David sent me this last week (and I got distracted and forgot to post it - sorry David) Caption: Lancaster pilot's position, showing the sliding hatch through which escape was barely possible. However, the extensively glazed cabin gave a good all round view.
Bomb Aimer Caption: Bomb release switch in hand, the bomb aimer lies prone facing his Mk XIV vector sight.
Wireless Operator Caption: H2S position in the Lancaster. Top left is the curtain which shuts out light; to the right is the flight engineer's position, with his seat folded up.
Mid-Upper Gunner Caption: The mid-upper turret, showing the fairing which prevented the gunner from damaging his own aircraft.
The Rear Gunner Caption: Emergency escape from the rear turret was made by turning it sideways as seen here, then rolling out backwards.
Do not know whether all the crew remained the same however they were all killed on a raid to Cologne. Lancaster ED689 Information Type Lancaster Serial Number ED689 Squadron 9 X1D WS-K Operation Cologne Date 1 3rd July 1943 Date 2 3rd July 1943 Further Information "Serial Range ED303 - EE202 This aircraft was on of 620 Lancasters ordered from A.V.roe (Chadderton) in 1941 and built from Nov42 to Jun43 as 129 Mk.1's and 491 Mk.111's, mixed up to ED782 and all as Mk.111 from Ed783 onwards. Mk.1's were initially fitted with Merlin 20 and Mk.111s with Merlin 28 engines. ED689 was a a Mk.111 and was delivered to 9 Squadron 12Apr43. ED689 took part in the following Key Operations: Dortmund 23/24May43; D_sseldorf 25/26May43; D_sseldorf 11/12Jun43; Bochum 12/13Jun43. When lost this aircraft had a total of 146 hours. Airborne 2217 3Jul43 from Bardney. Crashed 0110 4Jul43 on the rhine at K_ln-Poll in the City's SE suburbs and on the river's east bank. Two bodies, those of Sgt Backler and Sgt Dohaney were recovered and are now buried in the Rheinberg War cemetery. The rest of the crew have no known graves. F/O Reeves was an American from Canastata in New York State. F/L J.A.Wakeford DFC KIA Sgt T.G.Porter KIA Sgt J.E.Owen KIA F/O J.B.Reeves RCAF KIA Sgt H.J.Hawkridge KIA Sgt A.F.Backler KIA Sgt H.L.Wilson KIA Sgt G.F.Dohaney KIA Note the eight-man crew. "
In the Dambuster aircraft, the bomb-aimer and the front gunner were at work simultaneously during the run-in. Presumably, the front gunner had somewhere to put his feet, either side of the B/A, and probably a canvas sling to sit on. On preserved examples of standard Lancs, the front gunner appears to have no seat at all other than the edge of the turret - and I doubt that there was the height for him to stand upright. I hadn't thought of the problem of empty cartridge cases. Didn't they fall into bags under the guns - surely it could have caused problems to have loose cartridge cases all over the floor, getting into control runs etc?
There was a container for spent cartridges and links in the base of the turret that appears to have been accessible via a canvas panel secured with snap links. I also have a drawing of an "adjustable" seat, purported to be part of the forward turret on the Lancaster. Here are the two images:
Thanks, these make it a little clearer. I think the seat is missing from the Lancaster front turrets that I have seen (in the RAF Museum and the Imperial War Museum). Presumably the bombaimer would have had to crawl through the canvas door shown at the base of the turret. Or was the whole thing high enough for him to lie underneath?
From what I understand, he crawled in from below. The canvas panel unzipped to allow the armorers to clean out the spent casings and links. I can't imagine what complex devices these turrets were, especially the rear one!
