American Reacts Life Inside a Lancaster Heavy Bomber (Cross Section)

Original Video: • Life Inside a Lancaste...
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#reaction
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

[@spartakistmk2557]

1:58 "What was the reasoning for a circular [roundel] rather than a British flag?" - the Royal Flying Corps did, in fact, originally mark their planes with a Union Jack in the earliest days of the First World War, but the shape was too easily confused with the Iron Cross painted on German planes (especially for infantrymen seeing them from the ground), so the RFC followed the example of the French, who'd adopted a round shape based on the old Revolutionary tricolour cockade, simply inverting the colours to create the roundel that formed the basis for all later RAF insignia.

[@Tilly-f7l]

Thankyou never knew that 👍

[@chrisbamborough222]

Spot on well explained

[@williambranch4283]

The Lancaster was the only bomber initially able to carry to distance the first nukes. It would have been used if the B29 hadn't been available in time.

[@musicbruv]

Black Lancaster?

[@proudyorkshireman7708]

No it wouldn’t if you’re referring to mark Felton’s video. In official documents the Lancaster was only mentioned once and it was it was very quickly but to bed and that the b29 was the only aircraft for the job there is a video Available on KZbin explaining everything that is wrong with marks video. Mark Felton is well known in historic circles as creating fictional and what if situations and never backs up his claims with actual evidence. Always take his videos with a pinch of salt

[@thomasbrogan8456]

We live in southern Lincolnshire, and are lucky enough to see the Lanc, Spitfires and Hurricanes fly over our home when they're enroute to or from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) home base at Coningsby on a fly past. They are amazing aircraft that are wonderful to see fly over. And the sound!!! We're so lucky to still have these amazing iconic aircraft in the skies.

[@D25Bev]

There's a really interesting video with the audio recording of crews onboard the Lancaster during WW2. Should definitely check it out 'Audio From the Past [E01] - WW2 - Avro Lancaster Crew Radio'

[@frankripley6401]

Hi Connor, just for your info; 1) Yes, other crew could and did fly the plane; a number of other crew were trainee pilots who washed out for some reason, so had a basic knowledge; at least enough to get the aircraft into level flight & stable. 2) Ref the rear gunner’s vulnerability:- another reason was that most nightfighter attacks were from the rear and thus the rear gunner was particularly at risk. My cousin Benny ( my mother’s sister’s son) was a tail gunner on a Lanc and killed by a nightfighter in August 43. The rest of the crew survived and the aircraft got home safe, so Benny is buried in Lincolnshire & his mother had photographs of his funeral. He was 19.

[@markbrooks8144]

My dad was on Lancs during WW2. Flight Engineer. Got shot down over France and was looked after by the resistance for a while.

[@nicksykes4575]

Hi Connor, as was said in the video, the rear turret was so cramped the rear gunner had to leave his parachute hanging up outside the turret. One rear gunner called Nicholas Alkemade found himself in a burning Lancaster, when he opened the door of his turret, his parachute had already been burned up. So he was left with the option of burning to death, or jumping from 18,000ft. He chose to jump, blacked-out on the way down, and woke up an hour later with a twisted ankle! When he was captured, the Gestapo wanted to shoot him as a spy, an airman would have a parachute, therefore if you have no parachute, you're a spy. Luckily for him the local German Army troops had found the wreckage of the plane, with the remains of his parachute still aboard, they even gave him a certificate commemorating the event.

[@millyjames7891]

Thank you for your comment. I'm fascinated by these sort of stories. A friend of my late father (both of them RAF pilots) got shot down and made his way to Spain and knocked on the door of the embassy. He was taken out for dinner with a new uniform. He felt eyes on him. He turned around to see the German ambassador dining with a rather emaciated Luftwaffe pilot with a brand new uniform. They grinned at each other, stood up and walked towards the other man. They shook hands mid way between the tables.

[@lyndarichardson4744]

Did he land in a large tree or something?

[@nicksykes4575]

@@lyndarichardson4744 Sort of, it was a plantation of young fir trees, with 2-3ft snow drifts below them.

[@nicksykes4575]

@@millyjames7891 Hi Milly, great story! You could almost imagine them passing each other in the dark on some little country lane in France, as they made their way in opposite directions. My late father was also an RAF pilot, he flew Spitfires in Italy. One story he told me, involved him being officer of the watch at their airfield, which is now Florence Airport. he had been warned that a formation of US bombers had been shot up and some may need to land there. While he was waiting, a large Italian aircraft landed, and sat at the end of the runway. My dad jumped in his jeep and tore down to where the plane was, turned out, only one of the party spoke English. My dad, using rather colourful language, suggested they go away, and not land there again without permission! A couple of days later, he was hauled in front of the CO, and told not to swear at the King of Italy!

[@lyndarichardson4744]

@@nicksykes4575 thanks xx

[@tfrowlett8752]

13:43 the closest weapon to your description would be the butterfly bomb, which were a cluster type weapon which could explode in the air, on impact, after a timed delay or when touched or moved.

[@dannjp75]

There’s nothing like the low roar of a Lancaster, brings a chill to my spine every time..❤

[@davidwatts-hw2dh]

Over 50,000 of our young lads, your age Connor, died in this aircraft and other bombers, fighting for freedom. They came to the clarion call.

[@wrorchestra1]

Tail gunners had electrically heated suits (rarely worked) as the turret hatch was separated from the fuselage by a small gap and also had a small window for sighting that was usually removed. As such, at 24,000ft the air temperature is very low. They said you could always tell who the rear gunner was by the red line around his nose and mouth where the oxygen mask had frozen to his face. To bail out, the gunner had to centre the turret, open the doors, grab his parachute from the access way stowage, put it on, turn the turret 90° and bail out backwards from the open hatch. A one-in-four chance of survival and my Grandfather did it 29 times.

[@chrisbamborough222]

Conner, You can watch the Lancaster flying in the Summer as it's part of the Battle of Britain Memorial flight of six Spitfires,two Hurricanes, a Dakota and two Chipmunk trainers stationed at at RAF Coningsby Lincolnshire where the present Typhoon QRF is located. You can also do a ground visit . The Engines have a particular sound that's just fantastic.

[@amacca2085]

It said in the video 🤣

[@chrisbamborough222]

@@amacca2085 Yes a brief mention was made in the video I added context , the amount of Aircraft in the Flight, Full list of types,location to be found to visit, that you can walk around them and visit when there on the ground, Oops I forgot you get a informative guide talking you around, tea is available in the Cafe and Souvenirs. You can also sometimes meet the Pilots. Ow and the Bomber Command Memorial and Museum is nearby . So helpful extra context for anyone interested enough to visit. 🤪🛩️

[@listerofsmegv987pevinaek5]

Great plane is the Lancaster. While on holiday in Lincolnshire we went to the krikby aviation museum. Stood below the Lancaster, very impressive. Climbed the ladder upto the cockpit to look inside. So small it looked like you couldn't get in unless you were akid. There was know second seat for a copilot the flight engineer just stood there to help. Watch the Dam Busters film and you'll see the engineer help during take-off. Great video keep up the good work.

[@corringhamdepot4434]

The standard British Army rifle ammunition as 0.303 inch, while the US Army used 0.30 inch. So when the US supplied the UK with Cal .30 rifles at the beginning of WW2, they were issued to the Home Guard, to free up standard rifles for regular army use. The USAAF standard machine gun was 50 Cal, or half inch. Which was much more potent than the .303 machine guns used by the RAF. For some reason they always used millimetres for canon shells. So a Spitfire could have 2 x 20mm cannon, and 4 x .303 machine guns.

[@brycedyck8450]

German aircraft had square recognition symbols, and allies had round ones. It was all about recognition from a distance. In the heat of battle, a " target" painted on your plane is no big deal, as the enemy needs to aim at some empty point in space where the airplane will be when the bullets arrive at that point.

[@proudyorkshireman7708]

My great uncle was a flight engineer on Halifax’s and Lancaster’s he preferred the Halifax over the Lancaster. But if the pilot was incapable of flying the flight engineer would take over. I only got to glimpse at his flight book before it was taken from the family and donated without our consent but I remember that a few times the aircraft went Gardening which means planting sea mines

[@robertward7382]

There is on KZbin a recording of bomber crews intercom chatter during missions... That is quite something to listen to, especially the one that's gets jumped by a night fighter.

[@geoffmower8729]

The first version of the plane was called the Manchester it only had two engine's and was under powered. So they redesigned it with a larger wing and added two more engines the name was changed to Lancaster and the change in the plane was astonishing. Much more powerful, had a bigger bomb bay and more manurable able to carry a heavier regular bomb payload. It was used to carry the ten ton grand slam earthquake bomb and the five ton spinning bouncing bomb used on the Dam buster raid on Germanys great dams.

[@davidmarsden9800]

In ww1 the aircraft didn't have radio, intially they didn't have weapons, there were fixed positions so no moving around any of the aircraft. The pilots were not issued with parachutes as they were seen as reducing the will to fight essentially. Weapons were only fitted after a long period of pilots on both sides stopped waving at each other and started firing pistols and rifles at each other and dropping grenades and mortar shells from the cockpit. It's where dogfighting was evolved. Bearing in mind that the plane would probably kill you before any enemy pilot or soldiers on the ground. Engines could and did fail, just stop, catch fire, they were mainly wooden frames covered in doped fabric, highly flammable, wing spars could fracture and the wing could collapase under manoeuvring, crashing on take off or landing and pilot error were the reason for the losses suffered by all sides. Don't forget that the Wright Brothers first flight of a few yards was only in 1903 and was a mere 120 feet/36m and lasted 12 seconds. Eleven years later ww1 started in July 1914. America of course was late to declare war until in April 1917, then there was a delay until the us shipped troops over. Still better late than never eh? You'll be quicker next time no doubt, .......oh dear, who'd have thought!

[@tfrowlett8752]

Gun caliber refers to the inside diameter of a gun barrel from the narrowest point of the rifling. So .303 is .303 inches, and .50 caliber is half an inch. Larger projectiles are typically measured in millimeters such as the 40mm bofor or the 105mm howitzer

[@davidmarsden9800]

British artillery and tank guns were measured in Pounds i.e. two pounder etc. Naval shells in inches. In those days it was the Germans and the axis that were in metric. Post war and the event of NATO with standardization of ammunition we're all metric now. The first standard was the replacement of the standard British.303 round used in the SMLE rifle, Bren gun and Vickers machine gun with the standard NATO 7.62 X 51mm caliber round. Apparently the last stocks of .303, approximately 3 million rounds were disposed of by continuous firing of the last Vickers machine guns until they were all used up in about 1968.

[@charlesfrancis6894]

An interesting audio tape of a Lancaster bombing mission over Germany is on You Tube which kind of puts you inside the Lanc as it drops its load and shoots down a German night fighter which was usually the other way around where the Lanc gets shot down by the night fighter you will hear the chatter of the machine guns and the excitement as he is shot down but the matter of fact radio chatter is perhaps a sign they have been on a lot of missions.

[@Ayns.L14A]

.303 was the calibre of the British bolt action Lee Enfield rifles and also the standard calibre of most British machine guns at the time . This calbre was used as a standard Round because we were making millions of rounds so standardization was very necessary, no Connor pilots flew, the crew were not trained to fly they were trained in the other positions.

[@musicbruv]

I did hear that the pilots would sometimes teach the flight engineer some basic flying skills as a back up if needed. I doubt though that he could of actually land the plane.

[@H4CK61]

303 is the standard British caliber used in the SMLE rifle and the Bren gun.

[@geoffmower8729]

The red white and blue circle was there so other aircraft could see it was a British plane. The Germans had black crosses and swastikas, the Americans had a white star and the Japanese had a red circle representing the sun. In battle if a British fighter saw other British planes coming to join the fight they would sometimes roll over showing the red white and blue colours so the new British planes joining the fight could see it was a British plane and hopefully not get fired on. I remember seeing an interview with a Spitfire pilot who said he was once shot down by friendly fire that way so he would always from then on as he put it...Flash the colours.

[@otterspocket2826]

You got the survival bias thing spot on Connor, and it's quite disappointing that it wasn't immediately obvious because something very similar had already been identified in WWI. When steel helmets were first worn by British troops, commanders were so alarmed by the huge increase in casualties with head injuries they nearly abolished them, thinking the helmets were somehow causing head injuries. Somebody then pointed out that the excess head injury patients were those that would previously have died from their injuries. .303 (inches) was the standard calibre for British armament in WW2, for aircraft and infantry, and equates closely the the standard in my day (early 1980's) 7.62mm. We were still using re-calibred WW2 Bren guns at that time, designated LMG (light machine gun) for certain roles where it was better suited than the standard GPMG (general purpose machine gun) - notably jungle warfare, where its magazine was better than a belt that would keep snagging on things and breaking. I remember having one with a 1944 date stamp on the side, and speculating about what actions it may have seen in its time. The '50 cal' used by US aircraft in WW2 (and again, for decades after as an infantry heavy machine gun) also uses imperial measurements - 0.5 inches.

[@johnhall7679]

The RAF Roundel, was used during WW1. Story goes "British sense of humour" Lets give the Hun a target to shoot at? (From Archery) Bulls eye, Inner, Outer.

[@milanondrak5564]

In World War 1 the instant communication methods for aircraft crews were known as shouting, and semaphore.

[@SuperYorkie64]

Imagine trying to escape from your car driving down a Freeway dressed in all your -40F winter clothing and wearing a 80lb Backpack. Your only exit is clambering over the back seats and out the rear window whilst the engine is on fire.. The Lancaster fuselage for a Bomber is hard walk through when it is parked on the runway and your only wearing sneakers,shorts and a T Shirt. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress may have been slightly easier to egress. But with less than a 50% chance of surviving from your Bomber as it is going down on fire. With 25 mission going up to 30 missions for US Aircrews before earning a ticket home. Cherish that freedom they all so bravery fought for.

[@QuantumShock1]

10:58 - Assuming the other crew had a basic understanding of the flightstick controls then yes they could easily fly the plane. Controlling an aircraft while it is in the air is relatively simple, the diffcult part is the taking off and landing. Instrumentation would also be a compounding factor as well, not knowing what any of the panel switches does would effectively limit the crew to up, down, left, right and praying nothing went wrong with the engines. Landing gears thankfully had a manual winch system.

[@Squeesher]

Caliber = inches when describing guns in this way, .50 caliber rifles and heavy machine guns fire a round that is 0.5 of an inch, or half an inch wide, which is 12.7mm. The .303s are 7.7mm, and were the standard round for much of the war for Britain, to help with simplified logistics.

[@SimbianMinistry]

A '303' calibre machine gun was about 7.7mm - Basically it's a rifle-calibre gun.

[@markbrooks8144]

Yep. Only 4 of my dad's crew got out. 3 went down with the plane.

[@paulthomas-hh2kv]

There’s actually radio transmissions on here of Lancaster crew on bombing raid over Germany.

[@philhallbrook7008]

When the Americans turned up with the B17 they were like : check this plane out. Lancaster crew: very nice, but where do the bombs go??

[@ukdnbmarsh]

ivw flown hundreds of sorties in the Lancaster , Wellington and B52 bombers albeit in virtual form playing World of Warcraft, it gives you an idea of what it could have been like, just the way it moves, climbs, the visual and audio effects are magnificent (ohh and dropping the bombs)

[@MaxKingsley72]

World of Warcraft? lol

[@Andrew-uq4zo]

My grandad flew in a Lancaster bomber in ww11 I have great thanks to all who flew in all respect 🙏 🫡

[@IanDarley]

Regarding the imperial calibre sizes; ever heard of .22, .25, .308, .357, .44, .50 calibre? 😜 BTW, .223 is 5.56mm. .30, .303, .306, .308 bullets all measure 7.62mm and .357 is 9mm. A .223 round can actually be fired from a 5.56 rifle and vice-versa because they fit, however though the rounds have different specifications and operating pressure so they each keep their own original designations to identify them as different.

[@eyesofisabelofficial]

"Point Three-oh-Three" we say "OH" instead of "Zero" The Narrator said "Ex-Ex" for the type of Merlin Engine he should have said "Merlin Twenty" (Roman Numerals) The Narrator said they where an improvement on the Manchesters Avro Engines (Avro only made aircraft) The Narrator said "British Hercules Engines" he should have said "Bristol Hercules"" The Lancaster was superseded by the Lincoln witch in itself was succeeded by the Shackleton, a maritime recognisance/ Anti-submarine aircraft. In it's final form as an Airborne Early Warning aircraft (AEW), it was finally replaced by the Boeing E-3 in 1991.

[@brycedyck8450]

It's possible the flight engineer might have some training in flying, but it is unlikely any other crew members would.

[@robertward7382]

Spot on with the .303.... For context the US equivalent was the .30 calibre.

[@stevec5922]

Check out the DeHavilland Mosquito - the unsung hero of WWII - the wooden plane that could do anything.

[@squirepraggerstope3591]

Bomb load of "14,000lbs"??? If so, only as 14 x 1,000lb bombs was the max load by volume that could fit in the bomb bay. Re weight, the Lancaster was the ONLY British bomber of WW2 able to deliver the 10 (long) ton "Grand Slam" earthquake bomb.

[@musicbruv]

I am surprised this video did not mention the 22000lb Grand slam bomb.

[@Ayns.L14A]

Hey Connor, just remembered, there was an incident during one bombing where a lancaster was so badly damaged that the whole tail section was separated from the plane the tail gunner was the only survivor crash landing the tail section. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5OWiH2MnpJ_oLs

[@HankMegens]

The roundell is for identification friend or foe.

[@malsm8892]

He forgot the 10 ton grandslam earthquake bomb

[@dzzope]

.303 was similar to but slightly less powerful than a 30-06(garand) .303 inch means 30.3cal or 7.69mm, which is slightly larger than what NATO uses for standard snipers and squad machine guns these days. Other crew being ably to fly a 4 engine bomber... Nah, if they could they would have been through pilot training, Pilots were in shorter supply than planes for much of the war. Not to say it's impossible.. But would be 1 in 100,000. let alone if the pilot was killed, was the plane even flyable after the damage and how long does it take to get him away from the controls and someone else into them. Air dropped mines and various cluster munitions were very widely used by Allies and Axis. And are still regularly found. Some types are rarer than others. When Ireland was mistakenly bombed(NI being a valid target with shipyards and such and being in UK), I believe there were mines that were dropped.

[@amysutt]

The roundel is an identitying mark like the German cross or the us white star star or russian red star it just lets everyone know who's plane it is friend or foe at a glance

[@maxmoore9955]

No I don't think a Gunner could have Flown the Lancaster home .he was highly trained in specialist job .

[@MrTravbad]

the placement of the reinforcement/armour ... you were correct looking at holes in surviving planes is incorrect .. its called survivors bias

[@stevebennett6701]

Time Team please.

[@offsnotagain]

Tail end charlies.........

[@adrianhughes8143]

The round emblem which represents the RAF is called a Roundel, it started as the RFC ( the Royal Flying Corps) in WW1 which later in WW1 the RAF ( Royal Air Force), how I know this is because history especially military history has always been my biggest interest from a child and because I had a cousin in the RAF who flew in Bomber's during WW2. A lot of my family served in the British Armed Forces, in all 3 branches. I am so proud to have had family serving in the best Armed Forces on the planet, the British Armed Forces. 💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪💙💛🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Question why do your Air Force have a star on the plane, wouldn't it be easy to have an American flag instead. You asked a dumb question so can I.

[@LEESS1005]

I had the privilege of working at Avro Woodford.the birthplace of the Manchester,Lancaster,Lincoln,Shackleton and Vulcan.

[@LEESS1005]

It’s point three oh three of an inch calibre or 7.7mm