RAF Coastal Command | Wartime documentary (1944) 

Respects to his service and memory Brenda.

A proud son.

My dad also flew with Coastal command, from Northern Ireland, Iceland, and at the end of the war our to India. He was a Flight Engineer.

So did mine!

That’s a fine effort

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🫡

Thanks for his service.

Thanks for his service & sacrifice.

Short Sunderland had a greater range and armed with more potent surface attack weapons.

@@AndrewBlacker-wr2ve The VLR Liberator with extra fuel tanks in the bomb bay were the only aircraft capable of patrolling the Atlantic Gap.. Another very important asset that B-24's had that Sunderlands lacked was Leigh Lights .

@@AndrewBlacker-wr2ve Battlefield - The War Against U- Boats - The U-Boat Menace ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-49zTDDum6FQ.html

​@@jameswebb4593 Right now the RU-vid channel "WW2 US Bombers" is doing a series of videos on the navalized versions of the Liberator and their roll in submarine hunting, he also covers the different specialized detection equipment and weapons used by them for destroying subs, you should check them out, I'm sure you'll find them very interesting.

My dad flew with Terry Bullock as a WOP a/g then Navigator . I recently posted a video about him on you tube : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r7P_-eHkRDw.html&ab_channel=GrahamFitzjohn

Agree! Best paint scheme for the B-17

But the most interesting variant of it was flown by 100 (Bomber Support) Group.

Sunderland!

Beaufighter! The most underrated plane.

​@@crusader5989 That is the coolest looking paint job I've ever seen on one.

My dad was a navigator in Avro Ansons (like the one at 11:55) with 280 Squadron, Coastal Command and flew on air/sea rescue patrols over the North Sea. He said the first time he ever realized he was in a "shooting war" was when he'd found an airman floating in a dinghy and had to break radio silence to call an RAF launch. The Germans heard the signal too, and sent a formation of Me 110's to shoot him down. His pilot did the smart thing and climbed into the clouds to hide, dropping down occasionally to see what was happening. They outwaited the Messerschmitts who were forced to return to base. But then, just as the launch was coming into view, my dad saw one of the Me 110's drop out of formation, turn around, fly straight at the dinghy... and blow it out of the water... War is ugly.

btw, your grandfather's brother's unit, 279 Sqn. was a sister squadron to my dad's unit, 280 Sqn.. According to the autobiography of my dad's CO, ("All Weather Mac" by W/Cdr. R.H. McIntosh), 280 Sqn. was originally supposed to be equipped with Hudsons like 279 Sqn. was, but in the early days of the war there weren't enough to go around. So 279 Sqn. operated Hudsons closer to the enemy coast while 280 Sqn operated Ansons closer to home. That changed when 280 Sqn.'s Ansons were finally replaced in October 1943 with much more capable Vickers Warwicks, like the one at 2:16. 279 Squadron also re-equipped with Warwicks, beginning in November 1944. Cheers

Thanks for the information, David. Aircrew rescue and helping men in the water appears to have been fair game on all sides in Europe in WW2. Even back in the Battle of Britain the RAF used to treat the Heinkel seaplanes the Luftwaffe used for rescue as legit targets. I believe Dowding even went on the record defending the policy, arguing that as rescued Luftwaffe pilots would be back attacking the UK the next day they were definitely fair targets etc. War is indeed, as you say, ugly.

There's a RU-vid channel called "WW II US Bombers" that's doing a series of videos right now on the navalized versions of the B24 used for sub hunting and the specialized equipment and weapons they used for it, there's a video that covers those rockets used by them, you should check them out I'm sure you'll like them they're very interesting.

Grand uncle = great uncle. Like great grandfather, but for uncles, starts a generation earlier. :- )

While not an ugly duckling, Coastal did tend to be viewed as "the bottom of the pile" by the Air chiefs.

I suppose this being produced, I think in 1944, the not mentioning the help from Bletchley Park would be normal this being such a sensitive issue at the time.

The British government didn’t even admit to Bletchley until the 1970's.

@@georgegauci8454 . . . . and for many, many years post-war too.

The kriegsmarineassumed that theenigmacode could and would be broken.so they modidiedd their coding machinewith an extracodin gwheelandxhanged their codesvery ofyten.so the kriegsmarinemessages remainedsecretand unbrokenrirght upto theend ofthe war😮

Initially yes but I think the PR units of army cooperation were transferred to the 2 tactical air force in 1944?

There was even a film staring Alec Guinness in which he was a pilot in a PR Spitfire. Can’t remember the name of it.

Do ypu mean 247 sqn?

No I have his War records. 247 Group coastal command. They operated 2 Squadrons in the Azores. Does not say which my dad was in. Just that he was a wireless operator

@@glenfletcher4962 Respects to his service and memory, Glen.

@@glenfletcher4962 Respects to his service and memory, Glen.

Are you pissed?

@@JohnSmith-ei2pz do you understand what I’m talking about 🤔

Singular - to star. Plural := ad astris

I always heard "adversity" when I was in the RAF.... it just sounds better.

The British traditionally name aircraft, especially back then, including those acquired through lend-lease. The Douglas C-47 was known as the Dakota. Post WW2, the RAF operated a few B29 Superfortresses and they were named Washingtons.

€ire is a foreign country to which we have no allegiance, nor it to us. It has never been a friend to us, never will be. It is dangerously delusional to think otherwise.

Bomber Command was given a few B-17 for appraisal. The plane didn't meet their needs so they gave them to Coastal Command.

@@bobmcrae5939 thanks, the b17 in RAC maritime colors looks good.

​@Bob McRae 214 Sqn continued to fly them from RAF Oulton.

162 B17's Lend Leased to Britain plus 6 to Canada.

@@nickdanger3802 hey,you're the guy from firesign theater

There were a few other considerations. I don't know about long range fuel tanks for Lancasters. But there were plenty of valid targets within their range. And extra Coastal Command air craft would not have achieved much more. Uboats had already been driven below the surface in waters with air cover. That is why the Uboat attacks were mostly in the ever-shrinking mid-Atlantic "Gap". Even this "gap" vanished once enough escort carriers were built.

What I do know is the Lancaster carried a much heavier bomb load than a Liberator (14,000 pounds versus 8000). And the much faster Mosquito could carry a useful 4000lb at a much reduced risk ...

Agreed... ;-)

Different show. This is a documentary. The other is a movie.

By cutting across all possible submarine tracks the north-south track is more effective and efficient with resources. Getting the subs to submerge slows them down and wears out the batteries reducing range.

I don't send any messages.

It was Britain at war, not individual parts of it. Scottish nationalism had yet to rise; the English version still hasn't . . .

Pitreavie, the then HQ 18Gp, is in Scotland. Also, the 18 Gp designator was retained after the war as the coastal arm of RAF Strike Command. An unnecessary comment.

Happy to take English tax payers money to pay for your squatt and Methadone, aren't you!

Kinloss had Liberators and kills of U-Boats

@@JohnSmith-ei2pz the Scots had a great input and sacrifice in ww2, one of my relatives was an English sergeant who served in two fine , brave Scots regiments in the desert, Sicily, Italy and on into Austria and Germany, another was a Royal Marine Commando who landed on D-Day with many fine Scots. Lord Lovat, David and William Stirling of the SAS were Scots and many great Scots men and women continue to serve today.

Tea-bags - back then?

Until America entered the war, there was no "sheer mass". Hitler's biggest blunder was declaring war on the US, even bigger than the invasion of Russia.