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British WWII heavy bombers - question to experts


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Dear Colleagues,

I'd like to ask You about wheels of these bombers - were they the same on all three kinds of bombers (or even tires of identical size), or that big birds had completely individual wheels with different tire patterns?

Which manufacturer produces 1/48 H-P Halifax? I have found on Hannants only civil version of that bomber, made by Fonderie Miniatures and old kits from Sanger, which are out of stock.

And the last question: where can I find good-quality photos of heavy bomber crew members in warm combinations, with with dressed parachutes? I especially need to see how the parachutes are dressed on, in good detalization on front and back of the pilot's figure.

Thanks in advance for all Your replies!

Edited by Armoryman
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Hi ! Halifax in quarter scale made Fonderie Miniatures only... But it was a terrible short run in quality of early '90.... And is curently OOP... Only R.A.F. heavy in production is still an upgraded Tamiya Lancaster... Sorry for bad news....

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Armoryman,

The wheels (and undercarriage) for the Short Stirling and Lancaster were and still are interchangable. I know this because we are trying to find some for our Lancaster restoration project, lol.

As for crew gear, to my understanding most RAF crew did not wear their parachutes (they clipped on) while on-board as they were too difficult to move around in. There are stowage points all around the Lanc where they hung their chutes. As for pictures, check this out...

Lancaster crew

Hope this helps

Don

Edited by Big Daddy
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Hey Big Daddy, thanks for sharing that link! Pretty damn cool man! I wish I could participate in something like that!

Also, the link says there 3 lancasters that are airworthy, last i knew there were only 2. The one in england, duxford if I remember correct, and the one in hamilton ontario.

Thread hijack over.....

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Armoryman,

The wheels (and undercarriage) for the Short Stirling and Lancaster were and still are interchangable. I know this because we are trying to find some for our Lancaster restoration project, lol. The Halifax wheels are different (smaller) and would not fit or carry the weight of the Lanc or Stirling.

As for crew gear, to my understanding most RAF crew did not wear their parachutes (they clipped on) while on-board as they were too difficult to move around in. There are stowage points all around the Lanc where they hung their chutes. As for pictures, check this out...

Lancaster crew

Hope this helps

Don

Don,

How do you figure you can interchange Stirling and Lanc wheels? Look at the size of the tire on the Stirling.

Stirlingtyre.jpg

Now click on the link you have posted and scroll down to the 5th picture of the two guys clad in period flight gear walking by the starboard undercarriage of the Lanc. The height of the Lanc tire is not quite up to their shoulders.

Cheers,

Tom

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Hey Big Daddy, thanks for sharing that link! Pretty damn cool man! I wish I could participate in something like that!

Also, the link says there 3 lancasters that are airworthy, last i knew there were only 2. The one in england, duxford if I remember correct, and the one in hamilton ontario.

Thread hijack over.....

There is only 2. "Just Jane" can theoretically fly, but it has never had a full certification inspection. It is like how the Lancaster in Nanton Alberta is airworthy or how the Halifax in Trenton was restored to airworthy condition. It "can" but it also can't and won't

Sean

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The undercarriage of the Stirling is interchangeable with the Lanc - really? I think I need a bit more information on that before accepting it. It would certainly be very uncommon for the undercarriages from two different companies to be the same. I'm also not quite sure why the Halifax should be considered that much lighter than the Lanc. Perhaps a Grand Slam-loaded one, yes, but that's not the weights for which the aircraft (and hence wheels) were designed.

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The undercarriage of the Stirling is interchangeable with the Lanc - really? I think I need a bit more information on that before accepting it. It would certainly be very uncommon for the undercarriages from two different companies to be the same. I'm also not quite sure why the Halifax should be considered that much lighter than the Lanc. Perhaps a Grand Slam-loaded one, yes, but that's not the weights for which the aircraft (and hence wheels) were designed.

I am having a "senior" morning. It's not the Stirling but the Shackleton that has interchangeable wheels , tires and undercarriage (as well as the Lincoln). My apologies for the mistake. :bandhead2:

Don

Edited by Big Daddy
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Don,

How do you figure you can interchange Stirling and Lanc wheels? Look at the size of the tire on the Stirling.

Stirlingtyre.jpg

Now click on the link you have posted and scroll down to the 5th picture of the two guys clad in period flight gear walking by the starboard undercarriage of the Lanc. The height of the Lanc tire is not quite up to their shoulders.

Cheers,

Tom

Nothing to do with this topic but as a kid visiting family in Germany years ago, they took me into some woods out back of their house and showed me a heavily damaged section of landing gear, complete with a very large tire and told me it came from a shot down British Bomber during WW2. The tire was absolutely massive, I wonder if it was from a Stirling?

Pretty sobering artifact to have in your back yard, hope those 18-19 year old kids got out ok.

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And the last question: where can I find good-quality photos of heavy bomber crew members in warm combinations, with with dressed parachutes? I especially need to see how the parachutes are dressed on, in good detalization on front and back of the pilot's figure.

Have you seen the several crew pictures in Wikipedia's Lancaster article?

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Unlike fighter crews with parachute packs that fitted into the seat, I think it's the case that bomber crews used the RAF 'Observer' chest type harness, as seen with this crew:

snf23bom8-682_1297104a.jpg

Here's the harness, you can see the Karabiners where the pack snaps on:

143_4357.jpg

peebeep

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Pilots,at least on Lancasters,wore a seat type parachute but I can't say from when as that note is lost in my messy filing system.

I heard directly from a veteran Lancaster rear gunner that they too adopted seat packs from "mid" 1944.

Steve

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