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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2759.PDF
NOVEMBER 20TH, 1941. FLIGHT 359 One of the triple-finned Manchesters. In later models the central fin has been omitted. A Visit to One of the R.A.F. Units Flying Avro's Latest Product : D.S.O. Pilot Flies for "Flight's" Camera PILOTS flying the third of our new heavyweightbomber types to which reference may be made arejust as enthusiastic about their Manchesters as are the others with their Stirlings and Halifaxes. Certainly, to see them performing in the air—either when giving our camera some shots or when putting up a scratch forma- tion which would do credit to the fighter boys—is a revelation. Only very good aircraft and pilots could possibly do it. Manchesters have been on "ops." for some consider- able time now, and in their terrific bomb bays have been transported to Ger- many and other targets many of those portly missiles which have come to be known as Beaverbrook's beautiful bombs or — in crew-room parlance—'' slum clearers." In the recent big Berlin raid on November 7 —the occasion when the weather was responsible for the loss of a greater propor- tion than usual of our machines — Manchesters were out in force. On other occasions they have gone as far afield as Stettin, which means a round trip of roughly 1,400 miles. This is by no means the limit of their range, and all the crews in this squadron are looking forward to the time when they are given some targets in Italy by way of a change from the usual German trips. As they say, "It's altogether more pleasant down there." The squadron is very proud of a D.S.O. which has been won by one of their flying '; officers and crew for bring- ing a Manchester back after having had a Rolls-Royce Vulture engine put' out of action by A.A. fire over Berlin. The pilot is an old Halton boy who joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice in 1930. It is, of course, the aim of every Halton boy to become a pilot, and he got his wings in 1935. He now has some 1,200 hours in his log book, and wears the D.F.M. which he won for opera- tional flying as a sergeant before his commission was granted in October, 1940. He is probably the only D.S.O., D.F.M. in the Ser- vice. The story of the trip makes thrilling reading. It occurred one night during last September. While over the target area in Berlin the The bomb-aimer's electrically heated panel under the twin Browning front turret. On the left is the see-behind blister for the second pilot. Manchester was held in a concentration of search- lights, and shell splinters
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