Lancaster Bomber 514 Squadron

Trivia Pros and Cons
I'd better post these items now as they don't improve with age as do some wines and seniors.
A few days ago I followed an interestig dialogue in the Forum about the recovery of an intact Merlin engine that now resides in the USA. I am not qualified to comment extensively on the Merlins as I flew the Mk III Lanc only long enough to be checked out.
Over many pints the merits of the Merlin and the Hercules powered aircraft have been discussed at length. The Hally and the Lanc would be two prime examples of this.
The ever present gremlins played many different pranks. With the Bristol Hercules there were two rather regular conditions encountered. They were known as "coring" and "frothing". As I remember they could both be cured by the same remedy. This called for a sharp reduction in revs followed by several bursts of speed. This usually worked.
Coring was indicated by high oil pressure and temperature while frothing was suspected when high temperature and low pressure existed.
High fuel consumption was everyone's concern and
certainly so for the Mk II Lanc. After one lengthy
and active trip I was in a discussion next morning with the Wingco. He pointed out that I had used an excessive amount of His Majesty's petrol and I should be made aware of it.The consumption rate was something like .8 miles per gallon. Instead of a reprimand I was offered a Bristol sponsored course at #10 OTU, Westcott. Interest there was focused on a most remarkable animated cutaway of a Bristol Hercules Mk XVI radial engine. Having worked one time as a mechanics' helper on the Cheetah IX and X powered Ansons I was most impressed with this giant sleeve valved power plant developing 1,650 HP.Shortly after this, again in conversation,I was commended For having achieved a 1.0 mpg average.
Our take-off consumption was 8 gals. per minute.
I believe the Mk II's could slightly outdo our Merlin people at this stage. However as we approched altitudes of 18 to 20'000 feet they could enjoy being able to look down on us from there on.
We had a "through the gate" setting which required forcing the throttles into an emergency position at the very forward end of travel on the throttle quadrant. This area was cordoned off by a length of brass lock wire which had to be broken in order to gain access to Maximum power. I believe the duration at this level of performance was restricted to no more than 8 minutes. I know our ground crew bods performed many extra hours to restore our aircraft to airworthy condition.
Hope some of you can relate to these bits of trivia. Enough for tonight.
Skipper of Lancaster A2 C Cheers Alex Campbell

 

Thank you Mr Campbell - your recollections are most interesting indeed !

Many legends seem to have sprung up among post-war enthusiasts about the differences between between the Hercules and Merlin-engined Lancasters ( and of course, none of us has any experience whatsoever of the real thing.... ).

Reg Davey at the Mosquito Museum is often asked his opinion of the technical differences between the engines. Reg, of course, was a Navigator and he always just smiles and says :

'Oh, you know, as far as I was concerned, as long as the propellers kept turning round I wasn't really bothered......'

 

That was really interesting ! Thank you for writting about the engines. Did you ever meet any Manchester crew or have stories about the Vulture engine ?

 

This may be the cut-away Bristol Hercules that Dad is talking about.

http://www.enginehistory.org/G&jJBrossett/Coventry/Bristol%20Hercules%20cutaway%20view.JPG

Apparently this engine is at the Midland Air Museum in Coventry.

http://www.enginehistory.org/coventry.htm

 

Yes Martin, these navigators do seem to have a way with words don't they? Glad you enjoyed the trivia.
TA152 I had no first hand experience with the Vulture engine. They must have been a tragic failure
and accounted for the deaths of many airmen.
And thanks Wayne for the fine engine photos. They can be examined now in more detail than we possibly
could have done. Cheers to all EAC

 

In looking back through the pages I see I have made no acknowledgement of Reg Davey. You welcomed me to the Forum as a fellow member of 514 Squadron. Yes you likely just missed us as we commenced Ops on May 19/44. You might have met Wendy Flemming from Alberta who attended a 514 reunion in England a few years back. Her father,Ross Flemming, was navigator on "Minnie the Moocher". Our navigator was Judy Garland, yes, Judy from Sydney NS.
Good luck with your Mossies Reg I'm sure you do a fine job there. Give us a course for home.
Bye for now Alex Campbell

 

Hello to all and especially the Campbells.
I'm back from my holiday and as promised I drove through Saint Cloud en Dunois and took pictures.

It was six in the morning so I had no opportunity to talk to the locals. I drove around and found several isolated farms scattered around here and there. Then I drove towards the Chateaudun base. There is still a farm right next to the runways, although I could not actually get close enough to get pictures or see if these were inhabited. This group of buildings could possibly be the Arthur farm. In fact this farm is part of Chateaudun and is about five minutes from st Cloud (a good hour on foot) Another farm near the road seems abandonned but is intact. I guess I should go back there and ask locals. I'll post the pictures later today. The countryside with small hills and fields + isolated farms totally fitted in your description. I also made a short visit to Bob Giffin's grave. Sorry, as it was early in the morning and there are no shops, I had no flowers except a small plastic one.

 

This is the entrance of Saint Cloud en Dunois.

 

This is a picture of Robert giffin's grave

 

Isolated farm at Saint Cloud en Dunois

 

Saint Cloud at dawn not far from estimated crash site + chute landing place

 

Skipper 67- What a great surprise. I shall first say thanks so much for all that. When I've studied these photos more I will be in touch later. Bye for now
Alex Campbell

 

This is the view I had from the graveyard, right next to the church.

 

An old farm which used to have the former vilage limit sign. The limit is 50 meters away nowaday.

 

Dear Mr Campbell,
Here are the other pictures. I am a bit frustrated because there was so much more to do in the village and nobody was awake and I had a 600km trip ahead plus familly in the car. Next time I will go back there and meet people + will try to locate the Arthur farm. Saint Cloud seems in the middle of nowhere, but it is only five minutes away from Chateaudun. However the countryside at dawn was almost magic to me, there was something special and tragic, as if the landscape had been waiting for a visit. Everything seemed to be as it was 62 years ago. The cars were in garages and the population was asleep, it felt almost like a ghost town, a place where Holywood could shoot a film. This was accentuated by the large fields, the graveyard. Some farms were abandonned, probably too large and too isolated. I couldn't get close enough to all of them but will get pictures on a second visit. Signs have been changed, walls have been painted, houses have been built, but if you look carefully, you could walk in those brave 1944 villagers steps and catch some of the the spirit you experienced at this spot.

 

Skipper,
Thank you for these evocative images. You have captured the essence of St. Cloud and it does look like a place frozen in time.
Our extended family is following this story, and your pictures are an important part of the saga.

The field in front of the old farm, with the town sign on it, appears to be stubble, as if grain had been harvested from it. Dad mentioned the grain stooks and stubble fields in 1944.

E. Wayne Campbell

 

That is right. This area is called the "Beauce which is the wheat belt of France. It is very fertile land and the crops there are usualy harvested at the end of the month of July. This is why several people came out of the middle of nowhere. Some of them were temp workers who are employed for the harvest. Maybe this was Mr Liger's cover. He came from the Paris suburbs, whereas the Arthur family apparently where locals.

 

Hello Skipper 67: I certainly appreciate the lengths you've gone to in your searches. That early morning photo of the harvested grain field caught my eye immediately. It fits right in to my memory as the view I saw when I first stood up on French soil. As I study the photo that earthy smell comes back to me and the feel of the sharp stubble picking my wrists.
You have a remarkable way of describing your feelings and comparing them to mine. That photo
must very well represent the surrounding area as it seems to bring back memories in an eery way.
In the churchyard photo what are the rectangular images all across the foreground?
This is truly awesome for me, thanks so much Skipper 67. Bye for now Alex Campbell

 

the rectangles are panes covered with mushrooms. They belong to the fence that surrounds the churchyard. This is typical of this part of France where people use panes to preserve old walls. It also shows the tiny churchyard that lies immediatly next to a field. I know what you mean with the stumbles. They can get pretty deep cuts. The fact that I took the pictures at dawn is a coincidence, but I certainly thought this would be very close to what you must have seen. It allowed me to get an unsuspected idea of the scenery. As I told you earlier, I will return there as soon as possible to get some more information.
When you were at Freteval, did you stay with the survivors of your Lanc or did you also meet other airmen. Do you remember any names or details?

 

Skipper 67- I will search more about the panes and mushrooms you have mentioned as I can't quite relate
to that. Now for the Freteval query I shall refer you to my son Wayne. He can supply you with some links to several sources with detailed information
about this and other related connections.
Cheers and thanks Alex Campbell