In the first five parts of this book I have covered the thirty-five Lancasters that are known for sure to have flown a hundred or more operational sorties during the Second World War. To round off the story I include in this part pictures of a number of Lancaster bombers that also flew an exceptional number of bomber trips but, either through becoming casualties, or war weary, or lacking time, did not complete a hundred. These are just examples rather than a definitive list.
Lancaster EE134 PG-Y for Yoke flew ninety-nine sorties. The first unit she was assigned to was 49 Squadron in May 1943 and then 619 Squadron from September. She carried an interesting piece of artwork above the bomb log, a quartered shield with an inscription on a scroll, ‘Semper en Excretia’, which broadly means ‘We are always in the shit’ to which some people added, ‘only the depth varies’; the complete Latin phrase includes this in the words ‘sumus solim profundum variat’. The shield was edged in red, and the lighter sections are yellow with a red figure and crab. The other sections are black with white markings and a skull. The bombs were all yellow. After 619 she was sent to No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School and coded CE-O and was ‘struck off charge’ on 31 March 1945.
Lancaster LL845, WS-L, of No. 9 Squadron in 1945. The nose art shows a scantily-dressed young blonde half-kneeling on a bedroom stool; she was known as ‘Lonesome Lola?’ The bomb log shows sixty-seven bombs. The lady appears to have on a pink slip, blue shoes and a black suspender belt.
‘Lonesome Lola?’ had, by the end of the war, completed ninety-seven missions, a second block of bombs having been started after the first seventy. Surviving the war she was finally ‘struck off charge’ in January 1947.
Nick the Nazi Neutralizer was the name applied to Lancaster LM130 of A Flight, 463 Squadron RAAF, which carried the codes JO-N. Her record of operations was different from the usual bomb symbol, the tally being counted in devil’s tridents. Sixty-one are shown in this picture but she is believed to have completed ninety-six before being lost following a mid-air collision with a Hurricane IIc fighter on 11 March 1945. They had been engaged in a fighter affiliation sortie over Lincolnshire. The devil figure appears to be blotchy red, certainly with red lips and ears and, perhaps, yellow horns. Lettering was in white, N in red.
No. 550 Squadron had a veteran of ninety-four operations, W5005, which had previously flown with 460 Squadron RAAF. She had gone to 550 in May 1943 and was coded BQ-N. Moving to 460 in May 1944, she was re-coded AR-E². It was while she was returning from the ninety-fourth mission, a raid on Kiel on 26/27 August 1944, that she failed to make base and Flight Sergeant R. Hofman RAAF had to ditch in the Humber estuary. There were no injuries to the crew. The picture shows her as E of 460 Squadron with a booted kangaroo playing bagpipes. The word ‘Leader’ is painted on the nose. The bomb log shows fifty-two symbols in rows of fifteen but appear to be painted on starting from the bottom.
Lancaster W4783 also of 460 Squadron, coded AR-G for George, completed ninety operations and, surviving the war, is now housed in the Australian War Memorial museum in Canberra. She had been delivered to the squadron on 11 October 1942 and was retired in April 1944. F/O J. A. Critchley and crew flew her last mission 20/21 April. Later in the year she was flown to Australia from Prestwick. In addition to her bomb log there are three medal ribbons painted to the right of the bombs.
Another Australian veteran, this time No. 463 Squadron’s LL847, JO-D (D for Digger) at RAF Waddington in December 1943. The nose art depicts two Aussie diggers flipping a coin. They are named ‘Bluey’ and ‘Curly’ after the Australian newspaper comic strip. They appear to be flipping the coin to see who picks up the gold nugget. Rather than bombs, the tally is shown by digger hats, the daylight raids having a white background. Two swastikas represent claims against night-fighters. LL847 failed to return from a raid on München on 17/18 December 1944. None of the crew survived.
‘Edith’ was the name given to LM577 of No. 622 Squadron and coded GI-E. After five months she was moved to No. 218 Squadron, and became KH-Q. By April 1945 she had completed eighty-four operations and is believed to have flown some fourteen MANNA and EXODUS trips for a possible ninety-eight trips in all. Post-war she was sent to No. 22 MU and finally ‘struck off charge’ on 15 May 1947.
VR-X are the codes on Lancaster KB732 and her nose art depicted the word X-terminator in white along with two swastikas; the bomb-tally was painted on obliquely. Just to the rear of the bomb-aimer’s window is the name ‘Junior’. In the picture this 419 Squadron Lancaster, which was Canadian-built, shows G/Capt J. F. MacDonald, Station Commander of RAF Middleton St George, A/Cdre C. R. Dunlap, OC 64 Base, F/Sgt Don McTaggart (R/gnr), AVM C. M. ‘Black Mike’ McEwen MC DFC (AOC 6 Group) and F/Lt Barney Wickham, pilot. This aircraft was assigned to 419 in May 1944. The bomb tally shows eighty-three operations. She was ‘struck off charge’ on 15 May 1948.
This Lancaster has eighty-one operations, according to the bomb tally. The artwork depicts four flags representing the nationalities of the crew at some stage with the caption ‘United We Fly’. The flags are of Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Lancaster ME844 of XV Squadron in flight. Coded LS-W, she carries seventy-eight bombs below the cockpit. She also flew with 44 Squadron and was ‘struck off charge’ on 3 June 1947. There were two other XV Squadron Lancasters that had high scores in bombing operations, LL854 with ninety-seven and ME849 with eighty-five.
Another veteran with No. 467 Squadron RAAF was DV277. Here we see the bomb tally has reached seventy-three and has what appears to be one swastika. Coded PO-W, the W on the nose was used to name the aircraft ‘Weary Willie’, the artwork being of an old man carrying a heavy load and using a staff. She was also coded PO-L at one stage. This aircraft survived a nasty incident on 11 December 1944, having been badly damaged by an enemy fighter. The pilot, F/Sgt J. W. Waugh RAAF, ordered his crew to bale out over Lincolnshire while he and his engineer managed to crash land at Waddington. After the war DV277 went to 46 MU where it was scrapped in November 1946.
Another Lancaster that flew with No. 467 Squadron was PO-A. It had an interesting piece of artwork and seventy-one bombs painted below the cockpit. The words are ‘Australian Power’.
Lancaster JO-R of No. 463 Squadron, believed to be LL844, flew at least seventy operations, and again has an interesting artwork figure, known as ‘Ginger Meggs’. If correct, this aircraft had several adventures including the loss of the rear turret and gunner after a bomb hit the rear of the aircraft during a bomb run. This crash landing was not the result. Finally ‘struck off charge’ on 15 January 1947.
Lancaster KB772 of No. 419 Squadron RCAF, in June 1945, showing sixty-six painted bombs and the name ‘Ropey’ on the nose. Coded VR-R. it is not clear if the shark-mouth markings were applied during or after the war. In the background is another veteran, VR-X for Exterminator (see above). KB772 was shipped to Canada on 5 June 1945.
LAC E. Turner paints the sixty-fifth bomb symbol on ED731 of No. 166 Squadron after returning from Berlin on 15/16 February 1944. Named ‘Dante’s Daughter’, complete with a nude rising from the flames, she also has the DFC ribbon and has done at least three trips to Italy, according to the ice-cream cones. Previously with No.103 Squadron from March to September 1943, she was lost with 166, coded AS-T², on another Berlin raid on 24/25 March 1944. Only one crewman survived as a prisoner.
ME649 operated with No. 460 Squadron and was coded AR-J². There are sixty-three bomb symbols beneath the cockpit. Going to 103 Squadron in September 1944, she was lost over Essen on 12/13 December due to flak. All the crew died, including the very experienced pilot, S/Ldr J. Clark DFC AFC RAAF, who had flown some fifty operations.
Lancaster HK575 flew with 75 NZ Squadron coded AA-O. The tally records sixty-three raids with the New Zealanders. She failed to return from Stuttgart on 24/25 July 1944; there were no survivors. The three ground crewmen are LAC Gardner, LAC Hillman and Cpl Hoddle.
No. 467 Squadron’s LM233, PO-M, named ‘Jock’s Revenge’. The nose art depicts a kangaroo with its baby protruding from the pouch firing off a catapult. Two medal ribbons and a swastika are also included. Bomb symbols indicate sixty operations. She later served with 635, 35 and XV Squadrons until ‘struck off charge’ 2 May 1947.
Lancaster ED532, PO-H, of No. 467 Squadron at RAF Waddington. She carried a heraldic shield with a kangaroo and an emu on either side, an eight-pointed star above, and the name ‘Australia’ on a scroll below. The bomb tally appears to be rows of ducks, numbering seventy-four. She was lost on 22 June 1944, shot down by AA fire. There were no survivors.
