door' once again, this time, the German soldiers abandoned the camp and the POW's. The Russian's arrived shortly afterwards and took over the camp. Within a couple of days, it became apparent that the Russian's had no intention of releasing the prisoners, so the Nav and one of his mates too the initiative and they went over the wire. The pair spent 7-10 days on the run, moving at night, sleeping during the day as they moved through German lines. They lived off raw potato's and anything that they could lay their hands on. They had to swim one of the major German rivers in order to reach allied lines, both men made it, despite being weakened by malnutrition. The pair found themselves in the American sector of the front. He went on to tell me how well the American's treated the two RAF men. He explained how they were immediately taken to see an MO, who examined them and gave them vitamin injections. Immediately after seeing the MO, they were escorted to a shower block- his first hot shower in months! On exiting the shower cubicles, a pair of US soldiers were waiting with fresh clothing for the pair. As soon as they were dressed, a SNCO escorted them to the cookhouse- to use British parlance. He spoke to the NCO in charge and stated, "These two RAF guys have been POW's for months, they've had it really rough. They escaped and spent days on the run to reach our lines. Give them anything they want and as much of it as they want!" The American lads pushed the boat out and served them with steak, potato's and other veg, they even made an urn of tea! The old boy said to me, "I will not hear a word said against the American's- EVER. They treated us like Royalty, and I will never forget their generosity towards the pair of us." He told the the entire story in the most modest, casual manner- as though he was telling me about going out for a stroll to fetch the Sunday newspapers! On the second occasion, I met a Lancaster rear gunner at Cosford. He had a 1/48th scale Lancaster on display built by his son-in-law. He showed me photo's taken at East Kirby a few months earlier. He visited the museum to see, 'Just Jane.' At some point, he spoke to a member of staff, he mentioned that he had served as a rear gunner on Lancs. The guy told him, "Wait here, don't move!" He then disappeared off for five minutes or so. When he returned, he said, "Come with me, I've fixed it so that you can go aboard Jane!" He told me that despite his age, he practically leapt into the rear crew access door and made his way to the rear turret. He got inside the turret and sat behind the two twin .50 Brownings that Jane has. Another staff member was standing at the rear of the aircraft and took numerous photo's of the old boy sat in the turret. It got even better, before he knew it, Jane was carrying out a start up and taxi run. He was delighted by the experience and you could see the delight in his eyes as he recounted the tale. Finally- I visited the BBMF 4 years ago. During the hangar tour, a reference was made by the guide that he was being assessed as a new guide, and that the assessor was the son of one of the Dams raid pilots. I made a mental note to approach him at the end of the tour. Who was it? John Maltby- son of pilot Dave Maltby! I ended up speaking to John for 30-40 minutes, he served in the RAF himself as a pilot. John was carrying an attache case, he said, "Let me show you something rather special!" He then produced his own father's Pilot's Log book, turned to the page with the entry for the dams raid and said, "Note the signature on the bottom of the page!" There it was in black ink, 'G. GIBSON.' What a piece of history and an absolute privilege to view it! You are SO right about the sound of the four Merlin engines on the Lancaster, they radiate power and they are very evocative, the sound is glorious! The Lancaster has a nobility and majesty about it which is quite unique, only the Vulcan came close to having the same appeal.

I am delighted you like this Allen. Thanks for posting the message.

@@Dolomite110 Thanks you are welcome, the majestic sound and purr of R.J Mitchells masterpiece is such a joy to hear.

Like an angel singing in your ears

Agreed I'm sad I couldn't see ours take flight this Canada day

Nothing like them.

Amen! They did what had to be done to ensure freedom survived.

We have betrayed their great sacrifice!

Brave man.

Wow....fantastic. Never to be forgotten. What a sight to behold.

The following quotes and articles betray the real reason why NSDAP Germany was targeted: "Should Germany merchandise again in the next 50 years we have led this war in vain" - Winston Churchill in The Times (1919) "The nation does not live for the sake of the economic system, and the economic system does not exist for the sake of capital. On the contrary, capital is the servant of the economic system and the economic system is the servant of the people." - Adolf Hitler "G. Bank and credit policy 1. Bank supervision The problem's with today's private banking systems are clear. Bank presidents receive hundreds of thousands in pay for their supposedly vastly important work; each member of the board of directors, which usually meet only once a year, often receives tens of thousands. The responsibility of bank presidents and boards of directors is shown by the fact that the state had to pay 1 1/2 billion marks for their foolish speculations and bad investments. Bank presidents do what they want, and the state pays the bills..." - Emergency Economic Program of the NSDAP (1932) A copy of the English translation of this document can be downloaded here in pdf format ia600307.us.archive.org/33/items/RodneyMartin-TheEconomicPlanOfTheNsdap/nsdap_1932_economic_program.pdf The Jewish Declaration of War on Nazi Germany: The Economic Boycott of 1933. M. Raphael Johnson, Ph.D. - judeadeclareswar.pdf jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/judeadeclareswar.pdf "We will force this war upon Hitler, if he wants it or not." - Winston Churchill (1936 broadcast) "Germany becomes too powerful. We have to crush it." - Winston Churchill (November 1936 speaking to US - General Robert E. Wood) “… The elimination of unemployment in Germany during the Great Depression without inflation -- and with initial reliance on essential civilian activities -- was a signal accomplishment. It has rarely been praised and not much remarked. The notion that Hitler could do no good extends to his economics as it does, more plausibly, to all else.” - John Kenneth Galbraith, economist How Hitler Tackled Unemployment And Revived Germany’s Economy www.ihr.org/other/economyhitler2011.html This too: "...as long as Germany and Italy are under their present governments, they will not touch foreign loans, and Germany by her method of internal economy and trading has eliminated the international financier, and those who make profits by playing with foreign exchanges. That is doubtless why the government is being forced by the "City" to start a trade war with Germany. If the economic methods devised by Germany are successful, and spread to other nations, and if Hitler succeeds in his policy of establishing permanent peace in Europe, the high financier will cease to be able to exist. It is therefore their main interest today to plunge the four powers into war, in order to destroy Germany and Italy..." - From the chapter titled 'The Dance of Death', The Case for Germany. A Study of Modern Germany, by A. P. Laurie, 1939 (Cued to the quote on page 91 of the book.) The Case for Germany: A Study of Modern Germany : Arthur Pillans Laurie : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive archive.org/details/TheCaseForGermany/page/n89 The Case for Germany. The Dance of Death, by A. P. Laurie. www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/caseforgermany/cfg11.html The case for Germany;: A study of modern Germany, : Arthur Pillans Laurie: Amazon.com: Books www.amazon.com/case-Germany-study-modern/dp/B00086B3UC Note: The 'City' that Mr. Laurie referred to is the City of London: September 29, 2014 The City of London's strange history www.ft.com/content/7c8f24fa-3aa5-11e4-bd08-00144feabdc0 The author of the above article: Lord Glasman - UK Parliament www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-glasman/4240 (First published in 1944) The Empire of The City: E. C. Knuth: 9780944379127: AmazonDOTcom: Books www.amazon.com/Empire-City-C-Knuth/dp/0944379125 (First published in 1944) The Empire Of "The City" - the-empire-of-the-city.pdf www.1215.org/lawnotes/misc/the-empire-of-the-city.pdf Note: The spelling checking feature of whatever scanning software that was long ago employed to scan a copy of the above rare book into a .pdf hasn't been kind to the text. However there's enough there to get the point across. "The enemy is the German Reich and not Nazism, and those who still haven’t understood this, haven’t understood anything." - Churchill’s chief counselor Robert Lord Vansittart (as said to foreign minister Lord Halifax, September 1940) "Not the political doctrine of Hitler has hurled us into this war. The reason was the success of his increase in building a new economy. The roots of war were envy, greed and fear." - Major General J.F.C. Fuller, historian, England "Germany’s unforgivable crime before WW2 was its attempt to loosen its economy out of the world trade system and to build up an independent exchange system from which the world-finance couldn’t profit anymore..." - Winston Churchill (The Second World War - Bern, 1960) (Translated from German) "We made a monster of Hitler, a devil. That is why (therefore) we could not after the war say otherwise. We had personally mobilised the masses nevertheless against the devil. Thus we were forced after the war, to play along with this devils' scenario. We could not possibly have made our people clear (to them) that the war was only an economic preventative measure!" --James Baker , ex-US Foreign Minister SOURCE: DER SPIEGEL, 13/1992 James Baker III's Interesting Quote About WWII rense.com/general84/baker.htm 30 March 1997 The Nazis' British bankers | The Independent www.independent.co.uk/news/the-nazis-british-bankers-1275885.html 31 July 2013 How the Bank of England helped Nazis sell looted gold | Daily Mail Online www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381587/How-Bank-England-helped-Nazis-sell-looted-gold.html Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler: Antony C. Sutton: 9780945001539: AmazonDOTcom: Books www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Hitler-Antony-Sutton/dp/0945001533 Wall Street and The Rise of Hitler www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/wall_street/index.htm Summary: WW II was - and still is - one of the most lied about periods of human history. There's a _lot_ more information available re who & what really steers major events. All one has to do is follow-the-money and look for it. The Anglo-American Establishment (9780945001010): Carroll Quigley: Books www.amazon.com/Anglo-American-Establishment-Carroll-Quigley/dp/0945001010 The Anglo-American Establishment : Carroll Quigley : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive archive.org/details/carrollquigley_angloamericanestablishment The Anglo-American Establishment: A Ph.D.-Level Reading List | Tragedy and Hope Media tragedyandhope.com/the-anglo-american-establishment-reading-list/ "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." - Harry Truman

If i may ask, which was scarier to people at the time? The V1's bone chilling humming? Or the silent suprise of the V2?

@@davecrupel2817 My late father lived in North London during the entire war. He said there were two especially scarey times:- 1/ When he heard a V1 puttering across the sky and then its engine would suddenly cut and he would wait for the explosion......but where ! 2/ When sticks of bombs were dropped during the blitz he would count them as they exploded and the sound got ever nearer. Would one reach his house ? Frightening times.....

Indeed, Sir. Indeed.

You are absolutely right !!! Only thumbs up should be given and I would prefer each thumb up counts as a thousand!!! In my hometown there is an airgunner monument. Each 4 year the Lancaster flew over as airgunners were present at the 4th of may WW2 remembrance. Unfortunately the last remaining airgunner past away 2022 ..... The Lancaster flying by...always gives goose bumps !!!!

Could be a griffon on that one ! Best wishes !

I am a sawmill worker and so do i. There is something about old engines in general.

I used to live in Niagara Falls and the Lanc, Vera passed over daily. I used to love the sound of her passing overhead. I sure miss her.

Boost and revs are I believe used carefully considering rarity. I remember the Avro York a workhorse in the Berlin Airlift. No restraint then...... wonderful roar. On night tests those flaring exhausts once a beacon for German night fighters.

Sounds like a great uncle to have and agree with the clowns comment. That’s why these men are considered the greatest generation

When push comes to shove our "young clowns" will rise to the challenge when called on to do so. I have every faith in the basic good nature and sense of right in todays young people. So far they have not really been challenged in todays world. Remember that in the early 1930's most people lived relatively dissolute lives just as is tragically happening today. A lot were unemployed and did not have any rigidly defined purpose in their lives. This all changed in 1939 for the UK and in 1941 for the US and USSR. The vast majority of people rose to the challenge and prevailed against fearful odds. Montgomery and other Allied generals were appalled by the low standard of fitness and health of the general population from which they were obliged to draw their manpower. Older people now say the same thing about todays young people but a few months basic training and conditioning will solve a lot of these deficiencies when the will is there.

@@jgdooley2003 I've no doubt today's youth could rise to the challenge. I never ever heard my parents who were both in the forces during the war, come out with a comment about "the young people today"

Great comment. I was born after WW2 and I made lots of plastic model kits, Lancasters and others, as they were great to do and I loved their shapes. However these aircraft were designed for the horrors of war and many that flew them lost their lives. Your friend's comments are very understandable and show what courage these crews had to have to do their duty facing the horrors they endured. I am not sure how I would feel if I were to face what they did. Regards to you, wherever you are.

Well said Alistair.

I met two crewmen personally as a young kid in a west of Ireland guesthouse from the US. They flew B24 liberators which one gentleman described as "twin tailed flying caskets". they were very vulnerable to enemy fire as everything was devoted to range. The USAAF did most of their bombing by day and the RAF at night. Both Airforces suffered high casualties and had the unusual situation of being in the home front when not on duty, and in the most dangerous situations in aerial combat in a matter of hours. They said you could be drinking coffee at 10am and being shot down by 12 or one o'clock hundreds of miles away from home and safety. Many were in their late teens and very early 20's. Nothing upsets me more than a close up of the crew photographs from this period of history. How desperately young the actual crews were. Half of whom died in WW2.

Grateful thanks to all the men and women in all services, whatever their names, who gave their all and sustained many horrendous times. Heroes and horoines all.

I appreciate your comment and I am pleased you like the sound, without music or commentary over it.

Just remember they killed a lot of German children.

To Sexton cardew so did Jerry.

@@tonyrobinson362 and in more countries

Thank you very much. It was a wonderful visit to Coningsby that day so imagine my surprise when I was able to get so close to see this happening. Whilst it was a joyfull visit it nevertheless makes you think of the real reason these aircraft were designed and their usage. As you say, many of these and their crews never returned.

Very brave men in all fields of war we salute

Thank you Christopher. I was very, very lucky to have been able to record the engines starting.

Lucky bugger 😁

I wish I had been there Larry, To meet one of the aircrew that flew in the Lancaster during the War would have been a wonderful experience. Any crew member would be a privilege to meet, but a rear gunner too! Thanks for commenting,

@@Dolomite110 Thanks Richard, it's a day I'll never forget. The year before after he'd signed the visitors book at East Kirkby the bloke at the desk told him there had been other visitors from 61 Squadron. When my dad looked at the names one was his old crew mate out of the mid upper turret. So he got in touch with Les and he sent up copies of their crew photos and information on getting the medals he'd never bothered with, plus his Kings Warrant.

Thank you Bark Chip. It brings a lump in my throat when I see the many photos of crews with their aircraft, knowing what dangers they have to face day to day, yet they're looking 'happy'. However the faces sculpted on the Bomber Command Memorial near Hyde Park Corner in London truly show the horror they experienced. i bow my head in respect to them all.

Completely agree...and to all the other allied forces. Thank you.

Thank you. I am delighted you like this video. I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to film it, especially as I was with a dear friend, alas no longer with us.

Many thanks. I am delighted you are pleased with it. Regards, Richard

Hi Ken. Thanks for posting your message. I wish it could be possible to say 'Thank you' to him. I realise that during that time many young men, in any armed service, did their duty but soon realized,, when they saw the loss of so many comrades, how likely they were to be next. To have backbone to carry out their role is awesome and makes me wonder how I would do in those circumstances.

Richard Dixon I was so proud to get his 2 medals. I will cherish them forever. My other uncle that was also over there when they came back, not even 2 weeks he commited suicide in the garage. But they did what they had to do and I'm still proud of them. I have about 4 pictures that my auntie gave me of him in his uniform. Such a proud man. But my mom said he never talked about over there. I've watched this over and over and just imagined.... Thank you for sharing that video.

Ken Kun s

Wow!

Richard Dixon 1

Thank you. The full name does indicate its heritage. Happy you like it.

Respect to him. Thank you Adam.

I am delighted you are pleased to listen to them. Thank you.

Are there only 2 left in the world Lancasters that can fly now Mike? To have contributed to keeping this Lancaster still air worthy deserves praise indeed, although not enjoyable at the time. Well done mate...and thanks. Regards, Richard

You are correct Richard, the other belongs to the Canadian warplane heritage museum and it will arrive in the UK on the 8th August 2014 to fly alongside this one in a series of display flights.

see this website for details. www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/raf-bbmf-to-host-canadian-warplane-heritage-museum-lancaster-during-visit-to-england-24022014

Mike Boggan Many thanks Mike. I would be wonderful to see two flying together...and to hear the sound of eight Merlins too. I live in Maidstone, Kent so I look forward to seeing when they are near to me. Thanks for the info again Mike...regards, Richard

i used to live in abingdon.

Oh, yes indeed Raymond, with Hurricanes also.

I am delighted this video gives you such pleasure. I was very lucky to have been there to film it, without other sounds overriding the beautiful engine noises. Thank you for your comment. Regards, Richard

Richard Dixon it just seemed to perfectly fulfill what it was designed to do and that engine note must have put the fear of God to the Germans as they heard them approach! One of the true great man made machines ever made. They just have to keep at least one from dying into history!..

Glad you like it Patricia.

Yes indeed. I guess we must be thankful that there are two still able to fly. We can only listen to their sounds on older films like "The Dam Busters" to get some idea.

i couldn't agree more. Thank you.

+John Hunter A pleasure John. Regards for 2016. Richard

+John Hunter these things is just one. theres only one flying in uk (just jane ) and one in canada (thumper) . so ,,everytime she flys over..pop us a big grin chief ;)

+Rachel Wilcock Just Jane doesn't fly, she is at East Kirkby and does engine start up's and taxi runs. This is 'City of Lincoln' the only flying example in the UK.

John Hunter every week? Sure it's a Lancaster? There like none in operation today

Mika8513 Almost every week during the warmer months. The one in Hamilton is managed by the Hamilton air museum (I think that's it's name) Every week they replace parts and fly it around.

That very same engine, the amazing Rolls Royce Merlin, was used to power the Spitfire, Hurricane and a few others, inc the american p51

The 1000 bomber raids were flown by a lot of twin engined Wellingtons as well as some early 4 engined types such as Stirlings and Halifaxes. It was the brainchild of Arthur Harris and was possible by taking aircraft from Coastal Command, Training units and holding back on earlier raid patterns to build up numbers and strengths. In later raids a more typical number was 300 to 600 on a single night. Cologne and Hamburg were 2 of the most notable raids in and Operation called Gommorrah and marked a change to citywide area or "carpet" bombing as opposed to the precision bombing still advocated by the daytime operations of the USAAF.

Thank you for your posting Thijmen. I have to admit that I had not noticed the three thumbs down. Ah well, I don't mind....but why they felt this way?...I can't think why. I have just spent time watching the Normandy commemorations - brave men here too. What that generation went through to give us the freedom we have now. Regards to you Thijmen, wherever you are.

Thijmen de Jong Hi Thijmen. Regards to you in Holland and great condolences to you after the terrible loss of life in the Malayian Airlines tragedy. I am 65 years old and therefore I was not around in WW2. I have great respect for people that endured so much during the period....and I wonder what these people, now in their late years, think about the world now, after the great sacrifices many people made to free the world during that time. I am in awe of the veterans and people of that era that experienced those horrors that can be seen in videos.

Richard Dixon hi again Richard. Well thanks and yes it's very sad what happened. It really doesn't matter where they are from. Just people going on holiday or visiting relatives blown out of the sky by some morons. (moron isn't really the word but this is youtube. I have to behave) I talked alot with my parents about the war. And the strange thing is that they don't hate the Germans at all. At the time they did but later they understood it wasn't so simple to hate all Germans for what happened. The same thing you hear from war veterans. They don't hate the Germans. they hated the enemy! For myself I respect WW2 veterans enormously. I even don't like it that they go in the same parade as for example Afghanistan veterans. It's just not the same. But that's my own opinion! And a little word about what my old folks think of the modern times. it's funny, they like the new things like computers and tv. They can watch whatever and whenever they like and so on. What they don't like is how people treat eachother. They mean the respect for one another. And I think they are right!

they are muslims

Just a thought perhaps they wanted to see the aircraft actually go down the run way? That's the inference of the title.

@@Gg1118dieo nah. The brits made the best airframes in ww2.

My respect and admiration to your father and all those that came together from all over the free world without hesitation to help defeat tyranny.

@@Dolomite110 Richard thanks he was sent to SA to train got to know my mother and married after the war to add to the story

@@petersteel9331 Hi Peter. I am so pleased that he found great happiness after the war. Regards to you.

Yes indeed. I am pleased you have viewed it. Thank you.

Well said Kevin. I was lucky to record the sound without commentary or music....just the sound. Thank you.

+Sylvan Atup Thank you very much.

Yes indeed, you are right there, to think all those young lives thrown away for what Britain has now become.

hyronomus bosch how dare you say that about my mother lol

There’s Thumper in Canada and hopefully Just Jane will be airworthy again in the not-too-distant future.

I was lucky enough to have flown Lancasters especially the city of Lincoln , and my name is the last one to fly in combat,I am now in my nineties Raymond Rhodes

Thanks for posting this. A fortunate but tragic story indeed. The horrors experienced during that time would haunt many after the war. Their 'war' did not stop in their mind at the end but, as in Ray's case, went on throughout the rest of his life. I am pleased you knew him and were proud to know him, as I would be too.

In the 1990s, I was at MOTAT, talking to one of the staff about the Lancaster. He told me that it had been sold to the French Air Force after the War, as part of the equipment purchase to help get the French back up and running. It was fitted with tropical radiators and operated out here, in the Pacific. At the end of its operational life, it was donated to MOTAT and was flown into Whenuapai AFB by its French crew at the last gasp of its airframe hours. Even back then, getting it up to flying standard again was prohibitively expensive, so you can imagine the horrendous cost today, especially after the years it spent sitting outside at MOTAT. The only reason that the BOB Memorial Flight Lancaster has remained airworthy for all these past decades is because the RAF is determined to keep it flying, as an operational memorial, for as long as they can. Accordingly, they are very parsimonious with its flying hours and take it out as little as possible.

@@MarsFKA When I visited MOTAT some years ago, my quest was to actually SEE the Lancaster they had on show. She was Under cover and if I recall, One side was painted in one Sqdn markings whilst the opposite side showed Kiwi 75 Sqdn, who played a major part in the wartime. The sight of the Aircraft really brought back memories as a Kid, I had an Aunt who lived near to 617 Squadron's base in Boston Spa, I could recall that very special noise of the engines starting up despite being a small boy of 5 or six years old, The sight of the old girl brought tears to my eyes and still does, as we kids ranging in ages 5 to 9 or 10, would see the aircraft take off, count them and very rarely had the same number count return, very emotional. The sound of those Merlins is unforgettable. Terry Offord

@@terryofford4977 You have memories of times that few today have. I last saw the MOTAT Lancaster in, I think, 1995, when it was displayed in their new hangar, together with the Solent and some other aircraft. I honestly didn't take any notice of the markings. The staff member who I was talking to said there was a debate going on at that time about fitting a mid-upper turret to the aircraft. They had a Mark III turret and some wanted to mount it in the place where those marks had the mid-upper - the aircraft had arrived in New Zealand with no mid-upper turret at all. On the other side of the argument was the faction who said the aircraft was a Mark VII, which had a different type of turret mounted further forward - a good comparison is seen in the BBMF and Canadian Lancasters. This faction wanted to keep the aircraft in its original configuration. In later years, I read that the Mark III turret faction won and the Mark VII Lancaster was fitted with a Mark III turret.