'Friday the 13th' - Halifax Heavy Bomber [HP Halifax 1/2] 

Hope all of you enjoyed this one! Tell us what you thought about this episode and our museum visits below!

My late Uncle, former Flt Sgt Alf Stokes, was a Rear-Gunner on 158 Sqn at Lissett, 1944-45, & his flying log-book records a couple of trips in the original 'Friday the 13th'. The crews never thought that they would be the ones not coming home. Alf survived to the age of 94. Brave man.

Just dropped by to watch your vid in December 2023. Well done sir! This reconstruction has a special place in my heart, as I researched an Uncle we lost in 1944 who flew aboard a Halifax lll, and discovered this was the only complete model in Britain to be viewed. There were over 1,650 built, but none survive. So to see a complete Hali lll that my uncle flew in was amazing to me. Plus, he served at RAF Pocklington just down the road with 102 Squadron. (I've stood on the very spot he walked to board his plane for the last time). Many thanks for keeping these memories alive. 👍

There is another restored Halifax in the Air Museum in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. This aircraft was restored from a single aircraft that crashed into a Norwegian Lake and sank.

Thanks for this. Born 1937 and Brought up in the area, I watched the crews from 1, 3 and 6 Groups day in and day out. After my own RAF service and some teaching in UK., I came to Canada in 1966 and on one of my visits "home" spent time at the Elvington Museum with a great deal of time around "Friday the 13th." Thanks for the restoration. She and the Lancs are a poignant reminder of the terrible losses experienced by Bomber Command crews. I now live near Nanton and am hoping that before I take the last flight, the Hali project now being undertaken by the Museum will bring the recovered one back to sit alongside the Lanc. What a great memorial to those thousands of men who trained in this area under the BCATP. The memorial to the 50 000 men is a stark reminder of the horrors of war.

The story of the Halifax tail design would be a program in itself. So many good people were lost owing to rudder overbalancing on the old triangular fins and in the attempts to correct this. The type D fins Mod 814 proved at last satisfactory going onto the B Mk II series II and retrofitted very quickly onto the other Mk II and V.

Giving the History Channel a run for its money. Rarely, if ever does one get to see an entertaining presentation of such aloof aircraft.

My father flew about 15 sorties in a Halifax Mk III (another 15 in Lancaster IIs) before being shot down over Normandy in June 1944, 10 days after marrying a York girl, my mother. He evaded capture. Not all his crew made it. His name is etched into that mirror frame at Betty's Bar ( now tea house).

An old friend of mine called Eddie was a tail gunner in Halifax bombers, he told me some stories about night fighters homing in on them. He told me about a raid when he was stuck in the turret, jammed over to his right watching tracer fire coming in towards him, hoping that the fighter broke to his right so he could get some rounds off at them, and all the time in the knowledge that if the plane was hit and went down, he was going with it, as he couldn't get out. He was still a teenager when he flew his first raid over Germany.

My Dad. F.O. Norman Gillen. Navigator, 429, Bission SQ, flew 32 combat missions in this plane..I have all his combat charts for all hiss missions..My respects to all that did what he did..He lived till he was 91..

Thank you on behalf of a former client of mine who trained in Canada for the Halifax and myself, thank you for this Halifax video. I already knew a bit about the Halifax in part because I was asked by the only survivor to paint 'The Loss of Halifax DK 170. DK 170 Halifax heavy bomber aircraft was lost on it's first mission being shot down by a German night fighter that had been radar directed to the interception point. My Painting was commissioned by the late Mr. John Loban eye witness, formerly Flight Sergeant and navigator of that aircraft. I built two models, rearched and John provided me with detailed information even down to the number of rounds the attacking Me 110 fired. You can if you wish to, read more about DK 170 on one of my two websites under 'aviation-aircraft/halifax-heavy-bomber' ... The DK 170 Halifax wreck was identified in Belgium in 2017 . You may also like to know, this year 2022 I've been approached a limited licence to reproduce my painting for a Belgium book about RAF & USAF aircraft that crashed in Belgium.

Finally, a 'tank chats' style of video but with aircraft! Thank you bismarck!

Great museum, me and my wife got married at the Yorkshire air museum and Friday 13th was a centrepiece of many of our wedding photos.

We have a family member that flew 1 mission in the original Friday 13th. RCAF based in Lisset. Flight Sergeant Bill Dargavel. Bill is now 96 and keeping well in Toronto.

I used to talk often with an ex RAF navigator who started on Lancasters but later transferred to to Halifaxes for the remainder of the war. In his opinion the Halifax was vastly superior for the crew than a Lancaster: easier to move around in, more spacious crew positions, far easier to bail out of and much more durable when suffering battle damage.

Nice work, Bismarck. Thank you for decoding the Air Ministry's specification nomenclature. Laf, the hencoop! That was an interesting restoration story.

It's a great museum. You are conscious of all manner of atmospheres as you explore. It can be quite eerie. If you are visiting York; in the lower level of Betty's tea rooms, is a preserved mirror in which aircrews etched their names, side by side with framed squadron insignia of several commonwealth airmen. Also, literally a minute's walk away, on the adjoining Coney Street is a plaque commemorating the timely actions of Free French flyer, Yves Mahe, in driving away German raiders.

Great video! Your production quality is increasing every video and you've got a great handle on presenting yourself on camera. Any day becomes a good day when I get notified that Bismarck has a new video online.

There were other ways to determine if it was a MkI or MkIII Halifax as well as the engines. The MkI also had a turret fitted in the front, rather than the large plexiglass cone, didn't have the dorsal turret fitted and also had "arrow" shaped tail fins, rather than the large rectangular ones of the MKIII

"bismarck"? crikey, this could be awkward. Ah well..... My father was an engineer on one of the early Merlin powered Halifax's for a few trips to Germany (Leverkusen, Berlin, Mönchengladbach & the last trip to Berlin where he got shot down). He was in 428 ghost squadron RCAF based at Middleton St George (across the field from 419 moose sqn where Mynarski of the Canadian memorial Lancaster fame belonged to), anyhow, on the last trip they got hit - I'm told they believed by a night fighter & only the navigator, radio operator, bomb aimer & dad managed to bail out. Pity I never got to visit the York museum or revisit the imperial war museum (seem to recall they had a halifax cockpit there) before moving overseas. Good video dude - as was your other Halifax one. Keep up the good work!

Many years ago I read a letter from a Halifax pilot. He said their favourite trick- presumably after a mission, was to cut one of the engines and then race past the nearest Lancaster and show it a clean set of heels!

The Armstrong Whitworth Whitley has to be my favorite RAF bomber despite being unknown to most. It's nice that it got a mention here.

Excellent work; dispassionate and accurate. Very much appreciated.

Excellent video. I had no idea this museum existed... Ne careful with the number of squadrons operating Halifaxes from Yorkshire.... There were rather more than three. My late mother's first husband was a Halifax pilot flying from Snaith with 51 Squadron. There were others, too. Nonetheless, an excellent video full of detail and painting a very complete picture. I shall make sure I visit the museum. Thank you.

My Great Uncle on my mothers side was Clifford Smith (Macdonald)...he had an elephant as his mascot and flew the original Friday 13th and I believe he came up with the airframes name

great picture of the halifax flying over the ieffiel tower

You present your video's with knowledge , confidence with a little, and sometimes mischievous, humour . You also leave most other's in a cloud of dust ! Thank you.

My father-in-law checked out a Halifax being refurbished in quebec. He took pictures of these snail shell like assemblies attached to the exhausts which suppressed flames for night missions. Early STEALTH or something. I would be interested in a video on that technology if you've got the time. Thanks for this one as I have loved the Halifax since I was very young.

I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this video! Very informative, and nice to know the next generation are still interested in these old aircraft.

You're my favourite history channel on youtube

Eyyyyy welcome to York my guy.

Even your bloopers were well delivered.

Great video as always! Can definitely see the quality rising with each one! I'd like to see a video covering the Mosquito as it was such a unique and doubted concept which payed off massively

Looks like I'll be making the trip over the Pennines to my favourite city when its back open! 😏

Per ardua ad astra! 🇨🇦

Excellent commentary.. I especially enjoy the aside comments, it gives the object being described a personality.. Bismarck, well done..

They have one of these in the Trenton museum here in Ontario. Surprisingly large in person (thats what she said)

Thank you for this video. My grandad was a rear gunner in these in ww2 based out of croydon. But its so hard to find any information on him or the aircraft. Its sad how this bomber is never mentioned.

My Great Uncle Sgt. George Whiles (Pilot) lost his life in Halifax DT701 during Operation Lorient over Northern France. RIP to all service men.

My grandfather was pilot in "Maori Chief" 158 squadron Awesome video to give me some insight

Love your work. The Halifax is sadly over looked, as a Handley I find this immensely disappointing. : )

Nice video! Great museum to visit in my opinion (hoping to visit again this year.)

While having EVERY thanks and gratitude to those who took on the ‘impossible’ task of recreating the Halifax, is this now enough. Seeing the work being done on Just Jane, should not the ‘short cuts’ taken in creating Friday ( totally justified at the time, to get the plane done) be upgraded. Friday deserves to be the best Halifax ever to emerge from the factory. By the way the wings are ex Hastings, not ‘another Halifax ‘.

Nice video, I've recently been reading the late Paddy Ashdown's account of the French Resistance Operations on the Vercors in 1944 which featured numerous long distance supply drops by RAF Halifax aircraft. This was no easy feat across occupied France which had a Luftwaffe presence yet to be pacified. I've always felt the Halifax was a work horse which didn't receive the credit it deserved. I must get on a train and get up to York and see it after Covid.

I'm so pleased to find this - I just checked my dad's flying logbook - he was an RNZAF navigator, who had flown on this actual aircraft! He was based on 58 Squadron (Coastal Command) based in St David's, Wales. After the D Day landings, the squadron was moved up to Stornaway, on the Isle of Lewis, flying over the North Sea looking german shipping out of Norway. Visiting the Museum to see this aircraft is top of my bucket list!

Yorkshire fam! Hope you enjoyed it, quite a gorgeous place depending on where you go.

Great Vlog - The 3 big heavies - lancaster, Halifax (names after a lord?) and short Stirling

Awesome! From York myself, haven't been to the YAM in ages though. Thanks for covering it. My Gran, when she was alive, said she worked on Halifax's, something about cleaning them after missions if I remember right. Always seemed wrong to ask her for details, even though I wanted to.

My Uncle, William Douglas Campbell flew 41 combat missions with 420 Squadron (Snowy Owl) according to war records. He primarily flew Handley Page Halifax 3's. He survived the war under incredible odds only to die of Polio within days of returning home after the war ended. Lest we forget.

Great video good sir! I love learning about these ol' birds. I'm currently in Aviation Maintenance School and I hope to be able to work on WWII aircraft when I finish in March 2019. Much support from Oklahoma! 👍👍

Dad's bomber. Lovely to see a museum example. Also one at Trenton in Ontario Canada!

My father in law was the last ‘B’ Flight commander of the war, on 426 ‘Thunderbird’ Sqn RCAF, based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire. Having done some intro flying in the Lancaster prior to his first Op, he was nonetheless quite happy with the Halifax (mk 3 & 7). As a BCATP instructor, mainly at Claresholm in Alberta, Canada, he amassed some 1300 flying hours before eventual posting to the UK. He was impressed with the Halifax’s ruggedness, its smooth handling and great manoeuvrability. Its ability to absorb all kinds of punishment and keep going, never ceased to amaze him (and his crew presumably). They survived all their missions. He was the ‘old man’ of the crew at 26 while his tail gunner was the youngest on the squadron at just 17 1/2 when they flew their first Op. The Brit RAF Flight Engineer attached to the crew, was highly experienced on Halifax types, and the rest of the crew felt very secure with him looking after things. Their aircraft OW-C (there were several) suffered its fair share of scrapes and scares. A loss of a prop, CSU over speed, a bomb hang up, hydraulic and electrical system damage, an engine cylinder shot out, sundry flak punctures and even a bird strike, were a few of the issues that had to be dealt with (often at night) during their tour of duty. The Hercules radials often continued to produce power even when damaged. The Lanc was not so fortunate with its liquid cooled Merlin engines. A coolant leak from a damaged pipeline, would often lead to overtemping, and force the inflight shutdown of an otherwise serviceable engine. This was not an uncommon event apparently. Q. The Hercules powered Halifax had the exhaust stacks on numbers 2, 3 and 4 engines mounted on the starboard side of the engine nacelle. Number 1 engine had its exhaust stack on the port side (can be seen in this video). Does anyone have an explanation for this? In my own RAF service as an aircraft tech, I served two tours at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in the 70’s and 80’s when the base operated within RAF Training Command. I knew York well and the York Aviation museum at Elvington. My father in law (long deceased) enjoyed seeing the ‘Hallibag’ on display. He bought a brick somewhere in the Bomber Command wall at the museum, with his name inscribed. He did this when he returned for his last trip to the UK in Jan 1996. He was invited to cut the ribbon at the unveiling of the revamped RCAF memorial room at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. I think he found time too, for a last pot of tea and buttered scone at Betty’s in York, some fifty years after the crew’s first visit. Thank you for your most excellent presentation.

My father was pilot of Friday 13, he died 2004 age 86 and held the DFC personally handed it by the King

even tho you changed your name a bit ago, i will Always know you as Bismarck! liebe deine Videos, mein Freund! grettings from sweden!

Thanks for this. My grandfather flew 33 missions as a rear gunner in the 'faxes

I went in august last year with my friend, unfortunately they seemed to be reorganizing the room the Halifax was in and only about 1/2 was full but I did see Halifax and it was incredible, the my favorite heavy bomber in War Thunder finally in real life.

A knowledgeable introduction and well-spoken also no music!

I have always said that the Halifax has been underrated,being eclipsed by the Lancaster. I believe the crew felt very attached to this aircraft,and put a lot of trust in it.

Your English is excellent as well as your study of the developments in Military Aviation History around the time of the second world war. It's amazing to me how quickly the destructive technology of aviation advanced all over the world so quickly after the Wright brothers had barely been able to engineer a machine carry itself into the air.

Huh, never thought I'd see RAF Stornoway getting a mention (albeit in a roundabout way) on this channel!

Thank you, I enjoyed the video very much. Loved the out-takes at the end!

good tour of the plane

Outstanding video and presentation.

Outstanding video and presentation.

''There was a chance of a German nightfighter, popping up'' So true, unfortunately. A JU88 popped up, and fired on a Halifax Mk3, on the night of May 3rd, 1945. It damaged flying controls, causing a collision with my brother's Halifax. Killing all of both crews, except 3. This was not only, the very last heavy bomber raid, on Kiel Germany, but also the Night Fighter Pilots last mission of the war. I have his details.

C'est fantastique!

So happy I found this channel today, It reminds me of what educational channels used to be like, Educational.

Great video and love the museum visits

Thanks for this good, though a bit short doc about the elegant yet quite tough ''flying tomb'' in which my grandpa (who also was my godfather and greatest hero) survived 33 nightly raids over occupied France and Nazi Germany, as a FO of the RCAF in the 425 ''Alouette'' squadron. The man had alot of ''moral fiber''...

Mate I was going to go there recently! Gotta go now, it looks great.

Very fancy effects, looking good.

Ha the bloopers are great. It really shows the work you put in to make these videos look as professional as they do. Top work 👍.

1 of 3 left in the world. And port side is marked up as the only Halifax 100-op aircraft (128 ops) - the original noseart is in the RAF Museum. Would love to see inside it. Fascinating airplane, though opinion is divided in wartime pilots; if you flew Halifaxes, it was faithful enough to its crews - but even they all knew that the Lancaster was the Queen of the Skies :)

Just watched it really enjoyed the video glad I found your channel as I’m a military history buff

Glorious

It should be noted that the actual original panels with nose art from Friday The 13th is at RAF Museum London. I think they are being moved as we speak (they weren't there end of March) but should re-appear in the new hangar.

I just came across this. My uncle was the copilot in a Halifax, during a bombing raid over Germany they were hit by flack. The front end of the plane was destroyed but it limped back to the UK. Luckily my uncle survived but the pilot and the front gunner died.

Wow the quality of this video is amazing. Love your channel Biz

Great video. I have a request. There is no video/documentary on strategic bombers of WW1 (Gotha, various German giant bombers, Handley Page, o/100, o/400, v/1500, Vickers Vimy, DH4, DH9A, Capronis, FE2Bs bomber version, Sopwith one and half strutter - bomber version, Ilya Murometz etc). I think you are the best person who can make a mini series focussing on specific aircraft in each video. Would be great if you consider making such a mini series.

Nice history of the Halifax. My uncle piloted one and survived the war, so I was curious. He broke a rule by doing a loop to get away from a German fighter . They should have court marshalled him , but they gave him a medal . Just like Yossarian..

Thanks for this. My daughter and I discovered Burn airfield a stones throw from her house near Selby just up the road, where 578 squadron of Halifax bombers were based. We'll be going to Elvington as soon as these draconian covid measures are lifted and the museum reopens.

Not the same aircraft, but it reminded me of the short story by Robert Westall, 'Blackham's Wimpey' about a haunted bomber in WW2.

VERY GOOD. CLEAR AND INTERESTING POTTED HISTORY OF THE RAF. I REALLY MUST COME AND SEE FOR MYSELF. LAST TIME IN YORK, TOO MANY OTHER ATTRACTIONS FOR ONE WEEK.

Wish I had known you were visiting this museum, I live not far away in Leeds. Should be going to this museum tomorrow or Wednesday now that you've made me aware of it!

I'm here watching this, as I'm only just learning that my Grandfather was a Flight engineer in one of these beasts between 1942 and 45! Amazing to see this thankyou!

Beautiful bird

Excellent...will go to this museum next time I'm in Yorkshire!

I've visited this very aircraft many times over the years from when it was just a collection of bits. It's a pity much of it isn't genuine Halifax, but nonetheless, it's fantastic to see in the flesh. About 18 years ago a friend and I took an old chap to an airshow there. He had been on Halifax groundcrew during the war. I took a photo of him standing in front of it, but can as hell find it. Most annoying. By coincidence, there was a meeting of original aircrew there. But also a german fighter pilot who had downed 8 bombers. I have a photo of him stood next to a BF109 replica. It was a surreal experience.

Love the museum visits and these videos. Thanks ol' Bismarck!

Didn't see this vid until recently and then saw the Halifax - I'm re-enacting at the museum this weekend as the station met officer

I know the Lanc gets all the attention, but the Halifax also looked cooler to me

Huh, I was led to believe that the only surviving Halifax was the one at the Trenton Canadian Air Force museum.

I love the Halifax in War Thunder (even though it has some major shortcomings), however I have NEVER really though of the scale of that beauty...

I really enjoyed both of your videos and found them very informative.

I love that place

Great post.Very professional.

Love those new animations!

Oh my god you’re in Yorkshire! Welcome!

Excellent video, I would love to visit there

I visited there last year :) Great place. So much history.