Lancaster Bomber Crew Intercom Talk

[AlexP]

A compilation of recordings of Lancaster crew intercom chatter taken from a number of different aircraft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxCqInwQ790

I'm in awe of what the men of bomber command endured night after night. I wonder if any of these particular crews survived the war?

Alex

[DaveB]

What an excellent find

Tks Alex ;-)

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[DispatchDragon]

There are times every now and then when something makes you so very proud to be British
magnificent stuff - the only thing that gives it away is the oxygen regulators clicking - if you listen
carefully they are all breathing at about 100 resp per min

Leif

[DanKH]

I can only concur...

Makes me proud of being Brit ....oh ... er.... well ... you know what I mean...

Incredible.

Hats off.

[petermcleland]

Yes...A wonderful find that...Absolutely gripping...I've never heard anything like that sound recording before, but I've seen a lot of camera gun combat film (all silent of course). Those sound recordings are just excellent, in fact they are so good on my equipment that I can clearly spot imperfections in the perceived wording of the subtitles. Which means that I'm hearing it a lot clearer than they did originally :think:

[speedbird591]

What amazing recordings. I wish I had been able to play them to my Dad but unfortunately he passed away a few days ago. I have just been clearing out his stuff and amongst his photos is this one of his cousin Teddy in 1943. Dad joined the Army and survived the war to live to 92 (You can read about his experiences here: http://www.roymiddleton.btinternet.co.uk), but Teddy became a Flight Engineer and was a Flight Sergeant on Lancasters. There are several wonderful photos of him in uniform, but I think this one really brings alive that recording. I have also included the words on the back of the photo which show that it was taken around the same time that the recordings were made. It recordsTeddy as missing; in fact he was shot down and killed over Holland during a raid on Essen and was buried in a military cemetery in Holland. Teddy is the young lad at the back, leaning sllightly at an angle.




Ian

[DanKH]

Very nice photo Ian.

Sorry to hear about you Dad, I know you were close.

I'm sure he had some good 92 years though

[DaveB]

Lovely phot Ian.. sort of brings the recordings to life doesn't it.

Sorry to hear of the loss of your dad :-(

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[AllanL]

I wonder what that generation make of the rush of the press to confer hero status on the likes of the BA crew at Heathrow.

Now their professionalism in a sudden emergency cannot be questioned, but I'm not convinced it compares to the courage of those such as Bomber Command who went out night after night knowing that the odds were against completing a tour of ops. ( 1 in 20 loss rate and a tour was 30 ops)

Sorry to hear about your loss, it is always a tough time no matter what age.

[Paul K]

I could hear the odd Australian / New Zealander accent in amongst those voices, and a Canadian one briefly, I think. Very interesting stuff.