大象传媒

HEAVY CONVERSION UNIT 鈥� At H.C.U. we picked up two additional members to complete our crew. Sgt. Brown (Brownie), fresh off course became our flight engineer. Sgt. Jim Murray from Scotland, was starting his second tour of operations as a rear gunner with our crew. Many times in crucial situations, we were to be very thankful for the calming effect he exerted on the rest of us. After several weeks of extensive physical training and inescapable ground school, we started flying four engined Halifaxes. They had many more gadgets and instruments than previous planes, were spacious and steady in flight. We flew ten exercises in the Halifax with primary emphasis on acquiring familiarity with the Gee and Y navigational equipment. We did four long cross-country trips, where practice bombs were dropped as well. After two weeks of flying Halifaxes, we moved across the base to the side the sleek looking Lancasters were parked in the dispersal area. We were now enrolled in the Lancaster Finishing School (L.F.S.) also located at R.A.F. Blyton.

LANCASTER FINISHING SCHOOL. We spent only four days flying Lancasters at the station doing the usual circuits and bumps, that is practising take offs and landings. In addition to these familiarisation flights we also carried out a number of fighter affiliation exercises, where we learnt the various means of taking evasive action, if and when attacked by enemy fighter planes. Our crew was tremendously impressed with the Lancaster and very soon referred to her as 鈥淭he Queen of the Sky鈥�. She had four Rolls Royce Merlin engines, weighed about 67,000 pounds and could cruise a distance of 1400 miles at a speed of 275 miles per hour. On November 24th, 1944 we were posted to # 150 Bomber Squadron at R.A.F. Station Hemswell, about 20 miles from the city of Lincoln

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