Sunderland / Flyingboat photos.

Some pictures from a 1942 publication 'R.A.F. The Second Year' entitled "In a Sunderland on Patrol"

The Wireless Operator


The Pilots


The Navigator and the Captain


A Side-gunner

 

Fantastic thread

 

Thought this was an interesting one.

Your Place And Mine - Greater Belfast - Flight through Time - Programme 2

 

Here's a picture that will be of interest to many. Its taken from a framed picture in the Pilot's Nook at Castle Archdale.

 

Just completed this thread after stumbling on it today...

I have a special place in my heart for all flyingboats, especially Cats and Sunderlands...

This links to something I'm working on that belongs here too...

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/burma-india/34601-%22gert-daisy%22-sunderlands-burma.html

 

Thought you might like this of my dad at Pembroke Dock, he was a Pilot Sergeant and flew Sunderlands out of there in '43

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/slomofo_2006/GEHApr1943PembrokeDock119Sqn.jpg

He was in 119Sqn, this was his crew..

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/slomofo_2006/119SqdnCrewPembrokeDockApr1943.jpg

They looked colder here

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/slomofo_2006/119SqdnPembrokeDockFeb1943.jpg

But happier when transferred to 210Sqn at Hamworthy, again in Sunderlands

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/slomofo_2006/210SqdnHamworthySep1943.jpg

 

HI FOLKS - NEGATIVE ON FITTING THE BEACHING GEAR THRO THE SUNDERLANDS MAN SIZED DOORS - AND ALSO THE BOATS LEAVING SHORTS WERE NEVER ARMED IN MY TIME THERE - ALL OF THE 10 X BROWNING .303 + 2 X .50 M/Gs WERE FITTED AT THE R.A.F. / FRENCH FLEET AIR ARM OR R.N.Z.A.F. BASES - AT SHORTS WE O/H EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE BOATS - ALL MK III WERE CONVERTED TO MK V STATUS - REPLACING 2 X .303 MID UPPER TURRET WITH 2 X .50 BEAM BROWNING - FITTING 2 X UNDERWING RADAR SCANNERS ETC. - AND P+W 1830 - YES, A HUGE AIRCRAFT PLANT , 36,000 EMPLOYED THERE IN WW II - WONDER IF IT IS STILL THERE -CAN'T SEE ON GOOGLE - I HEAR BOMBARDIER SOLD IT AND NOW ARE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING ANOTHER NEW PLANT - PRESUMABLY NEXT TO THE OLD SHORTS RUNWAY ? - THANX J.C.

 

Hi folks - don't want to be picky - but it was never called the cockpit - = the flightdeck . The center pilot on fol down seat was called the third pilot - ref to ivan southall's book - the third pilot - today called the jump seat -- the l.h.s. Is the 1st pilot and co-pilot was the 2nd pilot . Nix on side gunner - that is a beam gun location - same as on b-17 etc. The scope in front of the radio operator is actually the a.s.v. = radar , opposite him on stbd. Side . R/o is on port side .
Not often do we see shots of the flight engineer , located between wing roots - directly behind the nav. On stb side also . Thanx j.c.

 

Joe’s Christmas Story
You see Joe and I were members of a Sunderland crew formed at Oban, on a/c ABA W6000. Now we never heard any former history of this old kite but we helped to make some with 423 Squadron flying ops out of Oban and Castle Archdale. We had a few good ops under our keel before it W6000 got up to 360 hrs. and in need of a good overhaul at Wig Bay. Her rivets were sticking out quarter of an inch which dragged her down to 105 knots and bilges need pumping twice a day.
Well, we left her at her moorings in Wig Bay, moved on to Glasgow and train South on our fist Ops leave. We were heading for London to rub shoulders with other types in Captain’s Cabin Nerone, and Crackers Club.
Getting off the train at Euston Station a porter came up to us and asked if we were Canadians off W6000. When we said yes, he gave us the distressing news that she now rested on the bottom of Wig Bay. This shook us up a bit, but not a real lot. We went on to High Holborn and a 2/6 room at Sally Anne (shared) Joe and I.
We had had no mail since coming over 8 months before, so it was down to Knightsbridge to see the postie who happened to be another tree-toppler like myself, just four miles from where I lived back in Canada. He piled the counter up with so many parcels that Joe started to use his rough language. He said, “Geez! Geez! Red, what are we going to do with all this Geez.stuff?”
We went back to High Holborn, emptied our kit bags, and then went back to collect it all. When dumped on our beds, it made a mountain of parcels. Joe said, “Geez, what are we going to do with this.”
I said that I was going to a far out relative Uncle for Christmas so I knew what I was doing with mine. Joe said that he didn’t have any uncles. He walked around the bed, up one side and down the other, cocking his eye like a robin looking for a worm, then he said, “Geez, Red, give me your kit bag.” He then filed his and mine and said, “follow me.”
Going down towards Trafalgar Square in a real dense black-out we suddenly came across a Bobby. Joe says, “Sir, do you know a real destitute family in these parts?”
“Now,” says the Bobby, “I should think that I do.” He told us to make some lefts and rights to a bombed out building. We were to look for some stairs open to the stars and, if we went up two flights we would come to the door of one room saved from the bomb. We found this to be true. At the door Joe says, “Red, rap on the door.” This I did, no answer. “Rap again,” says Joe. This I do louder. A timid female voice answers, “who’s there.” Joe roars out, “Santa Clause.”
The voice tells us to come in, so we do.
Now I would like you to pause a minute and try to put in your mind what I saw. A young woman, maybe in her late twenties, two small kiddies, one on each side, all sheltered against the cold under one blanket. There was no bed, no furniture, except a table on which stood a sturdy candle lighting the room. Joe said, “Red, hold the candle.” He dumped the kitbags on the table until it was heaped and parcels spilling over onto the floor. Joe roared, “Merry Christmas,” and we left on our merry way down to Trafalgar Square. Christmas Eve 1942.

 

Yes, Virginia....

Great read that: "sin and death shall not prevail."

 

Hi James S,
Your are "spot on" about the Cats over the Indian Ocean. The "Double Sunrise" Club tell the story of the only link between Australia & U.K. For much of W.W. 2.
Mr. Pratt & Mr. Whitney got it pretty right.
Regards Tom Sheridan.

 

PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND. 1940-07-14. FOUR EARLY-TYPE 250LB ANTI-SUBMARINE BOMBS ATTACHED TO A BOMB RACK OF A SUNDERLAND AIRCRAFT OF NO. 10 SQUADRON WHICH WAS MANNED BY THE RAAF. ON PATROL THE RACK WAS CARRIED INSIDE THE HULL AND WAS PUSHED OUT TO THE BOMB RELEASE POSITION ONLY WHEN REQUIRED.

 

Douglas James Dolphin - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada

 

My father B E H Layne was on 201 Squadron and flew W4036 on several occasions in June and July 1943 and it was the last Sunderland he flew before completing his first tour of duty. Most noteworthy flight was the penultimate one on 28 July when he attacked two U Boats simultaneously which Gudmundur Helgason advises me were U-262 and U-760. Dad wrote in a diary "Wednesday 28 July (on W4036) at 4pm flying in excellent visibility, my new second pilot, F/O Fernside spotted 2 subs on the surface about 10 miles away. (45N 12W). We turned into attack, but at the same time an American Catalina coming in the opposite direction made what appeared to be a bombing run over them and (we) turned away. But he flew right over them without doing anything so I turned into attack and at the same time we sighted another Sunderland, also coming from the south. Unfortunately the subs crash dived and I was over them too late to make an attack. Meanwhile the Cat had turned around and fired off a string of whatever missiles he carried without effect. Stayed in the area for three hours, but saw nothing more or of the Subs. Blast that Cat".

 

Referring to all the floats lost from Sunderlands earlier in this thread , when we were quite young 18 to 20s a gang of us used to sail up and down the river Dee at Kirkcudbright in a cut down aircraft float with a small outboard motor stuck on the end. It may have been a Sunderland one as it held 4/5 of us. The old Air Sea rescue station at RAF Gibbhill , just downriver from Kirkcudbright was used as a sawmill and I believe that's where the float came from .
After some high jinks by a member of the crew who capsized it miles away from Kirkcudbright but near the shore , which entailed a long wet walk home I decided that it was too dangerous to go back out in it again