(Following on from 'what will missions be like?' another bunch of dreams and guesses - I kind of hoped this might spark some debate/discussion of features, etc.)
Another briefing, another hush hush, top secret bombing mission. The information at briefings is detailed and vital, and obviously they’re mandatory for pilots. Crew can sit in on them too, but more often than not they simply wander along to the plane shortly before take off. ( or join in flight – up to a point).
We’re to take our Lancs over low for a precise hit on German U-boat pens. A larger, less elite force made up of three-plane units will go over high just before us to hammer the air defences. (A mix of manned and AI, this is an easy blanket drop, but fighter defence will be fierce. A pilot will be considered to have survived if he gets a single plane home out of his three.) Our take off time and route are planned to ensure that we arrive after they’ve finished their work. Too early and we’d fly into a hail of flak and friendly bombs, too late and the Nachtjagdgeshwaders will have refueled and reupped. The Planned route is a dogleg, we’re to cross the coast south of the target, and then turn on a canal, using that to guide us straight to the port. Then it’s on to the detailed aerial reconaissance photos showing exactly where the pens are. Last comes a weather briefing; scattered cloud, full moon, mostly calm below five thousand. No danger of icing at the alts we’ll be flying.
I huddle with the others as we discuss the briefing, we’ve all flown as a unit before, in fact, we volunteered together for this mission. This kind of bombing mission requires planning. (perhaps route is not specified in briefing, but up to the pilots?) The maps are detailed, we note hills near the canal, towns that may have AA defences, etc. There’s merit in skirting around some of the larger towns, and we’re confident we can find the canal again on the other side. We each plot the route on our maps, and make a note of settings, speeds and altitudes for the formation. We decide to cross the French coast high for safety, angels ten, then drop down to look for the canal. We’ll try to keep tight formation as long as possible. The decision is taken to drop individually, rather than on a leader. We’ll each only have a single 4,000lb bomb and it’ll have to hit spot on to crack the reinforced concrete of the pens.
We roll out at twilight. The engines belch puffs of smoke as they each cough into life. The windsock hangs limp, we’re without the benefit of a headwind for takeoff so I crank the it up to +14in at 3,000rpm. Once all of us are airborne we join up, throttling back gradually to the agreed climb settings of +9in and 2,800rpm. Now it’s the boring bit, and an opportunity to brief my crew, review the maps, and have a brew. We level out at 10,000ft, already over the channel. It takes us a while to reformate in the darkness. From above all I can see of the others is moonlight reflected on canopies and the glow of exhausts. Worried as I am about colliding, I’m glad that this is all the Jerry fighters will see as well. Once we’re down at treetop level we won’t be silhouetted against either sky above or clouds below.
Crossing the French coast on time, we run into a rain squall, a nasty cloud full of contrary winds. We’ve already agreed not to climb out of any of these we meet. Equally well, we can’t drop down inside the cloud for fear of meeting the ground. Our altimeters aren’t accurate enough for treetop flying, and in any case there are some hills just behind the coast. I fly through on instruments, I suppose it provides cover if nothing else. Once we’re clear of it and in sight of each other again, we drop down to 500ft. Even on the way down I can see the shining ribbon of canal below. I check the compass, it’s direction matches the notes I made on the map. Now down low, I get one of my crew navigating for me as I concentrate on flying. The other is in the top turret, keeping a sharp lookout.
“Jerry!” he suddenly shouts, and there’s a rush to the guns. This low, I’ve got to concentrate on flying, the best I can do to help is close up with the other Lancs. Guns flash and clatter, a bf110 slashes past our wing, still firing. At first I think he’s hit, then as his guns stop, I realise he’s streaming brass shell cases, not fuel. (A pair of 110s have been scrambled to go after eight bombers. The Lancs are down low, so a belly attack is out of the question. They have a fair chance of finding their enemy and getting a kill each.)
In the midst of the battle, none of us have been navigating, and we’ve followed the canal straight into a town. Ack starts up, even some 20mm tracers as we’re so low. The Lancaster rocks in the air with every close explosion. Uh-oh, a red warning light, and at the same time the top gunner shouts “Number 3’s on fire!” The prop’s already slowing down. I hit the extinguisher, I don’t know whether I’m more worried about the fuel in the wings going up, or being a big glowing beacon for the nightfighters. The fire goes out and I feather the prop. I can retrim easily enough for three engines, and maintain altitude, but if we lose another I’ll have to jettison the bombload, maybe even some fuel. On top of this, without No.3 there’s no hydraulic pressure for the front turret, or electrical power for the bombsight. What the hell, at this alt we can bomb blind with a fair chance of hitting. (I could RTB, but points lost for failure to drop within the target area would be nearly as much as points lost due to death. As a bomber, if I succeed in destroying the target and then die, I still come out with a small surplus of points.) A factory chimney sails past to starboard, with an engine dead we’ve lost altitude and are skimming the rooftops. I feed in power slowly and pull up. Then suddenly we’re in a cloud, just like that. Thank god. I still haven’t a clue where we are, but at least we should have given Jerry the slip.
Out of the cloud and look for landmarks, there are five of us left, one down to the fighters, one lost to flak and one RTB’d with damage. We line up, consult our maps and photos one last time and open bomb bays…
