Lancaster Take Off From Southend Airport

[@louispetherbridge9754]

I was in charge of a repair team replacing the corroded rivets on the Battle of Britain Lancaster back in the 70's , still feel proud when I see her , a big majestic bird -- may she fly for many years to come

[@davegoldsmith4020]

What year was that, I was BBMF ground crew when PA474 joined the flight. I marshalled the aircraft in on the November day in 1973, when it arrived. We put her in the hangar and spent the winter pulling it apart, ailerons off for recovering, and bomb bay opened for battery acid corrosion and undercarriage off including a leaking undercarriage lever. lots of very late night finishes that first winter.

[@suasponte8363]

Never gets old!

[@kc9602]

When the Pilot opened the Taps @ 4:38, a shiver went straight up my spine!! Seeing the Old Girl get up was wonderful. In the air, where She should be 😊 Thank You, BC, Thank You. Per Ardua

[@maitken2852]

Thank you KC

[@racheljolley26352]

Love this beautiful beast of a plane, love the sound of it too. My beloved Dad was a member of the crews that went on bombing raids, and also did food drops over starving Holland. He makes me so very proud of him. ♥️

[@ianstewartorr8455]

Our vet at the farm was a navigator on these bombers thanks Adam and all those other lads and lassies greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@1943L]

My wife and family were on the receiving end of the food drops. Much needed after the hunger winter 44/45

[@mfaracing]

Dear Rachel, you are right to be proud of him. I am very thankful to him and the many others of his generations that fought for our wonderful Country!

[@djlau1]

wel youre hero dad did helped my grand mother and my dad when he was a kid with the food drops my dad came home with 3 fooddrop canisters and seprising thing is I HAVE ONE FOOD DROP CANISTER here in my house that has be dropped over holland here we i stip have one ❤️ yhanks to youre fathere my family servived and now im here! i wil have a drink to night an honor youre father!!❤️

[@racheljolley26352]

@@djlau1 oh that is so wonderful to hear! I know my Dad was very proud of the Manna droppings and many of the crew would put in some of their own rations too. I have a very poignant black and white photo of a Lancaster flying low over Holland and many people running out and waving, seeing the food packs dropping down. I was one of the lucky children to have their beloved Dad returned to them unharmed, but Dad’s brother’s plane was shot down over Holland and that is where he is buried, an Uncle I never knew. ♥️

[@alanharvey9720]

Wonderful .. I took my PPL at Southend in 1975 ... last flew from there in 2014! Learned to fly with Edward Clack's club, SLAC ... The most used aircraft was a PA28 .. G-ATVK but several others over the years. The Lancaster backtracked down what was once runway 24 (now 23) and took off on what was once runway 06 (now 05). There used to be a runway "15" in the 70's and probably previous decades. It was a pretty short runway and is mostly still there as an access way crossing the main current runway, 23/05. I don't know anyone who ever landed on it but no doubt Edward Clack did at some point.

[@petermclelland278]

Imagine the sight & sound of hundreds of the buggers taking off on the thousand bomber raids ? Thousands of crew men airborne in one go ? Undeliverable ? Never been repeated. Thank God !

[@Mike_Regan]

Years ago, I was on a BC Ferry to Vancouver during the Abbotsford airshow when they had a fly-over in formation of heavy bombers from the WWII Era. There was only 5 or 6 of them but the sound was AWESOME. I can't imagine what the Thousand Plane Raid must have sounded like.

[@robertgryson4324]

@@Mike_Regan !

[@donlove3741]

Everytime I see one of these. 1000 planes all day and night roar of aero engines ! Good gravy must've taken hours to launch and recover. The Courage of those fliers! Brave Young MEN . Thought about it often my friend.

[@johndavid5618]

Yeh that would be smashing.

[@trevorcrowther5430]

Very brave and courageous chaps. The debt of gratitude is enormous.

[@ouiouipiggy4390]

My Dad flew these surprisingly graceful beasts with bomber command, and talked about them with great reverance for years after the war. Such a special plane, every bit as much as the Spitfire and Hurricane!

[@philip167]

you can just imagine being a German Fighter and you have a spitfire or a hurricane be-hide you with 8 303 gun's firing at you stick your head between your knees and kiss your bum good bye

[@09ericthered]

Majestic machine.

[@timmcvittie436]

My dad was a fitter and loved working on these fabulous aircraft.

[@philip167]

There are only two in the world now after 17,500 were made the other on is in Canada a lot of brave men never came home to their loved ones so R.I.P. to them all we will remember them all

[@kevindelaney1951]

My dad was a mid-upper turret gunner on Lancaster’s with 101 Sqn. 32 missions completed between March -October 1944. I visited the area where he flew from in the UK back in 2015. Significant losses were experienced by the Sqn during that time. I have his aircrew log book. As I was also military he eventually shared a few remembrances. Brave men. Challenging time. Never forget.

[@jonnicholson9150]

I live on the flight path to Biggin Hill, about 5 miles away. So on special occasions, the RAF Memorial Flight flies directly overhead at relatively low level & there's no mistaking those Merlins from miles off, I rush outside to watch them pass overhead!

[@aussiedave9728]

I was in The RAF at Biggin hill in 1958 when the memorial flight was formed( spitfire and hurricane) we rebuilt the Spitfire! We were 41 squadron flying Hawker hunter jet fighters. I was an aircraft electrician.

[@nickbenke3306]

My Dad would have loved this! He loved Lancaster Bombers And worked at Southend Airport for a time! Thanks for this!

[@jamesfraser4173]

I could feel the air vibrating just by watching this! One can only imagine what it felt like during the war.

[@Bonzman]

I was lucky enough to see the Canadian one when it was over here flying along side the British one when they took off from Southend, What a magnificent sight!

[@mikep4821]

Me too, captured them together in a fly past at Ludford Magna, a Lancaster base where my Dad’s cousin left for a fatal mission over Pforzheim in 1945.

[@jj8995]

Just seeing it sitting there my thoughts were just imagine a fleet of them waiting to go terrified and scared stiff Young boys thanks for posting a great video

[@AndrewLumsden]

My Uncle was a navigator on Lancasters. 406 (Goose) Squadron RCAF

[@hovanti]

It was so very nice seeing a Lancaster here in the States, at the Reading, PA WW2 weekend several years ago. I can't help but notice the old church at 4:52 and wonder if it was witness to the roar of Lancasters in the dark days of the '40s.. No doubt...much respect from this side of the pond.

[@maitken2852]

Thank you. That church has indeed been witness to a lot of aircraft movements over the decades. So just some background - During World War 2 the airfield was known as RAF Rochford after the nearby village. There were squadrons of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Bristol Blenheim's based there but Bomber Command did not base Lancasters there. Southend On Sea is right on the Thames Estuary and so they would have been an easy target plus the length runway would not have coped with fully laden bombers. Today the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight occasionally uses Southend for refuelling their old warbirds during the summer air show season.

[@hovanti]

@@maitken2852 Thank you for that extra information; nice knowing the history of the airfield.

[@maitken2852]

@@hovanti My pleasure.

[@brianjones5915]

My Scout group is associated with that church. It dates back to 1100 AD. In the graveyard are graves of fallen soldiers and airmen of both World Wars.

[@Firebrand55]

RIP to the 55,000 RAF lives lost in WW2 in Bomber Command. This video symbolises their sacrifice.

[@steveellis9167]

I’m not into plain or train spotting but that was a lovely sight to see... beautiful plane and a really good video. Well done

[@matthewaitken8551]

Hi Steve. Thank you very much.

[@philiphildred6873]

What an amazing sight and sound .

[@andyrbush]

Thanks for recording this.

[@janetkent8307]

A spectacular sight

[@patriciabracken7546]

Lancaster is my baby I love it...❤️🌼🌺🌸🌹🌹🥰

[@rajeevratnalikar5142]

The flying fortress indeed.....

[@ianhaggart1438]

What a sight. What a sound. Goose bumps at first sight. Love it and respect it and all of there crew 👍. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@philip167]

best sound in the world is hearing 4 marline Engines rowing down a run way there was 7,500 make and now only 2 in flighting conation one in the UK the other is in Canada

[@gayphillips5124]

Wonderful sight

[@romeo9017]

Superb sweep over Leigh this afternoon...

[@richhughes7450]

What's better than the sound of a Spit Merlin engine? 4 off em in the Lanc.

[@johndavid5618]

Their is nothing like the sound of Merlin.

[@markorollo.]

I live about a mile from a factory where I believe most Lancaster's were built, Chadderton, Oldham. I read once they considered building a runway near it but decided not to, I wish they had. I have a distant relative, great grandads half brother,something like that, that was a crew member on a Lancaster. Got shot down.

[@montyzumazoom1337]

My uncle Fred was a rear gunner in a Lanc during the war, he did 27 ops over Germany. Survived the war and lived in Peterborough.

[@kc9602]

A Blessed Man. I Salute Him, Monty

[@hornet1068]

Did anybody notice a fair bit of smoke from the starboard outer engine on takeoff??

[@tommyboy71]

One beautiful bird.

[@karlk6860]

Boy that was a tough assignment in the first half of WWII The 8th Air Force bomber crews had a 33% chance OF LIVING out there tour! Thanks god we figured how to extend fighter ranger and the P51 came along!

[@beagle7622]

There was one Australian Lancaster squadron, that a book was written about that I read . His was the only crew when he joined as a pilot who survived the 24 missions . All the others shot down or killed .it must have been hell living through that .

[@geoffreydowen5793]

We should put one on a plinth in traf square London

[@neilcole3406]

Something very special!

[@frankflores7101]

Absolutely Beautiful!!!!! 👍😁🎭

[@maitken2852]

Thank you Frank.

[@isthereanybodyoutthere9397]

A great video of such a beautiful but deadly plane. Those 4 Merlins on max shake the ground don't they.

[@woooster17]

That they do.. I was lucky enough to have a taxy ride in Just Jane NX611 a few years ago.. stood in the cockpit behind the pilot and engineer. The noise was incredible.. it overwhelmed my phone whilst recording.. Loved it!

[@isthereanybodyoutthere9397]

@@woooster17 I was born in Bromley Kent and RAF Biggin Hill was about 5 miles away. Each year they had a huge Air show and I used to go every year. At one I witnessed the first supersonic flypast at a show by an English Electric Lightning that was deafening, a little scary, but exhilarating at the same time. However a lot of WW2 planes were still around at the time (late 1960s/early 1970s) and they would have a Lancaster that you could get inside. It didn't taxi but you could sit in the rear gunners position. The highlight of the particular day though was a mock attack by real ME 109s and FW 190s including strafing effects, and a Spitfire, Hurricane and a Typhoon were "scrambled" to fight them off. A young boy's dream show that nearly made join the RAF.

[@woooster17]

@@isthereanybodyoutthere9397 Sounds like an amazing experience! 😲👍🏼

[@isthereanybodyoutthere9397]

@@woooster17 a great day. I remember it well. There had been a lot of rain, so the grass was quite muddy, but it was a day of days.

[@philip167]

you can never forget the wonderful sound of them 4 merlin Engines

[@UnknownPersononGoogle]

Number four has some barely visible smoke coming out of the engine after it takes off?

[@BlackMeowgic]

How big are the front tires?

[@michaelobrien9825]

I'm surprised they even manage to get off the ground considering the sheer size and age of them.

[@joseleoncio-santoandre-bra432]

Like a bird. Good job man 👍

[@Nobody423]

we fish very near the war museum duxford and all day long spitfires and hurricanes flying in and out and regularly tip their wings whilst flying over the lakes.

[@beagle7622]

They weren’t much fun for crews any of the RAF, Australian & Canadian Heavy Bombers . A member of one Australian squadron wrote a book . I forget his name , but his was the only crew of his squadron when he joined who survived the 24 mission tour of duty. As well as being very cold & uncomfortable, think of the fear that those crews must have experienced .

[@Mike_Regan]

That was true of pretty much every plane of that era. The B17 and HE111 were no more comfortable for their crews.

[@None-zc5vg]

The escape-hatch on the 'Lanxaster' was too small for an easy exit if you were wearing a parachute: there was no attempt to enlarge the exit hatch.

[@thebolsta]

"A gallon a minute on tick ovver" - Guy Martin

[@JoeKasino1947]

Never forget.

[@dickyt1318]

cheers up any day !

[@michelemccloskey3657]

Awesome

[@extradimensional8818]

No mockneys were harmed during the making of this wideo....but a table full with jellied eals and pie and mash and watery beer was blown over😬

[@joyleenpoortier7496]

Isnt these the lancaster planes that where part of the imfamous Dam busters. These are about 80-90 years old

[@spanishpeaches2930]

Yes, but those dambusting raids were not infamous, they were heroic. The Lanc is about 78 years old now. My father flew them.

[@1932christian]

Yep! My Dad flew one for 4 years. He’s 97 and still alive.

[@spanishpeaches2930]

@@1932christian Which Squ out of interest?

[@kingkrimson8771]

@@1932christian That would make him 16 y.o. in 1940. They sure had lax enlistment rules back then..

[@stephencraigie1363]

@@kingkrimson8771 a lot of the crews were very young , by 43 or 44 he was old enough . They matured very quickly then

[@sanjeevmalhotra6818]

The best British had a real 4ugged machine. Manned by guy's pushed to the wall no wonder the Success......

[@None-zc5vg]

A pity the camera hadn't been positioned so that the plane took off over it.

[@davidlj53]

A fine ship that served well!

[@williamduncan5679]

I thought that thing was never going to take off

[@rmlevyPhD]

looks like you don't need much of a runway for takeoff.

[@maxwellfan55]

Ultimate Warbird. This one's empty, imagine taking off in a Lanc with full bomb load!

[@av8tore71]

That is an expensive aircraft to keep flying, those Rolls Royce Merlin engines are not cheap

[@Blacknight1812]

the unmistakable sound of freedom, 4 merlin engines.

[@rossbrown6641]

Freedom? Whose freedom?

[@kentcyclist]

Wow

[@Draxindustries1]

Lovely aircraft, good see. We sale CCCP turbine heli (HIND) jet warbird ( MIG) . Lancaster slow bird graceful. Sorry bad English spell, no interpreter tooday. Greeting from Russia (Girood) airfield/hanger. ♥️

[@erniecox3524]

The Nazis had no chance with a mob of these overhead...

[@kaushikganguli1091]

Along with B17 Flying Fortress, won the war for Allies. Germany had the FW 200, Goering was a fool not to use more often.

[@None-zc5vg]

The lightweight Fw200 was a converted airliner and could only carry a light bomb-load: the same applied to the Ju290. Only the He177 was a true heavy bomber but it had many faults.

[@will4may175]

I bet they drink Carling Black label.

[@thetessellater9163]

It is a beautiful aircraft, but I don't think the Germans thought so in the early 'forties!

[@ulrichjackisch7637]

we had a free delivery OF ONE courtesy of a 110 mm Flack GRANADE on our Farm LAND STOP WAR MONGERING

[@garyvause2475]

all you can ear is cars

[@maitken2852]

Go to 4 mins Gary.

[@volvos60bloke]

this is the sound of modern britian. long live brexit

[@rossbrown6641]

NUTTER!