Phil, 357 Squadron operated with the Liberator VI from September 1944 to 7 November 1945 when the squadron was disbanded. 357 Squadron also operated with the Dokota, Sentinel and Lysander at times during that period. Peter
I would consider a Liberator, Mark VI - H310 - Z of 357 Squadron the best Bomber of WW2. In Aug, 1945, my F-i-L completed his tour in it. It would be nice to picture it. phil Phil Do you by any chance have the full serial No. of the above Liberator? H310 does not equate to a given serial. I've had a look at KH310 but that aircraft was allocated to India with 203 Squadron. Regards Peter
I realise 357 Squadron was posted to India, I was looking for the full serial of the aircraft in question, I would then be able to give its service history.
Sorry squire! In which case it should be KH-310? I see that you have already allotted that serial number to another squadron in india - but I am sure that number is from a batch of MkVI Liberators??
Sorry squire! In which case it should be KH-310? I see that you have already allotted that serial number to another squadron in india - but I am sure that number is from a batch of MkVI Liberators?? I stand corected. Seems I looked at the wrong serial No. Must get some new glasses Short history of KH310 is as follows........ B.VI; ex 44-44181: Delivered Dorval 22 October 1944: Departed Dorval 28 October 1944; via Langens to India; arrived Mauripur 9 November 1944; to 355 Squadron to 357 Squadron: Struck off Charge 11 April 1946. Peter.
I stand corected. Seems I looked at the wrong serial No. Must get some new glasses Short history of KH310 is as follows........ B.VI; ex 44-44181: Delivered Dorval 22 October 1944: Departed Dorval 28 October 1944; via Langens to India; arrived Mauripur 9 November 1944; to 355 Squadron to 357 Squadron: Struck off Charge 11 April 1946. Peter. Thats got to be the one!
My contribution................ now this is a best picture of a bomber thread and not a picture of the best bomber my desktop at the moment Life magazine "Life on Midway" Wimpy
An "interesting" landing B-24 M Liberator of the 454th BG. the brakes were accidentally applied during take-off, six men in the nose section were killed instantly.
Phil Do you by any chance have the full serial No. of the above Liberator? H310 does not equate to a given serial. I've had a look at KH310 but that aircraft was allocated to India with 203 Squadron. Regards Peter Somehow I missed this a long time ago, Peter. Dad's log book shows HK310 - Z was his aircraft on the 25th mission. His last mission was on Aug 9 and in KH114 - U. He reported hearing on the RT something about a bomb being dropped in Japan that day. sorry for the delayed response. cheers, phil
Of course, my first choice has to be the B-24 Liberator. Built in greater numbers than any other war time aircraft, it served in every theater during WW2 and as far as I am concerned the most important statistic, the Liberator destroyed more U-boats than any other aircraft. AM929. H/120 itself killed 2 U-boats during her career. The first was the best, the Liberator I. Serials AM910 - AM929 the only true very long range (VLR) aircraft the RAF had on charge during the war. First pic B-24 LB.30B Second pic Liberator I. AM923 W/120 Very effective but a damn ugly aircraft Peter!
After the popularity of the "Best Fighter Picture of WW2" and as well taking into account the wishes of some of the forums luminaries such as Peter Clare, I feel duty-bound to start a sister thread for the best Bomber pictures. So it is search your hard drive time again peoples!! To try and get the ball rolling, here are a few of my all-time favourite bomber pictures... 1. A flight of Wimpeys which I have always found stirring. Do you by any chance know which squadron they're from? Thanks
Do you by any chance know which squadron they're from? Thanks According to the list of Squadron codes on wikipedia, KA denotes 9 Squadron RAF. They flew Wellingtons out of RAF Honington. No. 9 Squadron RAF - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Second World War began with the unit one of the few equipped with modern aircraft, the Vickers Wellington bomber, flying out of RAF Honington; the Wellington later gave way to the Avro Lancaster, with which the unit would complete its most famous sorties. On 4 September 1939, the squadron’s Wellington aircraft and crews were the first to hit the enemy, the first to get into a dogfight, possibly the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first to be shot down by one and, towards the end of the war, the first to hit the German battleship Tirpitz with the Tallboy 12,000 pound bomb, an achievement by the crew of a Lancaster on her 102nd operation with the squadron. No. 9 fought with RAF Bomber Command in Europe all the way through the Second World War, took part in all the major raids and big battles, pioneered and proved new tactics and equipment, produced several of the leading figures in The Great Escape, as well as Colditz inmates - including the legendary 'Medium Sized Man' Flight Lieutenant Dominic Bruce OBE MC AFM originator of the famous 'tea chest' escape; they became one of the two specialised squadrons attacking precision targets with the Tallboy bomb, and led the final mainforce raid, on Berchtesgaden, 25 April 1945. The battleship Tirpitz had been moved into a fjord in Northern Norway where she threatened the Arctic convoys and was too far north to be attacked by air from the UK. She had already been damaged by a Royal Navy midget submarine attack and a second attack from carrier born aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. But both attacks had failed to sink her. The task was given to No. 9 and No.617 Squadrons who, operating from a base in Russia, attacked the Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs which damaged her so extensively that she was forced to head south to Tromsö fjord to be repaired. This fjord was in range of bombers operating from Scotland. There in October from a base in Scotland she was attacked again. Finally on November 12, 1944, the two squadrons attacked the Tirpitz and she capsized. All three RAF attacks on the Tirpitz were led by Wing Commander JB "Willy" Tait, who had succeeded Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire as CO of No. 617 Squadron in July 1944. After the War, the Lancasters were replaced by Avro Lincolns until 1952, when the Squadron re-equipped with English Electric Canberra jet-bombers. These aircraft were used during three months of operations in Malaya in 1956 and during the Suez Crisis. In March 1962, the squadron converted to the Avro Vulcan and became part of the V-Force of RAF Bomber Command. Their Vulcans were equipped in late 1966 with WE.177 laydown nuclear bombs at RAF Cottesmore in the low-level penetration role and assigned to SACEUR, before spending six years in the same role 1969-74 at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, as part of the Near East Air Force Wing (NEAF) where the squadron formed part of the United Kingdom's commitment to CENTO. The years 1975-82 were spent based at RAF Waddington, again assigned to SACEUR, and still equipped with WE.177 nuclear laydown bombs in the low-level penetration role before disbanding in April 1982.[5][6]
