On BBC4 last night snippets of some unseen amateur movies from ww2. Can be watched on I-Player in UK. 2nd Instalment next week,. One film showed how Europe was changing from 1937-39 from some ones holiday film. Very interesting, I would recommend watching it.
I found it disappointing. Particularly as there was no attempt to distinguish between the amateur footage and the professional stuff that was inter- cut with it. Nice shots though of Fulmars taking off from HMS Argus - which I think was one of the official clips.
It did show the dire straits of Coastal Command at the start of the war, using aircraft such as Ansons and Bothas...distinct lack of range and unsuitable to counter the U Boat arm.Command strength was a mere 176 aircraft....then there would be reductions in daily strength for maintenance activities and losses. (Some Bomber Squadrons were initially equipped with Ansons as they were reformed or formed prior to the outbreak of war.)
Agreed but I would have preferred to see more on that in something dedicated to the subject rather than it being used to pad out the amateur film stock
I found them quite interesting - seeing life elsewhere through someone elses eyes, I find, always open my eyes that little bit wider. I especially enjoyed the bit when he was chased along the station by security guards, before hiding under a seat, being found and all his film ripped out, so reminiscent of other cultures and other times TD
There was an Anson used on the Channel approaches in 1940. The crew had 'acquired' a 20mm Cannon to supplement the single forward firing Vickers plus three extra K guns. two used as beam guns firing out of the side windows and a hole had been cut in the floor where the Elsan was supposed to be to allow the third to fire downward and rearward. They claimed two Bf 109s There was an article on it in RAF Flying Review back in the 60s
Faithful Annie – the Avro Anson It is rumoured that one 500 Sqn Anson (that habitually flown by the Squadron CO) actually mounted a ‘borrowed’ 20mm cannon, which was fitted to fire downwards from an aperture cut in the aircraft’s floor! I note the other story is humorous "When war broke out, it was soon discovered that the standard 100lb anti-submarine bomb was completely ineffective, as HMS Snapper was accidentally attacked in December 1939 by an Anson using this weapon. The submarine suffered direct hits and yet only a few light fixtures were broken!" Dont you just love research TD Kent's Air Force Armament was one 0.303” fixed forward firing gun in the nose and one 0.303” gun in the rotating turret. Maximum bomb load was 400lb but only two 100lb bombs could be carried internally and was the usual load carried on patrol. Most of 500 Squadron's aircraft had a DIY fit of a movable 0.303” gun firing out of each side window, and the CO’s aircraft had a movable 20mm cannon firing through the floor but, with an airframe not designed for the recoil, it’s possible that the Anson was more at risk than the enemy!
Here's the only photo I have from "Images of Aviation Avro Anson by Harry Holmes" (credited to 206 Sqn though?) I would have liked to have seen the look on the faces of the Me109 patrol which bounced some No.500 Ansons over Dunkirk, only to meet with the additional armament they'd been loaded with, I believe the final score was Ansons 2 shot down plus 1 damaged, Me109's 0 All copy & pasted for information from Anybody actually got their hands on the SH Anson yet? TD
