The Colossal Warplane that Wrecked German U-Boats

The almost six-year-long Battle of the Atlantic during World War 2 required the cooperation of every asset each nation had in its arsenal.
In the era of the much-feared Kriegsmarine U-boats, the Allies significantly struggled while facing the enemy across naval blockades on the way to the Soviet Union and Allied territories in the Mediterranean.
However, the Germans were surprised early in the battle by a peculiar aircraft that constantly tore down their powerful submarines: the Short Sunderland flying boat.
The potent versatile four-engined aircraft had a gun installation that led the Germans to dub it the ‘Flying Porcupine.’
No one could have imagined that the aircraft that played a pivotal role in one of the most critical battles of the war was none other than a flying boat based on a civilian design that only turned military by accident…
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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@fanman4230]

My Uncle was a flight engineer on these and Lancasters for Coastal Command. He flew many sorties over the Atlantic. The crew used to love him as he used to synchronise the engines to help lessen the droning throb that unsynchronised engines produced throughout the airframe. He never spoke of any "kills" they made. The only time he mentioned any combat experiences was when he was seconded to Bomber Command and took flak over Germany on a couple of occasions, once when they had to hose the remains of the tailgunner out of his seat and the other resulted in him falling partially through a damaged access panel saved only by his bulky flying clothing. He lived well into his eighties, bless him. We all have a lot to be thankful to his generation for.

[@krashd]

I think removing the remains of a friend using a hose must have been one of the most traumatising parts of being a crew member of a plane or a tank.

[@828enigma6]

Indeed.

[@danielwatkins688]

it's so cool to hear about the aircraft that people's family were flight engineers on.

[@JLSMaytham]

Hosing out tail gunners seems to have been left to the crew. I met the father of a college friend who had piloted a Wellington and talked about doing that.

[@fanman4230]

@@JLSMaytham I suppose it was a way of carrying their crewmate's body off the plane as a mark of respect. I never thought that when he said "we" he meant personally not "we" as in the RAF as I had taken it. Probably explains his persistent nightmares.

[@andrewclayton4181]

They could stay airborne for so long, they often carried a second shift of crew. The aircraft could outlast the crew's capacity to stay alert. A great, and much underrated, aeroplane.

[@randytaylor1258]

And yet it still didn't have the range to close the G-I-UK gap from U-boats.

[@ichimonjiguy]

Wiki shows the endurance is around 13 hours. The range is 1,780 miles. If those numbers are correct, it will need refill before the second shift of crew.

[@annpeerkat2020]

@@ichimonjiguy Nodsnods... I mean... staring at the sea for 13 hours straight looking looking would be kiddies play!

[@Nitrisbot]

@@ichimonjiguy I wonder if wiki has it right.. I'm sure it said in this video it was 2980 miles range @ 3 minutes.

[@stephenarbon2227]

@@ichimonjiguy 13 hours flying would be two crews.

[@johndublyoo2553]

My late mother's cousin served in Sunderland's and being a native of the North East belonged to a small mining village only 6 miles from the town the aircraft was named after. He was a sergeant observer later promoted to Flying Officer who was awarded the DSO but was posted missing in action some time later and never found. He can be seen in the film with other crew members preparing to board a boat to take them out to their aircraft, he's the sergeant carrying the folders underarm. RIP Flying Officer Henry Morton DSO, you are not forgotten.

[@itsalldoable]

My late uncle was a captain on the Sunderland during WW2 in Costal Command he continued serving in the far East after the war ended in Europe. When he was only 19 he was put in charge of a brand new Catalina when he was stationed in Oban, Scotland. He went on to fly for BOAC after the war and flew the first ever scheduled jet passanger flight from London to Johannesburg on the Commet. He had a long flying career eventually becoming a Senior Captain on 747's for British Airways. When he eventually retired he became involved with the restoration of a Sunderland Flying Boat which was restored on a slip way in Portsmouth Harbour. My uncle Captain Ken Emmott was the last living pilot with a licence to fly a Sunderland which is how he became involved with the project. He did all of the sea trials for certification and flew it when ever it was needed at an air display like Farnborough where he flew it around 12 feet above the runway. He also landed it on the Thames where I believe it was used in some filming for a TV programme. Eventually the Sunderland was sold to an American aviation collector, Kermit Weeks and together they flew it to Florida where his flying museum "Flights of Fantasy" is located. I'm so proud of my uncle who was a massive influence on my younger self. He was a fantastic role model for a young boy growing up without a father for guidance. We should always remember the courage of the young men and women who did so much for the sake of peace.

[@markshrimpton3138]

There is a myth, that young people today mature at an earlier age. I dispute that: your uncle, like mine, being so young yet given so much responsibility. The average age of a bomber crew was barely 21.

[@neilpountney9414]

@48spokes83 That is an awesome story thanks for sharing. Sadly the time is coming where people who are left alive will have long forgot about those who died in the second WW and the sacrifices they made for all of us.

[@whisthpo]

I remember a boat trip around Portsmouth harbour and seeing the tail end of a Sunderland in 'mothballs' in a dock in the Early '60's...Could this be that Sunderland? I'm sure there is a photo somewhere in one of our Family's many albums....

[@itsalldoable]

@@whisthpo I'm doubtful as my Uncle was flying Comets and Boing 707's for BOAC in the 60's. The Sunderland that was restored and he flew was in the 90's. 🤔 Mind you, I have no idea how long the Sunderland was in storage for, so it's possible.

[@russbetts1467]

I remember the Sunderland from my childhood, when my father was stationed in Gibraltar, during the 1950's. We lived in Married Quarters at Edinburgh House on Queensway, next door to the RAF Flying Boat Station. At that time, the Sunderland's were being used by British Forces Post Office Overseas, to deliver Forces Mail to various British Territories in and around the Mediterranean. Gibraltar; Malta; Cyprus; Alexandria. The Sunderland's would stop at Gibraltar for maintenance, on the way from and to the UK. As I went to school with several boys who lived on the RAF Base, I got the chance to go aboard the Sunderland, whilst it was undergoing maintenance. During one Summer Holiday - 1958 - several of us were invited to join the crew for a trip around the other bases, which was great fun. The return journey to Alexandria and back took three days and we took it in turns to sit in the Co-Pilot's seat whilst the plane was flying, being instructed in all the instruments by the Flight Engineer, who was the father of one of my friends. Adventures like that would never be permitted today, for all manner of reasons, but back then, the Authorities turned a blind eye to such escapades. Happy Days, never to be forgotten.

[@rebootweb]

They use to be built near where I live. My Nan and Grandad use to work in the factory. My grandad helped build the Short Mayo Composite flying boats before the war and my nan worked as a Sous-chef in the canteen. I have a few of the tools that my grandad had to make as part of his apprenticeship and used during his time there. The factory was on the river Medway and had a natural protection from bombing because of a cliff behind it. Occasionally the odd German bomber had saved a bomb on the way home to have a go. There was, and still is tunnels in the chalk cliff where employees would hide during air raids. My nan told me that as soon as the all clear was given they would rush out to see if a bomb had hit because they would have silk parachutes. They used these to maek underwear and actually made a wedding dress for one of them.

[@maxmoore9955]

I've never met your Gran or Grandad, but I love ❤️ both .

[@peterwright9546]

Worked at Shorts in Belfast in1998, they were just building an extension to the hanger they were built in blocking the hanger doors, the ramp from which they were all launched was still there.

[@Free-Bodge79]

Brilliant. That's a cool memory. Is that where they met one another. While working there?

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

You parents must have truly despised you to saddle with such a name! Or are you an anonymous coward? I hate cowards.

[@samrodian919]

I don't understand how a bomb hitting would end in obtaining parachute silk. Shooting down a German plane might do if the crew had time to bail out however. Ah yes! They were talking about parachute mines, but if a mine came down and went off there wouldn't me much useable silk left. Only enough for holy knickers!

[@stuartmccall5474]

The reviewer missed the true significance of the Sunderland's other useful offensive weapon, the Leigh light for night attack on U boats. When U boats cruised on the surface recharging their batteries on minimum moonlight nights, the Sunderland would seek out the target and tract it by radar before lining itself up for a depth charge attack. The U boat, hearing and being aware of an aircraft in the vicinity, thought the lack of moonlight protected it. The Sunderland would close on the attack and at the last moment switch on the Leigh light to illuminate the target, blinding the U boat gunners/ watch-keepers and drop its depth charges before flying on and switching off the light, passing into the night. An underrated aircraft.

[@user-se7es6uc8v]

My dad flew them, he said on Malay jungle missions they sometimes dropped empty beer bottles rather than bombs. The bottles would make a howling whistle sound as they fell and the terrorists/freedom fighters would think it was jungle demons and run, straight into infantry ambush.

[@Huwbacca]

My Granddad served as a navigator on a Sunderland with RAAF. He was stationed in Pembroke as part of Coastal Command, and there is extremely important historical photo with him in it. I adore these aircraft, just wonderful pieces of engineering and history.

[@ronfisher4965]

My Father was Air Sea Rescue and of course ‘ground crew’ for the Sunderlands at Pembroke Dock in 1946. I went to Coronation school in PD, and also on the Barrack hill.

[@julesmarwell8023]

Lindorf ???

[@stillstanding123]

The Sunderland at IWM Duxford is amazing to stand beside and look up . Enormous beast . I learned from a retired Sunderland pilot that due to poor cockpit visibility during landing they were fitted with an automatic landing system allegedly taking away the touchdown distance problem. It just descended slowly onto the water.

[@swanseajaffa]

That Sunderland was given to them by the Sunderland club in Pembroke dock which had it given to them by the French Airforce. As the plane was not permitted to fly overland by the CIA due to its age/condition it had to fly around the coast to Pembroke dock. It was escorted by 2 RAF planes from the same squadron that use to operate them during the war. The club gave it to to Duxford as they hadn't enough resources to maintain or display the aircraft and they knew they had to do it justice. Separate point of interest is that there's still a sunken Sunderland in the dock which they were trying to salvage, but I don't know shat happened about that.

[@krashd]

@@swanseajaffa *CAA 😉

[@chrisg6086]

@@swanseajaffa Ermmmm no, the Sunderland from Pembroke Dock is in Hendon: the one at Duxford came by road from France

[@swanseajaffa]

@@chrisg6086 Trust me to get it the wrong way around!

[@chrisg6086]

@@swanseajaffa Happens to us all!

[@williambolton4698]

My brother received a model kit of the Sunderland when I was a child and I've been fascinated by the aeroplane ever since then. I've always thought that it was a beautiful design.

[@vannor6531]

Great video. My uncle was a rear gunner on a Sunderland short. He and his aeroplane went missing on his first flight off West Africa in 1943. My father (now dead) said he remembered his mother getting the telegram. He's commerated on the Runnymede Memorial.

[@joelspringman523]

I'm glad you posted this. His sacrifice must not be forgotten. Thanks to you and your family.

[@DougieFresh765]

We need more flying boats

[@HubertofLiege]

And less flying cars

[@James-pb1st]

Short Sunderland, a wonderful plane of Word War II.

[@deanworsley2244]

As an ex RAAF man this drew my interest greatly as I was a member of No. 10 Squadron who (before my time) operated these magnificent aircraft. Thanks for the video and thanks for your channel.

[@geoffreyroberts2000]

My wife’s uncle was a front gunner posted to the Australian Squadron in Plymouth. He was from Cornwall and made up the numbers as the Australians didn’t arrive in the UK with complete crews. He didn’t talk about his war until just before he died from cancer. They were returning at dawn from convoy patrol in The Atlantic and surprised a U boat on the surface just off the Scilly Isles. They went straight into the attack with him machine gunning the decks so they couldn’t submerge and sank it with depth charges. He also mentioned the evacuation of Crete where they couldn’t get airborne due to being overloaded with soldiers and just skimmed the surface of the sea.

[@0waverunner0]

my grandfather flew as an aussie navigator in the war. he always told stories about how great it was to fly. always grateful these birds brought him back mission after mission!

[@richardparkersmith4810]

In the '70s I had a customer with a cattle feed business in the South West of England and he used to fly ex military Sunderlands for civilian transport in Argentina. He did it until they could no longer get spares or extemporise and they had to be scrapped. He spoke very warmly of the capability and reliability of the Sunderland. I think they were the best years of his life.

[@steveliversidge7357]

Not so many years ago a Sunderland came into Plymouth Sound and crashed on it's way to RAF Mountbatten where these planes were based during the war .

[@richardparkersmith4810]

@@steveliversidge7357 Such a shame! What became of it?

[@steveliversidge7357]

@@richardparkersmith4810 I have no idea but I wandered if this Sunderland was originally based at Mountbatten and repurposed by this chap you did business with ? . I also live in the South West on Dartmoor not far from Plymouth.

[@steveliversidge7357]

@@richardparkersmith4810 I'm sorry but it was recovered from what I remember what became of it I don't know. You may find some info on Google the plane was on a memorial flight to RAF Mountbatten some decades ago .

[@robertjohnbowering]

I think you are talking about my father John Bowering, he did fly in Argentina after serving in west Africa and also had an Animal Feed business.

[@MB-nn3jw]

One of my favourite childhood memories is exploring and crawling through a Sunderland, on display, in New Zealand. Back in those days access was unfettered, and us kids loved it!

[@terryrack2534]

I remember that well. Of course health and safety bullshit has destroyed everything, pity.

[@neville132bbk]

Is there one at MOTAT?

[@thomasfarrell5396]

​@@terryrack2534 Perhaps it might be that a bunch of kids crawling over and old aircraft might do a wee bit of damage? And if we get 1% damage every year that adds up to say 40% by end of 1990's. I shall stop now.

[@jeffhubbard4688]

We still had them at Laucala Bay, Fiji, as No.5 Squadron RNZAF up until 1967. They mostly flew emergency medical missions to the islands, weather and coastal patrols. They were wonderful looking machines in a perfect location.

[@arthas640]

Yeah some WW2 flying boats had insanely long careers since they were just so rugged and had such great range and since jet engines were useless on flying boats. My dad said there were some WW2 pontoon planes and flying boats in Washington when he was a kid, which would have been in the 60s as well.

[@jeffhubbard4688]

@@arthas640 I think the South African airforce was the last to operate the Sunderland, up until about 1970..

[@arthas640]

@@jeffhubbard4688 They're still used sometimes for civilian use as well, coworker of mine knew of some people in Alaska that had an old WW2 era flying boat because they lived on an island in the middle of nowhere. They're also still sometimes used as fire bombers in the US and Canada. Crazy how some US planes from the 40s and 50s are still flying outside of museums and air shows 70+ years later.

[@jeffhubbard4688]

@@arthas640 I'm unaware of any still being used, but I do know an ex Teal (the original name of Air NZ) Solent variation did eventually end up in Florida with Kermit Weekes Air Circus or whatever he runs there. It was airworthy when it went there, no idea if it still flies. My dad flew Sunderlands, and I grew up with them, until the RNZAF moved to replace them with the PB3 Orion.

[@Free-Bodge79]

She'd have been a fine sight to see if you were adrift in that cold old sea. A blessing to many and a great tool in coastal commands Arsenal. Just one of many reasons we have to be thankful. 💛👊👍

[@lennyh500]

The brains behind the Colditz glider, Fl Lt Bill Goldfinch, ended up a PoW as a result of a landing accident in a Sunderland. Had the honour of meeting him on several occasions, such a modest gentleman. RIP, Bill.

[@windyworm]

My mate’s dad flew in Sunderland’s during the war. His claim to ‘fame’ was that their aircraft forced down a Liberator being flown along the North Atlantic Ferry Route. The Liberator was not on the recognition charts and didn’t have a serviceable radio. No one died, but a lot of red faces and a lot of explaining.

[@swanseajaffa]

Pembroke dock was the biggest flying boat station in the world. There's a good Sunderland club there which has various parts and there's also still a sunken Sunderland there ( almost brand new but sunk by design fault after which they modified them).

[@robgraham5697]

When I was a kid my dad had a book published by the RAF during WWII. Can't remember the exact date of publishing but I'm guessing 1942. Specifically because it had pictures and entries for the Beaufighter, Whirlwind, and Stirling but did not for the Mosquito or Lancaster. They did have an entry for the Sunderland along with several pictures and a floor plan. I've been in love with the aircraft ever since.

[@remandstimpy]

I have a book (inherited from my dad) which sounds very much like the one you describe. It's called "Britain's Wonderful Airforce". It has a dark red imitation leather cover and was published by Odhams Press Ltd, London . Though I can't find a date it has no entries for later aircraft like the Mosquito or Lancaster and makes no mention of radar, but claims that early warning of enemy aircraft is due to a system of "sound detectors" arrayed around the British coast . The book has a detailed cutaway drawing of a Sunderland on page 217.

[@robgraham5697]

@@remandstimpy That might be the same book. My dad's book had a blue, fabric wrapped cardboard cover though. The page of the Sunderland cutout sounds about the same. Sadly the book disintegrated decades ago so I can no longer refer to it.

[@bonniebo323]

@@robgraham5697 Britains Wonderful Fighting Forces oldham press led, (red relief cover) Container à LOT off stuff, not online airplanes.

[@irinashidou9524]

I got the opportunity to walk through one earlier this year. Confirms it…Best flying boat ever. I wanna own one

[@gilzor9376]

Well. put together a salvage crew, there's a whole bunch that were undamaged when scuttled . . . . . . . must be something worth saving down there.

[@rebootweb]

I always thought the same thing. Imagine turning the lower deck into a nice living area and flying to different locations for holidays.

[@davidjones8680]

Where was the plane located?

[@irinashidou9524]

@@davidjones8680 raf museum london

[@gilzor9376]

@@irinashidou9524 I'm pretty sure 'David Jones' was talking about the ones on the bottom of the ocean . . . perhaps they are right nearby his locker?

[@RWBHere]

I lived in Sydney, New South Wales, until 1971. We used to see Sunderlands nearly every day, flying off the coast, often below cliff top level, at that time. They were a magnificent aircraft to see.

[@mrstephenthomas100]

My Grandfather was an RAF Dr in Milford Haven during the war. He used to regularly fly on Sunderlands to Iceland. He then went on to work with setting up the NHS in 1948.

[@sapphireDragon7904]

One of my fav aircraft, did some research into the Sunderland's that flew from RAF Mountbatten in Plymouth, tales of bravery and tragedy. Truly a forgotten hero

[@plymouth5714]

@SapphireWolf: My old employer as a teenager lived in Old Laira Battery during the war which overlooked the Plym estuary (part of the Palmerston defences against possible French invasion). He told be how the Mountbatten Sunderlands used to be tethered quite a way up the river and he and his pals paddled out to them in home made boats. He was nearly sunk when their boat got too close to the wing float as the swell lifted it up out of the water and right back down again! He was also 'conscripted' by the local Home Guard while only about 15 yrs old as he was a crack shot (farm boy). He was stationed on the battery firing at the pilots of the German bombers as they flew in low to bomb the railway depot below the battery. The Germans never knew it but there was a huge explosive shell dump in the fields above the battery - if they's hit that, half of eastern Plymouth would have gone up!

[@TheBuccy]

I knew a navigator who flew from plymouth with the Australian crews . He said if there was a misfire on an engine they would put down on the water and change the spark plugs the used ones having to be secured in a box for refurbishment the electrodes were a rare valuable metal.

[@jdtheone]

All the flying boats were definitely underrated throughout world War 2

[@narabdela]

Aaaargh! Another dumb 'underrated' comment! God help us all.

[@narabdela]

@@jdtheone Sorry, I didn't realise you were a minor. Apologise to your mum for me.

[@MichaelGGarry]

As a boy from Sunderland, I have always been fascinated by these great machines. Thanks for this!

[@blatherskite9601]

A relative was the upper gunner on a Sunderland. One mission, they never returned. Never seen again. Thanks for the video.

[@chrisatkin7130]

A relative of mine was a tail gunner and sadly the same happened to him

[@sunburst7246]

My grandad served in Sunderland’s in Burma and the Atlantic as a rear gunner. He never told me anything about his life in that period, I was too young. There’s a really well preserved Sunderland at Duxford. It’s a huge plane.

[@snchilders]

My dad was in the Canadian Army and rode a troopship to England in the fall of 1940. He mentioned in his memoirs how glad they were to see a Sunderland overhead off of the coast of Scotland.

[@georgebarnes8163]

My Grandfather flew the Sunderlands out of Castle Archdale in Northern Ireland via the Atlantic corridor escorting ships to the UK, he rarely talked about the war but had nothing but praise for the big Sunderlands and the guys in the ships below him.

[@markshrimpton3138]

My late uncle served in Coastal Command as a pilot flying Sunderlands. He then converted to flying Catalinas. I wish I’d asked him more about his war service.

[@limeylive8182]

I think many of us feel the same way Mark. So much I would ask today that I never did then.

[@ChristopherNFP]

I knew a man who flew both. He told me he preferred the Catalina.

[@markshrimpton3138]

@@ChristopherNFP funnily enough so did my Uncle Peter.

[@mapleholler9800]

Yep, my dad was American Army and only told a few stories, all of which were of the humerous moments between the hellish times. We owe so much to the generations that came before us......and especially that one. We owe it to their sacrifices to not squander the world they built for us. I fear we are not worthy as I see America slipping beneath the waves of socialism. Sorry, the only steps easy for me these days are the ones onto my soapbox. I wish I had asked my father more questions about his time in the Army. He was my hero and I didn't tell him that, until he couldn't hear me.....laying on the gourney waiting to be wheeled into surgery, on the last day of his life. RIP Pop. I miss you.

[@carolinehill]

My late Dad was on Catalinas doing U-boat patrols along South Africa's coast, was with 35 Sqd.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

After the war they continued to serve as the civil Sandringham. I can remember them flying from Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour to Lord Howe Island until 1974. I am surprised that you did not cover the famous battle in the Bay of Biscay in 1943 when a Sunderland of 461 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force was attacked by 8 Ju-88's. The Sunderland's gunners shot down at least one Ju-88 (possibly 3) and badly damaged 3 (or 5) before the Germans had had enough and broke off. With one crewman dead and all the others wounded, one engine out and the plane riddled with shell holes, the pilots managed to nurse the plane 350 miles back to Britain. The Sunderland was so full of holes that it was beached to avoid sinking. The pilot F/Lt Colin Walker was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. Sadly the Germans got their revenge two weeks later when the crew, under another pilot, was lost over the Bay of Biscay when attacked by 6 Ju-88s.

[@flyingweed9671]

These aircraft were also operated by the RNZAF from Hobsonville, Auckland. The pilots delighted in practicing a silent attack dive on local fishermen. Imagine a quiet evenings fishing disturbed by a flying boat silently approaching (diving with engines at idle) and landing nearby with a splash. The pilot would then go full throttle and take off again. The aircraft crew considered it great fun.

[@forgeworxblacksmith6453]

Yes we were one of the targets on the Waitemata, awesome machines and sound 👍

[@flyingweed9671]

@@forgeworxblacksmith6453 The roar when they opened the throttle must have been awesome. My dad worked at Hobby after catching the ferry from Beach Haven each day. I have a very early memory of the "boats".

[@hamishjames908]

@@flyingweed9671 7.38 in the vid, nice waitemata landing

[@flyingweed9671]

@@hamishjames908 Is that North Head in the background? It certainly looks like an Auckland volcanic cone with signs of Maori terraced gardens on its slopes. Great spotting.

[@hamishjames908]

or mt vic? can see rangitoto in the background

[@smokeless7774]

A Sandringham (civvy version) visited Poole in the 70's and touched down in Poole Harbour where I worked at the time. It moored up overnight in the Wych channel and left the following day. I was lucky enough to observe the takeoff. To run the engines up (obviously no brakes) first the port two were advanced pushing the beast in a clockwise circle then the starboard two making an anticlockwise one, those radials making a lovely roar. It then taxied to the east end of the Wych channel and took off to the west over Corfe Castle. A fine sight!

[@harrydebastardeharris987]

I’m a Poole Boy too,I thought that the Airlines ran commercial flights with Sunderlands from Hamworthy in Poole Harbour for a few years after WW2.

[@PhilK114]

This was excellent. The Sunderland has been unfairly ignored.

[@blackhillsrider2626]

Another great video. You are preserving history.

[@mongolike513]

My dear old dad flew with 461RAAF out of Pembroke Dock. I remember the civilian converted Sunderland flying out of Rose Bay in Sydney. At the time 1958 Sydney was pretty sleepy and the arrival of these aircraft was accompanied by the echo of the four radial engines, a sound which would not even be noticed today with the cacophony modern life.

[@BTW...]

Short Empires and Catalinas flew in and out of Rose Bay. Very few Sunderlands due to low range capability. The last 2 Cata's operating out of Rose Bay by Qantas were sold off in 1974. They were indeed very noisy and certainly NOT tolerated today. Even the small light aircraft flying boats today are pushing it with noise issues. You are aware that none of these piston engine aircraft had exhaust mufflers, don't you?

[@KevinBrownVideo]

Ansett operated Sandringham flying boats from Rose bay to Lord Howe Island I flew in one in 1967 great experience. Ansett acquired an ex NZAF Sunderland converting it to commercial use after the loss if a Sandringham.

[@amramjose]

I believe what really made the difference in fighting the Uboat menace was centimeter-wave radar. It allowed planes to detect periscopes, and did not trigger the "matox" radar detecting gear Uboats were equipped with (effective against long wave radar). The same gear was installed on B-24 Liberators.

[@briggsquantum]

Yes the British cavity-magnetron made centimetric radar possible, and it's miniaturization for aircraft. The majority of U-boats were sunk by aircraft with that radar and with Leigh Lights to illuminate the target at night. Canadian B-24's sacrificed one bomb bay for an additional fuel tank, increasing its range. Those two aircraft accounted for most of the U-boat kills.

[@pparker768]

Z

[@FiveBlackFootedFerrets]

You must have read the same book that I did about the introduction of centimetric wavelength radar. The title of the book is,"The Invention that Changed the World" by Robert Buderi. The prototype cavity magnetron was delivered to the US by a courier who was handcuffed to his suitcase. It was sent to MIT and the name of the department was quickly referred to as RAD lab. And it was introduced with the Leigh light for use on night patrols which totally blinded the Nazis in their U-boats. They thought their low profile snorkels would keep them safe but the centimetric range radar turned the tide against them in the worst way. They just couldn't figure out how they were being detected. Now the same type of magnetron is the heart of every household microwave oven.

[@briggsquantum]

@@FiveBlackFootedFerrets The book I've read several times is "Engineers of Victory" by Kennedy. Is that the one you are thinking of? Kennedy's view of the progression of the war is quite distinct from other histories.

[@wmanadeau7860]

@@FiveBlackFootedFerrets Look for a book called Green Beach, an account of the real purpose of the Dieppe Raid--and see where the Allies first got hip to use of cavity magnetrons for radar...

[@darracqboy]

The Sunderland, one of my favourite aircraft!! I think it just look beautiful!

[@channelsixtysix066]

Marvellous aircraft.

[@williamross2579]

A bloody good aircraft, coming from coastal SW England my father would wax lyrical about Sunderland’s, Catalina’s, and the Lysander Spy planes that would land in Devon fields in the night (you would hear them) …the Sunderland would fly for hours… landing in the river estuary’s and harbours. They were reliable, solidly built, and with cutting edge detection equipment.

[@Rupe51]

I like the narration ... both the content which is very detailed and informative, but also the calm manner of delivery. This channel has really developed over the years.

[@ABC1701A]

A plane I have read about many times [having been a Biggles fan from early childhood and this is a plane that featured in more than one of the the books] and never thought i would ever be lucky enough to see fly. This video may not be as good as seeing one actually flying in person [and this is one of the planes I have always wanted to take a flight in, childhood dreams last] but it is certainly the closest I am ever likely to come to it. Thank you so much for this video, my grandfather served out the war in Egypt [RAF] so had no connection with the flying boats and all I really knew/know about them came from Biggles - whose author did know about the planes he was writing about - and the reality lives up to everything that was written in the books. Another childhood dream achieved [as much as it ever can be].

[@Running-withscissors]

I actually got to fly aboard one of these when I was about 12 I think it was. There were several others too. I don't know how my dad arranged it In the mid-70s, near Portsmouth. We flew up and down the Channel coastlines and it was one of my favorite memories as a kid. Really amazing experience.

[@gryph01]

Not only was it a potent sub hunter, it had a boiler to make tea.

[@greebo7857]

As a boy I read Ivan Southall's 'Simon Black in Coastal Command', written the year I was born. Whether this is a "good" book is a matter of taste. I know that I enjoyed it greatly back then. Whatever else this book did, it filled me with a love and admiration for the Sunderland and its crews. Nothing I have read or heard since has changed that.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Around 40+ years ago, I worked for a large UK based shoe manufacturing company. I had the good fortune to meet, and work with a chap named Norman. Even back then Norman was close to retirement, and occasionally mentioned things he saw and did during WW2. However, he considered his main claim to fame was that he spent most of WW2 asleep in the rear gun turret of an RAF Coastal Command Sunderland flying boat, on patrol out over the sea. These patrols would seemingly last hours, and after a while of little happening apart from the steady drone of the plane's engines, Norman would often nod off assisted by cotton wool stuffed in his ears. After a while he would wake up, and find cold mugs of tea wedged in various nooks and crannies behind him. Norman will sadly now no longer be with us, but I can still picture him clearly. Small, stocky, with that inevitable RAF handlebar moustache....a genuinely decent bloke. RIP Norman, wherever you are......

[@plunder1956]

They have one at the Hendon RAF Museum in London and you can walk the full length inside it. It's a huge interior and rather tall. It looks and feels bigger and more robust than a PBY Catalina..

[@briggsquantum]

I saw that aircraft at Hendon in 1984. Could not go inside at that time, but from the observation floor looking down on it, it was impressive. Also the view confirmed the modification made to correct the center-of-gravity error when they designed the Sunderland. It was too far forward, and the simple solution was to angle the main wings aft a bit to bring the weight of the engines further to the rear. Almost no aerodynamic penalty, and an easy fix.

[@markholroyde9412]

My Dad was an RAF mechanic on flying boats up in OBAN in WW11., I have photos of him at the monument when he went back in '91. Miss you Dad. R.I.P. mate.

[@johnpicton4816]

These were great men, Mark. My late dad was a navigator on the Catalina's based at Oban

[@markholroyde9412]

@@johnpicton4816 Wow, good chance our Fathers met at some point then, which I find incredible all these years later, cheers for reply.

[@richardknight5163]

To Mark and John above. My dad too - Flight Engineer Oban, Sinderlands. Later flew to Burma. Returned home sometime in '46 i think. My bro has his log book, bit damaged, but some dats and sorties.

[@markholroyde9412]

@@richardknight5163 Wow, the thought our Dads might have know each other, my Dad passed in '01 and very rarely spoke about it, my Mum is 96 and still here so I batter her head with questions LOL.. I must go to OBAN one day and reproduce the pics I have here from when he went back in '91 ish. Respect to all of them,.

[@davidgill2592]

My father was on Sunderlands at our home town of Plymouth at the start of the war until being replaced by Aussie crews. He was then posted to Abbotsinch (Glasgow) to train on Catalinas. When this was completed they were shipped off to Mombasa (Kenya), from a freezing Glaswegian winter to an East African hothouse, where he remained for the rest of the war. I can still recall, as a young child in the 1950's, seeing the white-painted Sunderlands flying overhead.

[@forgeworxblacksmith6453]

My dad trained at New Plymouth's old airport and then trained in Canada on Catalina's before being stationed in Guadalcanal. It must have been hell there because he didn't want to talk of his time there.

[@julianhawker7672]

My Grandad was one of the Aussies , he survived the war and married a local girl (my Grandmother) from Saltash.

[@AutoCrete]

I have listened to hundreds of "Dark ..." videos and this has been the easiest one to listen to bar none! It was so easy to follow I almost thought another person was brought in to narrate it. THANK YOU!

[@bernardotorres4659]

A great and much underrated airplane , like another lucid commentator other than me rightly showcased . Almost surely because the airplane does not have a cool , dashing appearance , it is not much better known , and because it did not take part in acrobatic aerial confrontations but in unglamorous and long patrols over the sea . The airplane itself and its super duper capabilities are not looked at.

[@LongBinh70]

Several years ago I got to crawl around inside a Sunderland not long after Kermit Weeks added one to his collection at Fantasy Of Flight in central Florida. It was fitted as a commercial airliner, not a military aircraft, and the Mid-Century Modern interior was pretty rough. But it was the sheer size of the thing that was so impressive! When you stood next to it it was hard to believe something that large could actually fly.

[@nps5886]

Yeah that one was the last one in the uk i belive

[@scienceistruth1924]

I saw that one on the ramp at Calshot just outside Southampton and then later on saw it fly overhead and turn at Reading for a proving flight before it was taking to the US by Kermit Weeks it was quite a sight!!

[@ddegn]

Comments like these are why I love KZbin. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

[@SCOTTBULGRIN]

I had the good fortune of see Kermit Weeks flying his Sunderland as he flew it over central Florida on it's last flight. Not long after this I got to personally meet Kermit at F.O.F. and he was pleased to hear and had witnessed his incoming flight. I'm grateful for great people like him for preserving these time machines.

[@chrisg6086]

@@nps5886 the last one to fly in the U.K., yes - there are others still here in museums

[@robertwilson123]

A very great and iconic airplane in the Battle of the Atlantic. Sunderlands and Coastal Command did absolutely vital and tireless work which saved Britain... Keeping its main artery of life The Atlantic open.

[@EdwardPCampbell]

The ‘Short and Harland’, abbreviated to ‘Shorts’ was a strategic aeronautical industrial complex, plus airstrip, on the south shore of Belfast Lough. Both Harland & Wolff and Shorts were very busy during World War II both manufacturing and repairing the tools of war against Nazi Germany which is why it was bombed by the Luftwaffe, causing around 2,000 deaths and the destruction of 2,000 homes. The Ulster Fire Brigade was so overwhelmed by these onslaughts that their colleagues in neutral Republican Dublin, sent its crews 100 miles north to support the humanitarian emergencies. As a consequence the Luftwaffe also bombed Dublin. The company started an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary with Short Brothers, called Short & Harland Limited in 1936. Its first order was for 189 Handley Page Hereford bombers built under licence from Handley Page for the Royal Air Force. In the Second World War, this factory built Short Stirling bombers as the Hereford was removed from service. The shipyard was busy in the Second World War, building six aircraft carriers, two cruisers (including HMS Belfast) and 131 other naval ships; and repairing over 22,000 vessels. It also manufactured tanks and artillery components. It was in this period that the company's workforce peaked at around 35,000 people. However, many of the vessels built in this era were commissioned right at the end of the Second World War, as Harland and Wolff were focused on ship repair in the first three years of the war. The yard on Queen's Island was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in April and May 1941 during the Belfast Blitz, causing considerable damage to the shipbuilding facilities and destroying the aircraft factory. Harland & Wolff was the largest shipyard in the world at one time but due to subsidies cutbacks by some ruthless British governments it went into decline, so that, when I joined H & W in September 1970 its workforce at was reduced to 7,500 from a peak of 35,000 during WW2. So, it’s understandable that the Nazis saw Belfast as a strategic target (if somewhat of a logistics stretch by its bombers). Shorts, Belfast (Thales) is now producing the Starstreak 3-tungsten-rod-warhead, Mach 4+, antiaircraft missile which has garnered much praise from the Ukrainian Army. 😢

[@wheelsofafrica]

Another great and informative video - thank you so much.

[@longrider42]

Ah yes, the Flying boat that had up to 13 machine guns mounted. I've even heard that there was a "Dog Fight" between a Sunderland and the German four engined Condor. The Sunderland won, due to its ability to absorb more damage. It was a Great plane. Too bad they are all gone. The world needs Flying Boats.

[@chrishartley4553]

Glad tidings! 4 complete Sunderlands exist as well as 3 Sandringham civilian conversions.

[@Ben-mw9vz]

There are still plenty of flying boats in the world, mostly civilian and firefighting types though, probably wont find any doing charters

[@petergaskin1811]

There must be at least one. It was re-built(?) in one of the facilities at Chatham Dockyard. I can remember it doing engine tests up and down the tidal Medway off our mooring at Hoo Ness YC. This would have been in 1989 or 1990.

[@grebnes09]

I met a Sunderland pilot in 2021. He was 98 and in excellent health. Only 18 years old, flying in the Bay of Biscay. He said they had 3 pilots and they rotated every 30 minutes while on patrol over the bay.

[@chrisg6086]

Good to hear of the gentleman's continuing good health. He was a fortunate fellow: my father was a Sunderland pilot carrying out Atlantic patrols in 1942/3, almost exclusively with two pilots

[@Scala64]

My father was pilot on Catalinas, flying out of Lerwick (for the Russian convoys, up to Murmansk), Oban, Lough Erne, Poole and Gibraltar. He once said that there was a saying that no submarine had ever been spotted by an observer more than 30 minutes after starting his watch. So it's interesting to hear of your informant's experience. Makes sense.

[@timpedder6046]

There's a Sunderland at the RAF museum Hendon that you can actually go in and look around. Well worth a visit.

[@hughculliton3174]

My Great Uncle flew them out of Alexandria during the war. His logbooks are very interesting!

[@keithlivingstone2525]

I look after a War Memorial near my home near Lough Erne, Co Fermanagh in Northern Ireland which is dedicated to British, US and Canadian aircrew killed flying Sunderlands and Catalinas. They flew from Lough Erne into the North Atlantic.

[@itsjohndell]

Thank you Sir for your efforts to preserve the memory of these brave men.

[@adamwalsh4794]

Also had a crawlspace in the wing so a mechanic could get to the engines and service them in flight. My grandfather flew these as a test engineer on shakedown flights out of Belfast.

[@jacksimpson-rogers1069]

My college was the Queen's University of Belfast, My family moved from Scotland to N. Ireland. The Student Union debating society had an interesting way of criticising undue levels of Empire Patriotism. We'd hum just Elgar's tune for Land of Hope and Glory. I was delighted in the book "Good Omens" that Crowley, who used to be The Serpent, tells Aziraphale, who had command of the Flaming Sword, and they'd been acquainted for 6000 years, that the only top ranking composers Heaven has are Elgar and Liszt.

[@timelwell7002]

Great video, as usual well researched and very engaging.

[@benklotz6881]

The narrator makes this info so exciting love learning all this!

[@the_sandancer]

Got to see one of these up close and got on board recently at a museum in London. Very impressive aircraft

[@dennisgauss7644]

My Dad flew these for the RCAF out of N.Ireland in '43 & '44.Long tedious journeys !He flew them for BOAC after the war on the Australia run.

[@lukeengland2866]

Thank you dark skys for this video my grandad used to fly the Sunderland in the coastal command

[@pauljamison3340]

Brings back great memories of growing up in Beach Haven, Auckland, New Zealand. We used to watch them take off and land just 400m away!!!!!

[@narabdela]

It's a myth that the Sunderland was called "Flying Porcupine" because of it's armament. The term refered to the appearance of the early radar array along the spine of the aircraft.

[@billcook7483]

Wrong, the father of a friend of mine was a German pilot in the war and he said the German pilots were terrified of it because if it's firepower and called it the flying porcupine because of the number of guns. Your suggestion is ridiculous .

[@fredemny3304]

@@billcook7483 I'm afraid that's bollocks Bill. It's well known that The War Ministry was responsible for the Flying Porcupine propaganda. I notice that a couple of other posters here are aware of the facts.

[@billcook7483]

@@fredemny3304 That may well be so but the Germans certainly picked up on it , there was even a German pilot on the telly calling it the flying porkupine because he was scared of it .

[@richardrichard5409]

@@billcook7483 terrified of. 303 rifle calibre rounds🤣

[@billcook7483]

@@richardrichard5409 Stupid comment .

[@baanibarnes9711]

Actually, the 'Flying Porcupine' nick-name was probably inspired by the early ASV aerial fit, 4 antennas on each side behind the main wing and a similar set on the mid upper fuselage. The Sunderland never had that many defensive guns, early marks had two stations each with one or two Vickers machine-guns, later variants having the twin gun turret, hardly giving the appearance of a porcupine! Standard tail and nose turrets were carried by all versions similar to the standard fit of bomber command aircraft.

[@Coatsieboy1]

Defunct Australian airline Ansett (absorbed by Qantas in the early 2000s) operated Ansett Flying Boat Services, and flew the Sunderland and its Sandringham variant from Rose Bay on Sydney Harbour to Lord Howe Island until 10 September 1974. They were a beloved sight on the harbor and were all former RAF, RCAF, RNZAF and RAAF aircraft. American millionaire aircraft collector and restoration guru Kermit Weekes owns one of these, and even landed it on the Thames in the late 80's.

[@EeBee51]

Thanks, I was wondering what happened to them. I heard Ansett sold them to an airline in the Caribbean. Do you know what happened to the second one ?

[@chrisg6086]

I think its visit to the Thames was in the ownership of Edward Hulton, before it was sold to Kermit Weeks

[@chrisg6086]

@@EeBee51 The second one, 'Beachcomber' was flown to the U.K. and then placed in a new museum in Southampton, where it remains to this day

[@laurenceeaton5911]

Excellent content and delivery, really great 👍 channel, thanks for making these

[@paulstewart6293]

For some reason I love seaplanes!

[@Free-Bodge79]

Same. It's a concept I struggle to understand., why it went out of favour? With the cost of land at a premium , to build airports and runways. why not use the waterways.? Seems daft to not utilise them anymore. !

[@maltnz]

Remember (as a young boy) being at the opening of Rongotai airport in Wellington, New Zealand. A low pass by an RNZAF Sunderland went wrong and it scraped it's belly on the tarmac, opening a hole in the planing hull. The Sunderland made a successful (though stressfull) landing back at it's base in Hobsonville after much hull packing by the crew.

[@modgogogirl1871]

Saw one of these flying in about 1985-6 amazing

[@camjohnson9776]

7:35 Sunderland landing in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. Northhead in the background with the summit of Rangitoto Island behind that. Super cool.

[@rbilleaud]

Might want to change the clip that accompanies the story about the plane being attacked by Ju-88s to show actual Ju-88s, not Ju-87 Stukas. Also, Ju-88s are not technically fighters, although they were sometimes employed as "heavy fighters". Their main role was as a bomber/attack aircraft.

[@MsOpportunity68]

You beat me to it with the comment about the clip, and yes while the JU 88 was initially developed as a bomber/dive bomber, was was a day fighter variant with a solid nose with cannon, as well as night fighter variants fitted with radar and cannon in a solid nose.

[@NickRatnieks]

The German submariners also called the Sunderland "The Tired Bee" due to its endless monotonous up and down search patrols scouring the ocean looking for them! I think those Sunderland airframes that were towed out to sea were used as gunnery targets. I knew a New Zealander who ended up as the director of a famous museum and he told me that he and some other enthusiasts tried to buy one of the RNZAF Sunderlands but were outbid by the scrapman. Very sad. Anyone interested in flying boats should read "Corsaireville: The Lost Domain of the Flying Boat" it is a remarkable book.

[@firdausHITMAN]

beautifully edited and great commentary. you have a style buddy. love your vids

[@stuartpeacock8257]

My current home is at West Hoe,Plymouth which overlooks The Sound across to the former RAF Mount Batten base. From there Sunderland and Catalina flying boats launched out to patrol the Western Approaches. Now a Water-sports base little of the former station survives save the breakwater

[@chriscooper654]

Fascinating. Appreciate the reminder of just how enormous the scope of WW2 was, and what it took to win it.

[@Columbiastargazer]

My dad lived onboard a RCAF Short Sunderland from 1940 until 1945 and I could not understand how one could live onboard a plane until I saw a Martin Mars from up close :)

[@STONE-wh2en]

Always a great video. Congrats.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Great doc...thanks

[@xyzpdq1122]

Never knew about this plane! Really unique. Truly a “flying boat” if the crew stayed waterborne for extended periods of time.

[@randytaylor1258]

It was a flying boat because of the necessity to fly from water. While it had beaching gear for coming ashore for service, it was not built in which would make it an amphibian.

[@Mustang00007]

Qantas Empire airways used them up and to the 1966.Used to fly out from Sydney harbour to England and back.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Also Aquila Airways flew them out of Southampton, ex-BOAC I think.

[@justinloretz5691]

My grandad Victor Hooper was wireless operator/airgunner/leigh light operator on Coastal Command Sunderlands in the battle of the Atlantic during WW2. Anyone interested in this incredible aircrafts history, should visit the Short Sunderland exhibit at the Pembroke Dock museum.

[@dougaldouglas8842]

It is a shame that our government has always turned its back upon such planes, after the war. This was a magnificent plane, and very well narrated.

[@georgebarnes8163]

Brand new Sunderlands were towed out into Belfast lough and sank.

[@dougaldouglas8842]

It did it to the troops, and everything else.

[@coling3957]

I live in Plymouth and the Sunderlands used to operate from Plymouth Sound during ww2.. they must have been a sight to see taking off from the water. The "flying porcupine" as the Germans called them because of their defensive armament.. the video mentions attack by JU88's - which were twin-engine multipurpose aircraft often heavily armed.. ( not the ju87's shown ) ..

[@bobsage4963]

You beat me to it, Colin! "Hang on... those are JU-87s!"

[@N.California]

Per usual, outstanding content.

[@Trev0r98]

What a wonderful and legendary aircraft. Brilliant design.

[@starpilot101]

This is the British equivalent of PBY based on it's role, design and capabilities

[@gerardleahy6946]

I never saw a Sunderland but a very similar Sandringham fly over Galway, Ireland in the 1970s. It was a civillian model. Very impressive. I understand the Sunderland was originlly developed for transatlantic flights. There is a museum to transatlantic flying boats in Foynes, Ireland.

[@eugeneoreilly9356]

Good museum at Castle Archdale county Fermanagh where many of the crews were billitted when the aircraft flew Atlantic patrols off Lough Erne.Many were scuttled there after the war and lie on the bottom of the Lough.

[@JM-lk6wo]

I had heard of such stoves, that completely was forgotten. Thanks for the reminder and information.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

Outstanding airplane. Duxford Imperial War Museum has one on show and it is very impressive.

[@BTW...]

Ugly as sin. The Catalinas far better looking.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

@@BTW... beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I much prefer the Sunderland, it has real presence when you stand next to one.

[@davidwhite9159]

During the Berlin Airlift the Sunderland was the only aircraft that could safely carry salt into Berlin as its control cables were in the roof and hence there wasn’t a problem if any spilled salt fell through the floor - other transport aircraft had control cables under the floor and thus any spilt salt could have lodged on these cables and caused corrosion.

[@1bert719]

This actually caused the demise of most of these aircraft as the salt ultimately rotted the hulls beyond repair.

[@TrustMeiamaD.R.]

Thanks for this.