Hi, I try to understand the timing of the dropping opération with heavy bomber aircraft On my slide you can see the time to cross the DZ at a speed of 140 mph (or 225 km/h) - 6.4 s for 437 yd (or 400 m) long DZ - 8 s for 547 yd (or 500 m) - 9.6 s for 656 yd (or 600 m). My questions - how many containers must be drop in a so short time ? - Is it possible to drop for 12 container and packages in only one pass ? - The speed of 140 mph is it a normal speed for this kind of dropping ? Thank for your help. Andy
Hi, Halifax Circling Operation I read on RUNWAY TO FREEDOM (Robert Body) Page 34: "A Halifax circling took an approximate radius of 4 miles" With this rule, the time to cover a full circle of 25 miles is about 10 minutes. This is the time beetween 2 droping passages on the same pinpoint. Found attached a picture . All remarks or correction are welcome. Andy
Depends on delivery method for containers. If no "live" cargo, presumably the bomb bay would be used so could be dropped in one pass. If paras being dropped one by one through a floor hatch, then your timings might apply, but I'd guess that, as often as possible, the stick would use a side door as well. The stick wouldn't want to have the last man so far away from the first down. (PS: I don't understand your conversion scale: 600 metres = 437 yards yet 400 metres = 656 yds??????? 400 metres would equal about 437 yards
600m = 656yds 500m = 546yds 400m = 437yds - remember that from the old 440 yds is 1 circuit of an athletic track, now its 400m 1m = 1.09yds TD
Many thanks KevinBattle for your pertinent remark. I do an inversion on the slide, but in the comment below all is OK. I need to change the picture but I dont know how to do .? ? Andy
A comment in the February 1945 ORB for 148(SD) Squadron, operating in southern Europe and the Balkans, suggests 125mph for a Halifax drop, though whether this was typical I can't say. These aircraft usually dropped 15 containers and anywhere between18 and 60 packages; containers - and packages, I think - were carried in the bomb bay and wing compartments, and other packages pushed through the dropping aperture in the floor of the aircraft. More than one run over a DZ was usual. If you haven't already, a thread on RAF Commands might elicit a response too Andy. Forum member Resmoroh, for one, is very knowledgeable about parachute drops. Cheers, Pat.
