lancaster - Just Flight
Transcription
lancaster - Just Flight
J.F. 2062A–P.N. (4th Edition) PILOT’S AND FLIGHT ENGINEER’S NOTES LANCASTER PREPARED BY DIRECTION OF AEROPLANE HEAVEN PROMULGATED BY ORDER OF JUST FLIGHT “CROWN COPYRIGHT, REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE” LANCASTER PILOT’S AND FLIGHT ENGINEER’S NOTES CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................2 DETAILED FEATURES OF LANCASTER ............................................................5 INSTALLING LANCASTER......................................................................................7 GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR SYSTEM ....................................................10 OTHER ITEMS ON DISC ........................................................................................11 ACCESSING THE AIRCRAFT ................................................................................11 THE LANCASTERS ..................................................................................................12 ACCESSING THE SCENERY ..................................................................................14 MOSQUITO MANUAL ............................................................................................14 OPERATING THE AIRCRAFT FEATURES ........................................................14 FROM THE OUTSIDE..............................................................................................17 INSIDE THE LANCASTER......................................................................................18 FLYING THE LANCASTER ....................................................................................22 RAF RADIO EQUIPMENT ......................................................................................24 THE WIRELESS OPERATOR ................................................................................37 CREDITS ....................................................................................................................45 COPYRIGHTS............................................................................................................46 PIRACY ......................................................................................................................46 1 INTRODUCTION Welcome to Lancaster. This expansion package for Flight Simulator 2004 has been developed by Aeroplane Heaven and published by Just Flight. The entire team is very proud of what has been achieved here and we can say with confidence that the level of detail in Lancaster has only previously been seen in flight simulator expansions of complex commercial airliners. This simulation illustrates life aboard Bomber Command’s most famous bomber. Whilst it is impossible to re-create the experience of the real thing, Lancaster is the most accurate and evocative simulation of a Lancaster on ‘ops’. Many new special effects have been created to add to the excitement and realism, whether you choose to fly as pilot, navigator, wireless operator/gunner or bomb-aimer. AIRCRAFT HISTORY The Avro Type 683 Lancaster traces its lineage back to the twin-engined Manchester. The Manchester was designed in 1937 to Specification P.13/36 which called for a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers. The two designs selected (the other being the Handley Page HP56) were to be powered by Rolls Royce Vulture engines which provided almost double the power of the Merlin, but as insufficient numbers of the new powerplant were available, the Handley Page design was dropped in favour of a four-engined version which was to become the Halifax. With a crew of seven, eight .303 machine guns in nose and tail turrets, a hydraulic system (a novel feature for those days) and capable of carrying a load of 20 tons at high speed, the Manchester was an advanced aeroplane for the time. First flown on July 25, 1939, early problems with stability caused by the dorsal turret saw the addition of a third fin on the rear fuselage. Production of 200 Manchester Mk.1s began in July of that year with deliveries beginning the following month and the first squadron, No 207, at Waddington receiving its first aircraft in November 1940. Praised by its pilots, the Manchester's first operation followed in February 1941 with a raid on Brest and the type was also part of the first 1,000 bomber raids in 1942. The following months saw the squadron complete its work-up on the Lancaster, and the first operational mission, mine laying in Heligoland Bright, was flown on March 3, 1942. The following month, No 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa, and No 44 combined on the first of many daring Lancaster raids when 12 aircraft carried out a daylight low-level attack on the MAN diesel factory at Augsburg. The raid was, however, marred by the loss of seven Lancasters. Many raids over the following months helped to refine attack methods and bombing techniques and by August 1942, working in partnership with the Pathfinder Force, accuracy had improved dramatically. May 1943 saw arguably the most famous Lancaster raid of World War II. During the night of 16/17 May, 17 Lancaster Mk.IIIs of No 617 Squadron, which had been specially formed to carry out the raid, took part in 'Operation Chastise' - an attack on a series of dams in the industrial heart of Germany designed to disrupt German military output. The 'Dam Busters Raid', as it became known, was only made possible by the development of a cylindrical mine which required the aircraft to fly at ultra-low level and at an exact speed to allow the device to skip along the water's surface towards the dam wall before descending to the base of the wall and exploding. In a series of training flights along the valleys and reservoirs between Sheffield and Manchester, the low-level flying training required was carried out, whilst development of the 'bouncing bomb' was done at coastal sites. Not until the very last moment were the pilots and crews made ware of the reason for the training, and many did not believe the raid was possible. Another great raid carried out by the Lancaster was the sinking of the German battleship 'Tirpitz' in November 1944. After numerous unsuccessful raids by Royal Navy and RAF Aircraft throughout the war, 31 Lancasters of Nos 9 and 617 Squadrons based at Lossiemouth succeeded where the other raids had failed, when the vessel was finally sunk after being hit by a single 12,000lb bomb. S/Ldr Bob Knights DSO, DFC – 617 Squadron pilot on the Tirpitz raids One problem with the Manchester was its Vulture engines, and so designs were drawn up to replace these with alternative powerplants. This aircraft was to be the Manchester II. Several solutions were proposed, but none were accepted as the Manchester III was also in development. This version had a larger wing with four Merlin Xs of 1,145 hp each. Although the Vulture was a very promising design, recurring problems with failures saw the cancellation of production and ultimately the end of the Manchester in twin-engined form and with just the initial batch of 200 completed, development switched to the Manchester III. The prototype of the now four engined Manchester III first flew on 9 January 1940, and was immediately recognised as being a vast improvement in both reliability and performance. With uprated Merlins, nose, tail, dorsal and ventral turrets, increased fuel capacity and self-inflating dinghy, the first production aircraft took to the air on October 31, 1941. The aircraft was such an improvement and change to the twin-engined design that it was decided a new name was required, and the Lancaster was born. Such was the performance of the new aircraft that production contracts required a number of shadow factories to be equipped to build the aircraft and the first of 7,734 Lancasters was delivered to No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron towards the end of the year. 2 L-R: Arthur Walker, Terry Playford, Bob Knights, Ernie Thells, Bruce Hosie, Bill Aengely – glad to be back in Lossiemouth after their attack on the Tirpitz 3 The second attack on the Tirpitz actually knocked her sideways Lancaster bombs were amongst the most fearsome of the war. Beginning with the 8,000lb bomb, by the end of the war, aircraft with modified bomb bays, known as B.Mk I (Special), were capable of carrying the awesome 22,000lb 'Grand Slam' and this weapon was used for the first time on March 14, 1945 to destroy the Bielefeld Viaduct. Development of the basic Lancaster airframe centred on increasing the range of the aircraft for use in the Far East using extra fuel tanks and inflight refuelling was also considered. Eventually a much modified version of the aircraft featuring improved engines and differing defensive armament positions went on to become the first Lincolns. Right up to the very end of the war in Europe, Lancasters were flying raids deep into the heart of Germany and the last sorties recorded by the type were on 25 April 1945 against Hitler's mountaintop retreat at Berchtesgaden and a night-time raid on oil installations in Norway. By the time the war ended, the Lancaster had amassed 156,000 sorties. In April 1945, Bomber Command had 745 aircraft equipping 56 front-line squadrons with a further 296 aircraft with training units. After the war many of these were used to repatriate 75,000 prisoners of war. Following the end of the war in the Pacific, some aircraft were further modified for operations in Burma as part of the Tiger Force, whilst others, fitted with cameras carried out an aerial survey of East, Central and West Africa between 1946 and 1952 with No 82 Squadron. Other Lancasters were modified to carry out air-sea rescue tasks. Lancasters serving with Coastal Command were based in Malta for maritime reconnaissance flights until February 1954 when the last aircraft was flown back to the UK, but it wasn't until October 15, 1956 when Lancaster MR3, serial number RF325, flew the final RAF Lancaster sortie. This was not the end for the Lancaster. A number of Mark Xs saw service with the Canadian Air Force in a variety of tasks including aerial survey, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance. Here, the Lancaster remained in service, amazingly, until April 1, 1964. Other overseas users of this mighty aircraft include Argentina (15 refurbished aircraft) and France, where fifty-four aircraft were supplied to the French Navy. Despite the vast number of aircraft built, only two remain airworthy; PA474, arguably the bestloved of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's aircraft and FM123 which was rebuilt to flying condition by the Canadian Warplane Heritage in Canada, where it made its first flight after restoration in September 1988. 4 Dimensions – Lancaster B Mk.I Length: 69ft 4in (21.08m) Wingspan: 102ft 0in (31.00m) Height: 20ft 6in (6.23m) Maximum Speed: 287mph (462km/h) Cruising Speed: 200mph (322km/h) Ceiling: 19,000ft (5,793m) Range: 2,530 miles (4,072km) with 7,000lb (3,178kg) bomb load. Powerplant: Four Rolls Royce Merlin XX, 22 or 24 of 1,280hp each. Payload: Up to 22,000lb bombs carried internally. Later versions modified to carry a variety of single high explosive bombs of 8,000lb (3,632kg), 12,000lb (5,448kg) or 22,000lb (9,988kg) for special missions. Defensive Armament 2 x .303 Browning machine guns in nose turret, 2 x .303 Browning machine guns in mid-upper turret and 4 x .303 Browning machine guns in tail turret. Early models also had ventral turret with a single .303 machine gun Recognition Slab-sided fuselage with heavily-framed canopy mounted well-forward on the upper fuselage. Nose, tail and upper rear fuselage contain turrets housing defensive guns. Twin tail unit with upswept horizontal surfaces. Main undercarriage housed in the cowlings of the inner engines. DETAILED FEATURES OF LANCASTER The package includes eight Lancaster variants in fifteen liveries plus a bonus Mosquito from our forthcoming Mosquito expansion as well as scenery of RAF Scampton. • Lancaster B Mk.I – 3 liveries • Lancaster B Mk.I 617 Sqn ‘Dam Busters’ – 2 liveries. • Lancaster B Mk.I with Grand Slam bomb • Lancaster B Mk.II with Hercules engines – 2 liveries • Lancaster B Mk.III with H2S radar installation – 2 liveries • Lancaster B Mk.III Aeronavale – 3 liveries • Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster • Lancaster prototype • de Havilland Mosquito – FB Mk.IV Pathfinder 5 The Lancaster is supplied with four main aircraft-selectable virtual cockpits: INSTALLING LANCASTER Each individual station is equipped with “smooth gauge” technology for added realism! DVD-ROM VERSION • Pilot and navigator stations • Pilot, front turret and bomb-aiming stations 1. Close all open programs and applications prior to installation. Place the Lancaster DVD in your DVD-ROM drive. • Navigator, wireless operator • Pilot station only 2. If your computer has 'Autorun' enabled the installation program will start automatically. If so, skip to item 4. 3. If you do not have 'Autorun' activated (or the program does not start automatically) please carry out the following Superb animations • Press the 'Start' button on the Windows taskbar, move up to 'Run…' and left click it. • Operating sliding windows. • • Operating rear crew door revealing flare chute. Type in the 'Open' window: D:\start.exe (where 'D' is the drive letter of your DVD-ROM drive), then press 'OK'. The DVD will then start to run. • Operating clear-view quarter lights. • All switches and controls in cockpit including weapons bay door control, bomb jettison are operable. • Working armour plate headrest, swing out radar kit, navigator’s seat and folding engineer’s seat. • Fully functional engineer's panel. • Working turret controls to pan the turret and elevate the guns from the turret virtual cockpit. • The bomb aimer's station is fully equipped with working auto-turn control, bomb arming switches, timers, bomb computer, and bomb release. • Retracting landing lights. • The airframe has correct flap operation all highly detailed, working automatic elevator counter mass tabs, rudder trim tabs and the correct gear retraction sequence. • The mid upper turret rotates and the guns elevate and depress correctly to match the anti-strike track on the collar. • Full crew figures (depending on the variant selected) with animated pilot, bomb-aimer and mid-upper gunner. • Operating bomb bay doors with fully detailed bomb loads Unique effects • Bombs can be armed and will drop realistically with a characteristic 'wobble' on the smaller 250- and 500-pounders. • The Upkeep mine will spin and drop. • The Grand Slam will drop realistically. 4. The first screen to appear will ask you to either 'Install’ or 'Exit'. It will also have other options to explore the other features, demo and free software and product information and videos included on the disk Press the 'Install' option to continue with the installation. A second screen will appear where you can, if you wish, view information, videos and screenshots of other Just Flight products. You may view as many of these as you like and when finished click the ‘Continue with installation’ option to start installation of the product. 5. You will then be asked to select a language to use during the installation. You may select one of the language options from the drop-down list with the mouse. Once you have done this, click the 'OK' button to continue with the installation or the 'Cancel' button to exit without installing. 6. A 'Welcome' window will appear and you can continue with the installation by clicking the 'Next' button or exit by clicking 'Cancel'. 7. A window will now appear describing the product licence. You should read this fully and then click on the ‘Yes’ button that says you agree to the terms of the End User License Agreement (EULA). You will not be able to continue with the install except by agreeing with the term of the EULA. If you click the ‘No’ button then the install will terminate. 8. The installation will now check the Windows Registry for the location of the selected version of Flight Simulator. If it is unable to locate a valid entry a warning dialogue will appear informing you of this and telling you that you will have to browse manually to the folder where you have Flight Simulator installed. 9. You will then be asked to select the folder into which to install the product. This folder must contain a valid version of your Flight Simulator program. Normally you will find the path box already filled in with the correct folder name, but if you received a warning at step 8 then this box will be blank. You will need to click the 'Browse' button and choose the correct location of your Flight Simulator program folder. The default path for Flight Simulator 2004 is C:\program files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9. This path will be correct unless you specified another location when you installed Flight Simulator 2004. 10. When you are satisfied that the path shown is correct, click 'Next'. If the folder you have selected is not the previously selected Flight Simulator program folder containing FS2004 then you will be given a warning to this effect and will have to use the browse button to locate the correct folder. The install program will not allow installation anywhere except the selected, valid Flight Simulator program folder. 6 7 11. The next screen will display the option to install the replacement scenery for Scampton airbase. This is set selected initially. If you do not wish to install the Scampton airport scenery then click on the box to remove the tick mark. The Scampton scenery can be added or removed at any time by following the ‘Modifying the Lancaster installation’ instructions below. Once you are happy with your selection click Next to start the installation operation. If you continue to have problems after trying the above solutions please contact the support department at www.justflight.com 12. Once the Installation is complete you will see a confirmation window. Click the 'Finish' button to exit the install program and return to Windows. The install is complete. How do I install and unlock the software once I have paid for it? DVD-ROM INSTALLATION FAQs Q. After inserting the disc I get told to insert the correct disc, but I’ve already inserted it, or an error appears warning that CD/DVD emulation software has been detected A. This problem occurs because the Safedisc protection software on the disc is failing to validate. The most common reasons for this are: You have anti-virus software or a firewall active on your PC that is interfering with the installation. Please disable all programs running in the background of Windows and try installing again. Important – If you have a nVidia nForce 2 motherboard please ensure that you visit www.nvidia.com and install the latest driver as older versions are known to have compatibility problems with Safedisc The disc may have been damaged and become unreadable. Please check for any damage to the disc and give the readable surface a clean. The drive that you are using to load the software may be incompatible with Safedisc. Please visit the manufacturer’s website to download any updated drivers/firmware that may be available or alternatively try installing using an alternative drive (if you’ve got one). If you have any Virtual Drive or Emulation software on your PC then this can prevent the Safedisc protection software from validating. In order to install the software you must disable the emulator from trying to circumvent Safedisc. Typical emulation software includes Daemon Tools, Clone CD and Alcohol 120. If Alcohol 120% is on the machine: Start Alcohol and go to the Emulation Options. Select 'Emulation' from the options tree. Uncheck the 'Ignore Media Types' box to turn off the media type emulation. PAYABLE DOWNLOAD VERSION – INSTALLATION FAQs Full instructions will appear on screen once you have bought a download add-on. These will also be sent to you in an email for future reference. How will I know the product has unlocked correctly? A message will appear on screen telling you that the unlocking process has been completed (and how to contact us in the unlikely event that you experience any problems). Please read all instructions and e-mails carefully. What happens if I change my PC or need to reinstall the software? If you change your computer system or your licence files are ‘broken’ (perhaps due to a reinstallation of Windows or a hard drive malfunction) you will need to unlock the software again. Once you have unlocked the product you can install it as often as you like on the same computer system. Please note: You can only unlock a product three times. If you need to exceed this number of unlocks an administrative fee may be required. In this case please contact our download shop support line at [email protected] Website updates? Please check our website at www.justflight.com for any news or updates on this and other products. Technical Support? To obtain technical support please visit the support forum at www.justflight.com. If you haven’t used the forum before you’ll need to join. This is very quick and is a once-only process. As a member of the support forum you can obtain technical support for any Just Flight, Just Trains or Just Play product. If you don’t have Internet access, please write to us at Just Flight Technical Support, 2 Stonehill, Stukeley Meadows, Huntingdon, PE29 6ED, UK. Select ‘Extra Emulation’ from the options tree. Uncheck the ‘BAD Sectors Emulation’ to turn off this type of emulation, exit Alcohol 120% and restart the game. If CloneCD is on the machine: Look on your task bar at the bottom right of your screen (next to the clock). Locate the CloneCD tray icon, which can be a picture of two CD-ROMs or of a sheep's head. Right Click on the icon and make sure ‘Hide CD-R media’ is un-ticked. Restart the game application. If Daemon Tools is on the machine: Right Click on the Damon Tools icon in the Task Bar. Select the Emulation tab. Deselect Safedisc. 8 MODIFYING THE LANCASTER INSTALLATION To modify the product to change the installed options • Go to the Windows Start menu. • Select ‘Settings’ and then ‘Control Panel’. • In the Control panel window double-click on ‘Add/Remove Programs’. • Select and click on the appropriate entry from the list. This will be Just Flight Lancaster v1.00 • A window will appear with the options to ‘modify’, ‘Repair’ or ‘Remove’ the product. Select the ‘Modify’ option and click Next 9 • A selection window similar to the one that appeared during installation will now be displayed. Currently installed options will be shown with a tick in the box next to their name. Options not currently installed will show un-ticked. To install an option click on it to add a tick mark. To uninstall an option click on it to remove the tick. Once your changes are selected click Next to perform the operation.. • Click ‘Finish’ to end this operation. • IMPORTANT! Bear in mind the lower you have these settings, the lower the level of detail and features you will see. Below certain settings, some features will not display. • The same applies to the ‘Aircraft’ tab in the same menu. Turning off the ‘Aircraft Cast Shadows’ and ‘Reflections’ in the aircraft tab will also assist. • If you experience fuzzy or out of focus external textures on the aircraft, slide the ‘Global Max Texture Size’ slider on the ‘Hardware’ tab to ‘Massive’ • You may wish to try turning ‘Mip-Mapping’ on or off as you prefer via the Settings – Display – Hardware menu. • Click OK when finished. UNINSTALLING LANCASTER To uninstall the product from your system: • Go to the Windows Start menu. • Select ‘Settings’ and then ‘Control Panel’. • In the Control panel window double-click on ‘Add/Remove Programs’. • Select and click on the appropriate entry from the list. This will be Just Flight Lancaster v1.00 • A window will appear with the options to ‘modify’, ‘Repair’ or ‘Remove’ the product. Select the ‘Remove’ option and click Next • A dialogue box will appear offering to remove the program. Clicking 'OK' will remove the product from your system. • Click ‘Finish’ to end this operation. Uninstalling or deleting the product in any other way may cause problems when using this program in the future or with your Windows set-up. GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR SYSTEM To ensure that your PC is running properly and you see the best performance from Lancaster we suggest the following: • Before running Flight Simulator, terminate as many programs that are running in Windows as possible. • Please ensure that your 3D video accelerator card is set up correctly and operating in the host simulation program correctly. • Ensure that you have the latest set of video card drivers installed on your PC. Even though your PC may be quite new, the video card drivers may well be out of date, as they are updated every few months. Contact your video card supplier or download the latest drivers from the video card supplier’s website. • Ensure that you have the latest version of Microsoft's Direct X drivers installed on your PC. For more information and to download and install the latest versions of DirectX please view the Microsoft web page: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp IMPORTANT! Please note the various Windows operating systems can use different version of Direct X so please ensure that you install the correct version for your operating system. Decreasing the demands on your Video card and PC’s processor can help with performance. This can be achieved by moving the scenery tab ‘Global Scenery Quality’ to ‘Low’. This slider is accessed through the Options/Settings/Display tab. Turning off ‘Ground Scenery Shadows’ and ‘Dynamic Scenery’ on this same page will increase the display performance. OTHER ITEMS ON DISC The product disc contains a large amount of additional free, demonstration and purchasable software. These can be accessed from the main disc startup window by clicking on the options you will see at the bottom of the window. ‘Free and Demo software, Information, videos and previews’ will take you to a screen where you can easily browse through all the additional content available. In addition to free software such as aircraft, scenery and screensavers there is a large collection of videos and screenshots that can be easily viewed. There are also demo versions of some of the popular Just Flight products for you to try before buying. ‘Additional products on this DVD’ will take you to a screen where you can browse through the other products that are available on the disc. These products can be purchased and installed straight off the disc provided you are connected to the internet in order to purchase and obtain the necessary unlock codes. ACCESSING THE AIRCRAFT To access the aircraft in Flight Simulator go to the ‘create a flight’ screen and click on the ‘change’ option under the Selected aircraft box. For Aircraft manufacturer select JF_dehavilland for the Mosquito or JF_Avro for the Lancasters. Only one Mosquito model is included in the product. So you can just click OK to select it. You can select from seven different Lancaster versions using the Aircraft Model list. For each Lancaster model there will be one or more different liveries available in the Variation list. For all except the Prototype model there are four different options for each livery. These options are denoted by the A, B, C or D at the end of the name. The differences between the various options are described below. Some of the models come with 3D cockpits that cover other parts of the aircraft in addition to the pilot’s position. In order to view these other areas you will need to use the Flight Simulator viewpoint movement keys to move about the aircraft. The Flight Simulator movement keys are the Enter (Return) and Backspace keys used in combination with the CTRL and SHIFT keys. You can rotate the view position using the joystick Hat switch 10 11 • SHIFT+Backspace – move down • SHIFT+Enter – move up • CTRL+Backspace – move forward • CTRL+Enter – move backward • CTRL+SHIFT+Backspace – move left • CTRL+SHIFT+Enter – move right Mk.I B Standard Lancaster for Bomber Command (with the Mk.III B). Many completed scores of dangerous missions, with notable examples such as S-for-Sugar recording 100 or more. Approximately 3,434 Mk.l Lancaster were built. ‘A’ Option This has the radio and navigator positions only in the virtual cockpit. Along with a limited pilot’s station. Normal flying can be done using the 2D cockpit. Mk.III B Virtually identical to the Mk.I B, except for licence-built Packard Merlin engines. Also, some were fitted with the H2S Navigational and Bombing Radar sets, characterised by a ventral pod which housed the aerials. ‘B’ Option This has a full Pilot’s station and the navigator’s station. ‘C’ Option This has a full pilot’s station, the bomb aimer’s position and the front turret position. When in the bomb aimer station you can arm and drop the bombs (if fitted). When in the front turret station you can rotate the turret by clicking on the ‘motorcycle grip’ controls at either side of the turret and you can raise and lower the guns by clicking on the breechblocks. Mk.ll ‘D’ Option To conserve precious supplies of Rolls Royce Merlin engines for the fighters, some Lancasters were fitted with Bristol Hercules radial engines. Identical to the Mk.I B in all other respects, the number of airframes was limited and most were issued to Canadian squadrons. A concerted push by Rolls Royce to manufacture more Merlins resulted in a return to the standard powerplant fairly quickly. This has a full pilot’s station only. THE LANCASTERS Included in Lancaster are eight different Lancaster variants in fifteen liveries. Here are some of them. The second Prototype The second prototype first flew in May 1941 and different from production variants in having a small lower ventral turret and standard day camouflage. AeroNavale MkVIl Over 50 second-hand Lancaster BIs (equipped with Rolls-Royce XX engines of 1,280 hp) were acquired by the French Naval Aviation arm. They were registered as WU-01 to WU-54 ('WU' for Western Union). The first airframe was delivered in December 1951. French Lancasters were used by 24F, 25F, 9S, 10S and 55S (and various squadrons which inherited those units). These aircraft operated successfully until 1961. Several have formed the basis for restored examples, returned to original bomber specifications and are now in the care of museums around the world. One is being restored to AeroNavale specification - more details at http://p51d20na.club.fr/wu21/lancasteracl_f.html 12 13 Opening the bomb bay doors Grand Slam Lancaster Several Lancasters were converted to carry a 22,000 bomb designed by Barnes Wallis and called Grand Slam. These deep penetration bombs were used to destroy large structures, bridges and underground installations. The aircraft was characterised by the removal of the front and mid-upper turrets. No bomb doors were fitted and the Grand Slam Lancasters wore standard day camouflage. • A models – Use the Flight Simulator ‘Tailhook’ key • B,C,D models – In the pilot`s VC station pull the lever on the left side of the seat • Mosquito – In the pilot’s VC station pull the red lever in the group of three levers to the right of the control column 617 Squadron ‘Upkeep’ Lancaster Perhaps the most famous of all Lancasters were those operated by 617 Squadron on the Dam Busters raid. Specially converted to carry Barnes Wallis’ ingenious bouncing (and spinning) bomb, these aircraft entered the pages of history by successfully completing the daring Operation Chastise on the dams of the Ruhr Valley. Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, the squadron went on to complete many more famous ops. ACCESSING THE SCENERY If you have selected to install the replacement scenery for RAF Scampton in its wartime appearance this can be accessed from the Create a Flight or Go to Airport menus in Flight Simulator. Select the ‘Search addon scenery’ option on the Select Airport screen and then select Scampton from the list. MOSQUITO MANUAL For owners of the DVD-ROM version of this package a manual is supplied in PDF format for the bonus Mosquito included in this product. To access the manual click the Windows Start button and then Programs (or All Programs), Just Flight, Lancaster and finally ‘Mosquito manual’. If you own the Download version of Lancaster the Mosquito manual is included at the end of this manual. 14 Dropping the bombs Only the C models with the bomb aimer’s station can drop bombs. Note that the Aeronavale and BBMF aircraft do not carry any bombs in the bomb bay. Firstly, for all aircraft except the Upkeep and Grand Slam versions, you should open the bomb doors from the pilot’s station as described previously. The bomb doors are opened using fee control lever to the left of the pilot’s seat. There is no key stroke in the "C" model so ensure you have done this before entering the bombroom. In the bombroom, position your view using the simulator view control keysets, so that you are directly over the reticle glass of the bombsight. OPERATING THE AIRCRAFT FEATURES To your right are the bomb arming switches. The aircraft direction can be controlled in a limited fashion by using the turn control knob immediately to the left of the bombsight. There are many extra features and controls included in the Lancaster. Some of these may need to be accessed in different ways depending on which option (A-D) you have selected. Centre the target on the vertical fine in the reticle, arm the bombs by turning on the switches and when the target reaches the base of the vertical line, press the bomb trigger button on your right. Note that some Flight Simulator keys (for example the Tailhook and Wingfold keys) are not assigned by default. To use these keys you will need to go to the Flight Simulator settings screen and then Controls->Assignments and assign these functions to spare keys. For best visual results, select the bomb aiming position in a small sub-window and the exterior spot-plane view in the main window. 15 Other special keys SHIFT+E This will operate the pilot`s armour plate, the engineer`s seat, the side windows and the Clearview units. On the MkIII models this will also operate the swing-out radar arrays. SHIFT+E+1 On models with an upper turret this will rotate the turret and elevate the guns Navigation station "A" and "B" fitouts DF LOOP OPERATION Switching the height-measuring searchlights The ‘Upkeep’ models with the ‘bouncing bomb’ come equipped with the special twin searchlights under the fuselage angled so that the beams cross at 60 feet. This was used to let the crew easily tell when they were at the correct height over the water for the bomb drop to get the correct ‘bounce’. Bring up the DF Loop and Radio Panels. Select a frequency for the ADF receiver and check the direction of the signal. Turn the DF Loop aerial control wheel until the gauge needles cross, thus tuning in the signal. The DF Loop and control wheel can be seen turning in the virtual cockpit For efficient use of ADF equipment, read the tutorial guide in the FS2004 manual. To switch the searchlights on and off: • A models. Move to the Navigator’s station. The switch for the searchlights is the rightmost of the three switches below the ASI and Altitude gauge repeaters. • B,C and D models. The switch for the searchlights is the rightmost of the three switches on the panel to the left of the pilot’s seat. Front turret "C" fitout Once positioned satisfactorily in the turret, using the view keystroke set of the simulator, you can rotate the turret right and left by using the respective motorcycle-style grips. The gun-arming switches can be operated and the guns elevated by click-ing on the breech-blocks. This station is an interesting one to use, in conjunction with the VC or 2D panel for flying from a different perspective. A challenge is to land the Lancaster from this position! A co-pilot's 2D panel is also included. FROM THE OUTSIDE The Lancaster is boarded through the crew door on the starboard side of the rear fuselage. In the simulation this is only a visual model but when the door is opened, using the keystroke for ‘spoiler’, the flare chute can be seen on the far side of the inner fuselage. The Lancaster is a very big aircraft and has a powerful, daunting presence on the tarmac. Up close one is struck by the sheer height of the cockpit from the ground. Take time to 'walk' around the exterior of the aeroplane and discover some of the features. Notably these are: 16 1. Clear bomb-aiming observation dome 2. Power-operated front turret fitted with twin 303 Brownings. 3. Bomb doors extend the length of the centre fuselage. 4. Four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines with a total power of up to 5,840HP 5. Trailing Aerial 17 LANCASTER COCKPIT (LEFT) 6. ADF and IFF aerial arrays 7. H2S Navigation and Bombing Radar (MkIIB) 24. Main Compass 8. Power-operated mid-upper turret with twin 303 Brownings 26. Comms panels 9. Automatic elevator compensator tabs 25. Auto-pilot control 27. Nav lights switches 28. Bomb Doors control 10. Power-operated rear turret with four 303 Brownings 29. De-icing unit 30. Park brake lever Bomb loading ‘5’ is depicted and comprises 6 x 1,000lb bombs, 2 x 250lb bombs and 1 x 4,000lb bomb. 31. Rudder Pedals 32. Recognition light switches 33. Avionics switches INSIDE THE LANCASTER 34. Pilot's sliding window Once in the cockpit, one is faced with a large array of complex controls and instruments. Take the time to familiarise yourself with these instruments and controls. As in every standard RAF aircraft of the day, the Lancaster is fitted with the 'flying' panel of six major flight instruments, immediately in front of the pilot. The rest of the panel is populated with the engine gauges, flaps, brakes, gear and other ancillary instruments. LANCASTER COCKPIT (RIGHT) 35. "Clearview" screen 36. Bomb Jettison switches 37. Oxygen controls LANCASTER COCKPIT (CENTRE) 38. Brake Pressure gauge 10. DF Indicator 11. DR Repeater Compass 39. Prop-feathering switches (functional in 2D panel) 12. Landing light switches 40. Standby Vacuum control 13. Mag Switches 41. Suction gauge 14. Fuel cut-out switches 42. IFF detonators 15. Boost coil/starters 43. Radiator shutter switches 16. Boost Gauges 44. Compass correction card 17. RPM 45. Master Battery switch 18. Port engine fuel cocks 46. Flap position indicator control switch 19. Engine throttles 1. Airspeed 20. Propeller Pitch controls 2. Altitude 21. Starboard engine fuel cocks 3. Artificial Horizon (AHI) 22. Flaps position indicator 4. Gyro Direction Indicator 23. Supercharger control N.B. The majority of these controls and switches are operated via the mouse in the virtual cockpit mode. 5. Vertical Climb Indicator (VSI) 6. Slip and Turn Gauge 7. Watch 8. Landing Gear indicator 9. Beam Approach 18 19 LANCASTER FRONT TURRET LANCASTER ENGINEER'S PANELS 1. Left-grip (click to turn turret to the left) 1. 2. Right grip (click to turn turret to the left) 2. Panel light 3. Elevating guns (click breech-blocks to elevate) 3. Oil pressure gauges 4. Gun charging switches (clickable only) 5. Gunsight In the "C" fitout model, enter the turret using the view keys of the simulator. Once in an appropriate position, use the grips to turn the turret. Oil dilution switches (non-operational) 4. Pitot heat switch 5. Oil temperature gauges 6. Ammeter 7. Oil pressure warning lights 8. Fuel pump switches 9. Radiator Temperature gauges 10. Fuel selector cocks 11. Fuel contents gauges 12. Fuel contents gauges control switch LANCASTER BOMB ROOM 1. Bombsight 13. Test socket (non-functional 2. Bomb release trigger 14. Emergency gear extension control 3. Bomb arming switches 15. Engine Limitations plate 4. Lateral aircraft control for minor steering adjustments 16. Fuel pressure gauges 17. Fuel pump switches 5. Bomb computer (non-functional) 18. Drift computer (non-functional) 6. Bomb-aimers’ cushion N.B. The majority of these controls and switches are operated via the mouse in the virtual cockpit mode. LANCASTER NAVIGATION STATION 7. Air dryer 8. F24 Camera 9. Bomb aimer's parachute 10. Glycol tank and step 11. Intercom (non-functional) N.B. The majority of these controls and switches are operated via the mouse in the virtual cockpit mode. 1. Airspeed and Altitude repeaters 2. Panel light 3. Repeater Battery Master switch 4. Landing Light/Spotlight Switches 5. Avionics switches 6. Recognition, Navlights and Beacon switches 7. Course computer (working compass section) 8. H2S display (visual only) 9. Astrograph (non-functional) 10. ADF Loop control (turns with gauge) 11. Navigator's seat (swings out with Shift/E stroke) 20 21 LANCASTER RADIO STATION Taxying is carried out with differential braking and/or judicious use of rudder 1. T1154 (non-functioning) 1. Auto controls off 2. R1155 (Use radio panel to operate) 2. Avionics on 3. Repeater DF Indicator 3. Trim for elevator slightly forward, rudder and ailerons neutral. See illustration for detail 4. Trailing aerial control A. Undercarriage 5. Fishpond warning array (visual only) B. 6. Morse Key C. Elevator Trim 7. Astrodome D. Aileron Trim 8. Fuse panel E. Flaps lever 9. Amplifier Rudder Trim 10. Main services panel (Generator switch gear, amp and volt meters) FLYING THE LANCASTER The major differences between the versions is mostly limited to engine type. Therefore, we have assumed a general understanding of the type and produce here the basic procedures for correct and safe operation of the type. 4. Supercharger off The correct engine start sequence is: 6. Park-brake on (on control yoke) No. 1 Inner right: No.2 Outer right: No.3: Inner left: No.4 Outer left Check all systems for correct operation, controls for function, navigation in order and lights on if required. You are now ready to take-off. 5. Flaps to 20 PRE-START-UP 1. Crew door closed and latched (spoiler key- check visually) TAKE-OFF 2. Master Battery switch on Open throttles to zero boost to check correct operation. Ease back and release the brakes. Throttle up to full and keep straight using rudder control or advance/retard the corresponding throttles. Raise the tail as soon as possible. 3. Fuel pumps .switches on 4. Fuel contents switch on (Engineer’s panel) Ease back on the stick at speeds above 95mph and do not raise flaps below 500 feet. Raise the gear. 5. No.2 Tanks selected (Engineer's panel) 6. All engine master fuel cocks off (down) For No.1 engine CLIMB Recommended climb speed is 160mph, Raise the flaps above 500 feet and trim the aircraft out for neutral handling. Apply a little nose down trim as the gear comes up. 7. Throttle 1/2 inch open S. Propeller control full up GENERAL FLYING 9. Fuel cutoff switch up Flying controls can become heavy in turns and at speeds in excess of 260 mph. Otherwise the aeroplane is quite stable and stall characteristics are benign The Lancaster will stall at 110mph with flaps and U/C up and 92 mph with them down. 10. Fuel cock up/open (up) 11. Press boost/start button once for boost coil and again to energise the starter Keep pressing until engine starts. 12. Wait for engine idle to settle and return throttle to idle position The aircraft will become increasingly nose-heavy in a dive and will require effort to recover. Use the elevator trim to ease the pressure through the pull out of the dive and NOT before. 13. Open radiator shutters 22 23 APPROACH AND LAND Reduce speed to below 200 mph indicated and lower the flaps to 20 degrees during the landing circuit. Lower the undercarriage and ensure propellers are to full up. On final approach lower the flaps to full down and attempt the approach at 110mph. Just before touchdown, close the throttles. Keep the aeroplane straight with rudder control. Apply brakes carefully, allowing the tail wheel to settle. Full brakes are needed on short strips. Raise the flaps and taxy using differential braking. Outer engines may be cut for taxying. Once stopped, open the bomb-doors (for bombing up) before shut-down. Shut down using the idle cut-off switches (to down) and then close the fuel cocks. Emergency shut-down can be achieved in case of lire, using the large red cut-off lever to the left of the master cocks console. Switch off all switches and open the crew door (spoiler key). Breathe out... RAF RADIO EQUIPMENT Like most RAF bombers of the period the Lancaster was equipped with the R1155 (receiver) and T1154 (transmitter) combination. One of the unique features of Lancaster is the ability to take up a position in the Wireless Operator’s station. Take a moment to imagine what it must have been like in a real aircraft. Phenomenal noise surrounds you, as your cold, gloved hands grip the carefully designed ‘chunky’ controls of the radio and you strain to hear the messages coming through your headphones. When war was threatened the RAF found itself in need of general-purpose communications/direction-finder equipment with a wide range of spot frequencies and improved performance over the existing T1083/R1082. They selected Marconi as a supplier for the newlydesignated T1154/R1155. Among the designers on the project was Sir Christopher Cockerell – later to win fame for the hovercraft. By January 1940 models of both the transmitter and receiver had been flown and approved. They soon went into volume production. Because of the large size of the orders placed for the new sets, four other companies were also contracted in to assist Marconi with production. These were E. K. Cole, Plessey, Mullard and E.M.I. As the parent company, Marconi was responsible for overall co-ordination of the manufacture by all five companies. In excess of 80,000 T1154/R1155s were manufactured during the war, the majority of them being used by RAF and the other Commonwealth air forces. Some variants were also produced for the Royal Navy. Marconi also engineered the radio installation for the Wellingtons, Whitleys, Blenheims and Hampden aircraft of Bomber Command, and re-equipped the squadrons in the field. It also ran a training school where hundreds of RAF personnel were trained. One such course was attended by a trainee Wireless Operator early in 1941. He took careful notes on the (then new) R1155/T1154 in a spare logbook and they are reproduced below as an example of the huge amount of technical knowledge that a Wireless Operator was required to possess. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Outline operation of the R1155 Receiver Outline operation of the T1154 Transmitter 34 35 THE WIRELESS OPERATOR A Wireless Operator’s work in a heavy bomber was far from easy. Watching a few films might suggest that they spent their trips listening to Glenn Miller on the intercom. However, nothing could be further from the truth. To give you an idea of a raid from a Wireless Operator’s perspective we’ve reproduced ‘Piece of Cake’ from the RAF Waddington website – www.raf.mod.uk/rafwaddington. This is Wireless Operator W. 'Bill' Wareham's story of flying in Lancasters at RAF Waddington with 467 Squadron. How would the average day begin? Well, you'd get up in the morning and go and have breakfast and wander down, it was a pretty, I wouldn't say undisciplined, but you were left to yourself. You didn't have a lot of 'bull'. You just wandered down to the flights and went off to your various sections and hung about there. The Signals Officer was sitting behind the desk and the rest of you were just sitting there. We had cartons of raisins everywhere, from which we helped ourselves. We waited for the news of what was going to happen that day. The phone would ring at around about ten and, of course, he would pick it up. You were all sort of… well, you can imagine, you were thinking: 'Oh, Christ, what's the score?' He'd say: 'Working.' Right. So, of course, my friend and I would get back into the hangar, get out of the door, then we'd cycle down to the Spring café. We did this every morning, whether we were working or not. We'd get the Daily Express, sit down with a cup of tea and do the crossword. Then we'd get back, go out to our aircraft. One of the wireless operator's jobs was to change, every day, the accumulators for your intercom. They were glass and you had two of them. You disconnected them, having brought two fresh ones with you on your way out to the aircraft. Then, what I used to do was check my trig stop, to make sure we were all set up properly. You had different frequencies and you wouldn't know what you would be using that night. Check that the equipment is working. Sometimes the pilot would think you would need to do an air test. You might have had something done to one of the engines, some little thing done and you wanted to check that it was all right. You couldn't just take it on yourself to do that, you'd have to get permission. You'd go on an air test and see that everything as OK. What feelings would you have when the signals officer said: "You're working tonight!"? RAF Medium Frequency and High Frequency D/F stations in 1942 36 The problem was that there was this intense fear. This was the truth. Obviously we didn't show it. We all had different ways of hiding it. Some blokes would crack jokes. Others would tend to be very quiet. We all had to find our own way of trying to remove as much of that fear as we could. I'll give you an example. I found, walking down to the flights one particular night, on a particular raid, meant going past the station cinema. It was about seven o'clock in the evening and there were all these blokes and erks and whatever, queuing up to go the pictures. Now that was a completely normal peacetime sort of happening, wasn't it? This made no sense. There we were, going down to pick up our gear. So from then on, I used to take a walk out of my way to avoid seeing them, because it only made me think. The other I noticed was that was that most chaps smoked. I didn't, even though cigarettes were free, of course, for operational aircrew. There was invariably a bomb trolley at our dispersal and it was useful to sit on it. We would be sitting on this thing, some of us smoking. The Medical Officer would come round, asking: "Anybody for wakey-wakeys?" These were pills to keep us awake. I had them once, but all they did was keep me awake when I got back after a raid and just wanted to sleep! But there would be seven of us sitting on this trolley and there would be very little conversation. We'd maybe sit there for half an hour, waiting for the signal to climb in your aircraft and start up. 37 Briefing Did you ever do anything that might be called 'superstitious'? At about 3.00 in the afternoon, the navigators and the pilots would go for a briefing. At bit later on, it would be the bomb aimers' turn. We wireless operators would go to our section, where our signals officer would give us the frequencies that we were using that particular night. These would be on rice paper. Then it was back to the mess for a bit of tea. Then all aircrew would go down the main briefing room, where the whole squadron would be briefed. It would start off with the Group Captain. As you walked into this briefing room, there was an enormous map on the rear wall. You didn't know where you were going until you got to this point. They'd pull back this curtain. You did know if you were going on a long trip, however, by the amount of petrol they put in the aircraft. Maximum petrol load meant you were going a fair way. So you had a rough idea if it was going to be a long journey. If it was 1500 gallons, you'd think 'the Ruhr', and you were usually right. But when you got to the briefing room, it still came as a shock whenever you looked up and saw Nuremburg, or Berlin. We all did. The Pilot had a koala bear hanging up in the cockpit – he wouldn't take off without it! I used to take a photograph of my wife, which we weren't supposed to do! The Old Man would just give a bit of a 'pep' talk and then the Group Wing commander would say how many 'waves' there would be and you would be told what wave you were in. He'd then give you the headings, the ETAs and heights for bombing and so on. Then the weather bloke would come on and give you – well, it was usually pretty false or the opposite of what he said! If he said it would be clear over the target, you'd reckon it was going to be cloudy! Then the Squadron Leader would discuss the tactics for the night. For example, if we were going to Berlin, we wouldn't take off and go straight to Berlin. We'd change course at various points to try and fool the Germans as to where we were going to finish up. They wouldn't know what town we were going to bomb. We would try and avoid areas of intense flak. And search lights. There were certain areas that were pockets of this stuff. The Squadron leader would explain all this to us. He would ask us to stick to certain headings. The reason for this was common sense, to try and avoid collisions. If we were coming in from a similar heading, it created a stream, whereas if we came in from different directions, it caused collisions, which used to happen occasionally. We were also told what height to bomb at. And then the heading out of the target. And that was it – it was down to us to get back home. Bombing Up Now you had to be bombed up. In my case, I would help the gunners take their guns back to their section where they would clean these six Browning 303s. Then they would take them back out to the aircraft again. Then it would be lunchtime and so we would have a bit of lunch. What was it like when the signal came to get in and start up? When the rockets went up for us to get in and start up, I found I just had this feeling in my stomach – the whole thing just turning over. We got into the aircraft in the same order: the bomb aimer first, then the pilot, the flight engineer, the navigator, the mid-upper gunner, the rear gunner and me. I found that I used to 'tighten up' as I got in. I'd get into my position, climbing over the two spars, get to my desk and go through my bits and pieces. I'd check the frequencies for the night and so on. Then he'd start the engines up. The noise was unbelievable, with those four engines! We would taxi round to the end of the runway, with all these aircraft getting ready for take off. In our case, it was thirty-six of them, two squadrons. 38 Take Off There would be this great crowd of people standing by the truck, the chequered wagon at the end of the runway, waving us on. There might be as many as fifty people from the station. We would turn on to the runway and wait for the bloke in the wagon to give us the 'green'. Every minute or two, there was somebody taking off. I used to stand up in the astrodome as we took off and I used to look at the tail plane of the Lanc and think: "that's going to bloody fall off one day!" The bloke I used to fly with (PO V.A. Baggott) used to hold it down on the ground until the last possible minute to gain as much speed as he possibly could, so that the aircraft virtually took itself off! I used to think: "come on, get this bloody thing off the ground!" The navigator used to call out the speed – "70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95…" I thought: "crikey, we must be coming up to those big sheds at the end of the runway!" Then we could feel it come off the ground and we'd think that at least we were airborne! The Outward Journey I would now get back down into my seat, switch my gear on and check that everything was working all right. This in itself was a sense of satisfaction. Everybody would call up each other and make sure we were all in touch. Of course, I only had to look round the corner to see the navigator. We'd then go off, come back and then set course. We would have gained about 8,000 feet. We would be climbing all the time, at about 155 airspeed. We used to try and get up to about 20,000 feet, which we usually managed. Thus we were away from the light flak. By the time we got to the Dutch coast, if we were going that way, we would be at our desired height, because we had a good aircraft. First Encounters Once we got across the enemy coast, we would start to see aircraft going down…the attacks on us had begun. The Germans at that time, 1944, had overrun virtually the whole of Europe and so were everywhere. So they had fighters stationed just inside the French and Dutch coasts. There were night-fighters and flak batteries ready to meet us. So, as soon as we crossed the enemy coast as it was, it 'started'! The night-fighters were always a menace. They were there all the time we were over enemy territory and back here, because they would sometimes follow us back! So these fighters were an ever-present danger, for which we had to keep alert all the time. It was this that kept us alive. We had to be on our guard from take off to landing. The adrenalin just flowed! What was flak? Anti-aircraft fire. You'd come back and find that you had tiny little holes in the aircraft. Tiny pieces of shrapnel would pierce the aircraft's skin that you wouldn't necessarily be aware of. Night fighters shot down most people. You had to be unlucky to get a direct hit by flak. It would look worse than it really was. You would avoid getting caught in the searchlight beams if you could. Once you got in a searchlight beam, it was a job to get out. One would get you and two others would come on to you quickly, because they were radar-controlled. You would dive, but it was difficult, because they had got to make only a small correction to pick you up again. We usually managed to get out if we got caught. You usually knew where these areas were. The whole sky was dark and then, suddenly, the night was illuminated with these searchlights. Hundreds of them. But we were aware of that. 39 The navigator would say that we were coming up to the searchlight area and the pilot used to try and avoid it, because 'intelligence' knew where they were, of course. But you couldn't always avoid them. Plus the fact that, obviously, the Germans would move them from time to time, as we did. So if you were caught, you dived, twisted and turned and hoped you could get out of it. And sometimes, you could hear the flak, like fireworks from a distance. The aircraft would shudder a bit, from the dispersal of the air, I suppose. But it was the night fighters who were the biggest threat. If you were over the target, night fighters very rarely shot you down, because it was too dodgy for these planes to encroach on that area. Because there was an awful lot of flak about and they would have been risking their lives unnecessarily. So over the target, it was flak and searchlights and a general sort of tension. Survival strategies Corkscrewing – the idea is that if you have an aircraft coming at you from behind, the theory is that you turn into it, so you are increasing the closing speed and then bring it back the other way. How did that feel, to be in a corkscrew? Murder! But I don't think it mattered, because you are trying to save your life. It comes back to that, it's self-preservation, so that sort of thing doesn't bother you too much in those circumstances. But that was one of the things, well, the only thing you had, really. Some chaps used to throttle back, quickly, so the aircraft would almost shudder to a stalling speed. That was, in a sort of way, was a good manoeuvre, because a fighter coming at you, going at maximum speed, and suddenly something stops, he overshoots, you see. That did work. But most blokes used to go into a corkscrew. Of course, all the way to the target, once you got over enemy territory, you weaved. You would turn one way and then the next, which would give the mid-upper gunner a chance to look down. Some didn't, but we did. So instead of flying straight and level, you turned it slightly. The mid- upper gunner, looking down, could spot enemy fighters, because they used to come up at you. These were just basic manoeuvres; they were the only things you could do, because you were a sitting duck, really. Apart from anything else, with the size and the speed, whereas a night fighter, you were doing whatever, you were doing about a 150 knots with a full bomb load on. If you had a good navigator, you stayed in the stream, with safety in numbers, because their raiders would pick up the stragglers. If you got off course and you were out of the main bombing stream, it was quite easy for their equipment to pick you up and home a fighter in on you. If the navigation was good and you stayed in that main stream that made all the difference to your survival. Obviously it was common sense and we had a good navigator so we tended, most times, to stay on course and stay in the stream. But that didn't always mean that you didn't get attacked. But most of the time it meant that you could go on a raid and come back and apart from seeing other aircraft shot down, and obviously it was like Dante's Inferno over the target area, you'd come back and hadn't been attacked at all. There was flak, of course. Bombing You had to keep the aircraft straight and level, with bomb aimers now taking it over, who would wait for their horizontal lines to come to the position they wanted, to 'make the cross' before they pressed their lever/release. Once this was pressed, it set a camera of automatically, which would take five shots. This was two before the aiming point, the aiming point itself and two after. On that film would be shown your heading, so what you couldn't say, for instance, when you got back, that you'd followed instructions and went in on the heading that you were told to because it would be detailed on this strip of film. You did have a 'creepback', because what used to happen was that obviously you wanted to get rid of your bombs, because it was quite a frightening few minutes, where your bomb doors were open and the aircraft was very vulnerable. You were making these corrections and the aircraft was going at a minimum speed, with the open doors adding to the drag. Everyone is getting at the bomb aimer to get rid of the bombs. Some bomb aimers, and ours, would at times, instead of getting to the centre, drop their bombs on certain fires that had been created by people that had gone before you. So you did tend to get this 'creepback'. I think it was fear, as much as anything and wanting to get the job done. There was a tremendous amount of flak around some of these targets. You would see, silhouetted in this enormous fire the shapes of aircraft, of Lancasters. You could see them below you. You were anxious to get these bombs away. When you did, you would go up, as if someone was pulling you up with a string. The bomb doors would close; the bomb aimer would shine a torch down the bomb bay to see if there were any 'hang-ups'. You would do a turn out of the target on a heading out of the target. You could hear the pilot saying: 'Ron. What's the heading out of the target?' You can imagine it – the adrenaline's flowing, you want to get away! The aircraft's speed would be increased enormously, because of the loss of weight, and you've used a lot of petrol. So, you get up to two hundred knots, you see, even more so if you went slightly downhill. Everybody was of that mind – get in and get out! What sort of dangers lay in wait for you, from bombing to getting home? Obviously, the night fighters were waiting, but the thing was you were going much faster. You were more confident, because of this added speed. So the fighter had to be on his mettle because, though they were faster than you were, with the Junkers 88 being supercharged and capable of about two-fifty, you had more chance. So once you had got rid of the bombs and if you were alert, you were sort of charged up by the fact that you had survived by what you considered to be the major part of the job that is bombing the target. Now, you were on a sort of survival course. You wanted to get home, so all seven of you were absolutely focused. I used to watch the radar screen for fighters. I would never take my eyes of it. As soon as I saw a blip come up, I'd inform the gunners immediately and they would pick it up. Most times, we'd take evasive action. The night fighter, if he knew he had been spotted, he'd tend to go off for some easier prey. Could these night fighters steal up on you unawares? Yes, they could. This was the problem. Coming back to being alert. They'd come up behind you or up underneath you and fire upwards. If you were alert, you could probably pick him up before he got to that point, on your radar screen. This instrument covered the whole of the aircraft apart from the front. The fighters wouldn't attack from the front. It would be too dangerous for them. So they would come from behind, the quarters and the beams. The equipment we had covered that, you see. So if the wireless operator was alert, and I just did not take my eyes of it, you'd see it. It was a round Cathode ray tube with a centre line. The background of the tube was green. The centre line was calibrated. An aircraft would show up in the form of a blip on that centre line. If it were one of yours, which more often than not it was, it would be moving at the same speed as you were. So it would stay put. But if it were a fighter, with the intention of attacking you, it would be coming in, much faster. 40 41 So if the line was in the middle of the blip, the bloke was dead behind you. But if was to one side or the other, in the port quarter or the starboard quarter, which it invariably was, you'd see it coming down the screen, at a fair speed, and you could say: 'Aircraft approaching from starboard quarter!' The gunners would train their eyes in that particular area and they'd spot it, long before the fighter could attack you. So, that's what happened. They'd spot it. You would take evasive action. They wouldn't fire at it, because the tracers from your guns would give your position away. It was a question of evasion, if you were sensible. So, we just evaded and when we did have this problem, we got away with it. There were times when they did fire and you saw the tracer rockets they used, going over the top or underneath you. Most times, they did not bother to persevere, because there were so many other bombers about. Then we would be called to a table, all seven of us. There would be a couple of intelligence officers, who would do the debrief. They would want to know: how much fuel we'd used; what we'd encountered with night-fighters and flak; had we seen any aircraft go down – the navigator would answer this, giving the lat and long, and the time when these aircraft were shot down. They then asked about the target, whether the flares had gone down on time and so on. Most of what they wanted was just factual stuff. They'd ask us if we went in on the heading, for example. This would be shown on the photograph, so there was no point in lying. We would just detail what had happened to us, as a crew. They'd ask me if I had received all the Bomber Command messages, about wind speeds, for example. These I would pass on to the navigator. And that would be that. Then we would get rid of our gear, go back to the mess, have some eggs and bacon and then go to bed. We'd wake up the next day and go to lunch. We never operated two nights in succession – it wasn't possible, really. Because we had to work on our aircraft all day meant that we couldn't do it. We would often be on the day after, but invariably it would be a two or three day break. Was there ever an occasion when an enemy fighter did persevere? Yes, we did have one, I remember, from the whole tour, which did follow us all the way to the Dutch coast. He made a number of attacks. It must have meant that their radar was picking us up and he was being guided onto us. But our rear gunner had wonderful eyesight. He was very fortunate, as his night vision was fantastic. So, with the help of the radar equipment that I was operating, we were able to pick him up, before he tended to fire his guns. But then they would fire at a greater distance, so, of course, they had less chance of hitting you. This is what happened to us and we were turning the aircraft all over the sky. The pilot, a big, strong Australian chap was doing this, who said: 'If he follows us all the way back to bloody Waddington, he's not going to get us!' In the event, we lost him. He obviously went off over the Dutch coast. We'd had about half an hour of this bloke. We were all at our 'limit', bearing in mind we were tired, because we had been flying for about five or six hours. What were your chances of survival if hit by a night fighter? Not a lot! We might be lucky and get blown out of the aircraft. We had only then to pull our ripcord and we might be home and dry… Is there any raid that stands out in your mind? Well, the one that I remember was when I flew with another crew, when my skipper was injured. I wasn't very happy about this, because I was the only spare WOP on the station, but I had to do it. It was May 10th and we went to a place called Maille de Campe (?), where there was a large German Panzer division. This was just a few weeks before D-Day. This intelligence had been fed back by the French Resistance. So that was that. I was going on this raid, with a strange crew. It wasn't a very long trip, only about four hours there and back. We got to the target and – it wasn't marked! So we had all these bombers milling around. So we had to put our navigation lights on, to avoid collisions. We were milling around this target for about half an hour. It was probably less, but it seemed like forever. We went on to lose about forty aircraft on this raid… Soon I decided to put my parachute on, as I really didn't think we were going to make it this time. Eventually the master bomber came up and told us to bomb on the reds or the greens, whatever it was. Once these flares went down, everybody wanted to get in. all the navigation lights went out. We were in a good position when these flares went down, which meant that we could get on the bombing run quickly, get in and get out. The forty that we lost, we watched them go down, all hit by night fighters. What happened when you finished the raid? We didn't just get out of the plane and go to bed! It was actually very difficult to describe the feeling of touching down. It was a fantastic sense of elation. I'm speaking for myself now, but I'm sure other chaps felt the same. We'd taxi round our dispersal, the 'frying pan', switch off and get out. There would be a truck there to take us back for briefing. When we got back to the briefing room, everybody would be talking at once – mostly nonsense! We were 'high', really, like somebody taking drugs. We had this very attractive WAAF officer, who had been a film star. She would be there with this great urn of tea, laced with rum. This was the first thing presented to us! We looked around and there would be all these chaps coming in. We would all have this black ring over our noses. It was from our oxygen masks, where the rubber had melted a bit, with perspiration and heat! So there would be this babble, an excited babble. 42 The next day, I went to have a look at the aircraft I had flown in. It was marked all over by the flak. We could hear this stuff hitting us. Bearing in mind the noise in a Lancaster was so intense – the roar of these four Merlin engines – that other noises had to be really severe for you to notice them. A Tour Thirty was the recognised number of Ops on a tour. But sometimes we would do short trips, which would only be counted as half a trip, such as a jaunt into France. In any event, we did thirty-six raids, because amongst those we did some short trips, three-hour jobs, for example. Then we would have six months rest. We would go back for a second tour of twenty. But in my case, we didn't finish until September 1944 because the pilot was injured and September 7th 1944 was our last trip. The nigh of the 6th, actually. By the time our six month's rest was up the war was virtually over and there were plenty of aircrew anyway so I wasn't called back. 43 How did you know that you had finished your first tour? CREDITS Well, what happened was, in my case, we did a short trip, which was our thirty sixth trip. We got back in the usual way, had the debriefing, came out of that and it was light. It was September 7th. The Old Man, the Wing Commander, was there, stood near his car. There were several of us. He said: "You lads – you're finished!" That was it – finished... we were tour expired. I had no idea this was going to happen. AEROPLANE HEAVEN In my case, I went back to the Sergeants' Mess, to have my eggs and bacon and I saw this great big message in chalk to the effect that my wife had given birth to a baby daughter that morning! So I nipped straight back to the Flights and the Old Man was still there. "Ah, congratulations, Wareham!" He got his pad of passes out and gave me a forty eight hour pass to come straight home. My daughter's name was Susan. Postscript – 'A Piece Of Cake' The Bomb Aimer – His mother used to send him over these fruit cakes, in these taped-up tins. He was very generous and used to share these cakes with us. But there was one tin he never touched… we never mentioned this. It was there and that was that. So, when we finished our tour, we all went round to Johnny's and he duly got this tin down and said: "I expect you blokes have been wondering why I haven't shared this with anyone…I used to put my hand on this tin and say: 'Don't worry Johnny, it's a piece of cake!' " He was now able to finally share it round. WOP Bill Wareham was in conversation with Rob Marchment Models Aeroplane Heaven and Modular 9 Sound Modular 9 Flight files Jerry Beckwith 2D Panel and Gauges Ed Walters Modelled Gauges Ed Walters and Modular 9 Textures John Terrell and Aeroplane Heaven Scenery Cees Donker JUST FLIGHT Installer Martin Wright Manual Editing Dermot Stapleton, Martin Wright, Simon Martin Project Management Alex Ford, Martin Wright Sales Paul Hyslop, Redback Sales Production Management Andy Payne, Dermot Stapleton Design Fink Creative Manufacturing The Producers We would like to express our grateful thanks to Squadron Leader Jim Holland of the Royal Air Force for his help with the product licensing. We are indebted to the late Sqn/Ldr Bob Knights DFC, DSO for permission to use his personal photographs and also to the family of the late Flt/Lt Paddy Stapleton for his notes on the R1155/T1154. Material in the historical background to the Lancaster is Crown Copyright material from www.raf.mod.uk reproduced with permission. Bill Wareham’s interview is copyright of Rob Marchment Special thanks have to be extended to Barry at Aeroplane Heaven for selfless response to daft questions fired at him in the middle of the night. When you fly Lancaster from the safety of your PC we ask you to spare a thought for the crews of over 3,000 Lancasters that were lost on operations. For our tomorrow, they gave their today. 44 45 COPYRIGHTS NOTES ©2006 Aeroplane Heaven, Just Flight Limited. All rights reserved. Just Flight and the Just Flight logo are trademarks of Just Flight Limited, 2 Stonehill, Stukeley Meadows, Huntingdon, PE29 6ED, UK. All trademarks and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners and their use herein does not imply any association or endorsement by any third party. The RAF roundel, BBMF crest and RAF crest are a registered mark and trade marks respectively of the Secretary of State for Defence and are used under licence. Crown Copyright in MOD material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. SOFTWARE PIRACY This Lancaster DVD-ROM is copy protected by the SafeDisc system to prevent illegal copying of this product. We at Just Flight have invested significant time, effort and money to develop, manufacture and publish any of our flight simulation products. This includes rewarding the programmers and artists whose creativity contributes so much to the products we all enjoy. A pirate, otherwise known as a thief, simply pays a few pence for a gold disc, places it into a CDwriter, clicks a record button, and makes over £4.00 profit PER SALE for his troubles. This is actually more profit than the publishers and developers make from the sale of an original title. Piracy is not just the domain of the casual domestic user in his or her back room, but it is also a multi-million pound business conducted by criminals often with associations with the illegal drugs trade. Buying pirated copies of programs directly support these illegal operations. In addition to this there is the real risk that the pirate product will be of inferior quality and will often contain mechanisms that degrade the performance of the game. The people who really suffer from game piracy are the artists, programmers and other committed game development staff. Piracy & theft directly affects people, and their families. Loss of revenue to the games industry through piracy means many are losing their jobs due to cut-backs that have to be made to ensure developers and publishers survive. The logical outcome of this is that eventually there would be no more Flight Simulation programs commercially available. Some of the most highly regarded, hard-working and creative people in the UK and around the world are losing their jobs while the pirates line their own pockets with YOUR money. Where's the justice in that? It's not just copying software that is against the law, owning copied software also constitutes a criminal offence; so anyone buying from these people is also at risk of arrest and prosecution. To find out more about the implications of piracy please press the Piracy button on our website at www.justflight.com 46 47 LANCPDFENG01 www.aeroplaneheaven.com www.justflight.com 2 Stonehill, Stukeley Meadows, Huntingdon, Cambs PE29 6ED, United Kingdom AN INTRODUCTION to THE DH 98 MK.FBIV MOSQUITO Version: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 Published by: JUST FLIGHT Models: Aeroplane Heaven.com Please Note: Screenshots are for illustration purposes only. Models may vary slightly with simulator. LEADING PARTICULARS wingspan wing area length height 54 feet 2 inches 361 sq_feet 40 feet 10 inches 15 feet 3 inches empty weight max loaded weight maximum speed service ceiling range 16.51 meters 33.54 sq_meters 12.43 meters 4.65 meters 5,942 kilograms 13,100 pounds 10,150 kilograms 22.380 pounds 380 MPH / 330 KT 612 KPH 31,000 feet 9,450 meters 1,220 MI / 1,060 NMI1, 965 kilometers NOTE. This model is an additional aircraft for the Just Flight Lancaster simulation and represents the type used for Pathfinder work in conjunction with the heavy bomber fleets of WW2 . It also serves as a ‘sampler’ for the JUST FLIGHT MOSQUITO simulation pack which contains more variations and a complete detailed guide to the type. Basic controls are: Exterior Crew door Spoiler keyset, usually (/) Rear compartment door Spoiler keyset usually (/) Interior Virtual Cockpit The majority of controls and switches are mouse-operated. Crew Door via handle or spoiler keyset, usually (/) Bomb Doors via Bombdoor lever DFLoop via DFLoop panel (called from views menu) For correct operation of the DF equipment refer to the Lancaster Manual and also the ADF tutorial in the main simulator handbook. Parking Brake via lever on yoke. Radiator Shutters via control handles Clearview screen Shift/E Co-Pilot armourplate Shift/E2 Navigation table extend/ retract Shift/E2 Bombsight (in bombroom) Stow/unstow ShiftE2 Fuel cocks and Crossfeed controls are situated behind the pilot’s seat to the left Standby vacuum switch panel is forward and below the Fuel cocks panel Consult the illustrations for a guide to all controls locations. 1. AIRSPEED 2. ARTIFICIAL HORIZON 3. VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR 4. TURN AND SLIP INDICATOR 5. DIRECTION INDICATOR 6. ALTITUDE 13. 2. 1. 13. 3. 7 26. AIR PUBLICATION 2062c. - P.N. Avro 683 Lancaster - PILOT’S NOTES 4. 6. 5. 7. WATCH 8. TACHOMETERS 9. BOOST GAUGES 10. OIL TEMP. GAUGES 11. ENGINE TEMP. GAUGES 12. OIL PRESSURE 13.SUCTION 14. THROTTLES 15. PROPELLER CONTROLS 16. MAGNETOS 17. MASTER BATTERY SWITCH 18. GEAR INDICATOR 19. FLAP INDICATOR 20. BRAKE PRESSURE 21. PARK BRAKE 22. OXYGEN CONTENT 23 LANDING GEAR LEVER 24. BOMB DOOR LEVER 25. FLAPS LEVER 26. DF INDICATOR 27. AILERON TRIM CONTROL 28. BOMB JETTISON LEVER 8. 18. 9. 19. 25. 11. 12. 14. 22. 10. 15. 11. 16. 17. 24. 23. 20. 28. 27. 21. 7 29. 30. 31. 34. 34. 32. 33. 36. 25. 35. 39. 37. 38. 26. 27. 42. 36. . 45. 34. 28. 44. 43. 40. 46. 41. 29. WARNING LIGHTS 30. MASTER IGNITION SWITCH 31. BOOST COIL SWITCHES 32. ENGINE STARTERS 33. PROP FEATHER SWITCHES 34. FUEL PUMP SWITCHES 35. PITOT HEAT SWITCH 36. FUEL PRESSURE GAUGES 37. RADIATOR SHUTTERS 38. SIGNAL LIGHTS SWITCH 39. FUEL CONTENTS 40. ENGINE PRIMER 41. CREW DOOR HANDLE 42. EMERGENCY AXE 43. LADDER 44. NAV. TABLE 45. MARKER FLARES 51. 46. 52. 48. 47. 49. 50. 54. 53. 55. 57. 56. 46. DF LOOP 47. AUTOPILOT SWITCH 48. AVIONICS SWITCH 49. SPARE 50. ELEVATOR TRIM WHEEL 51. ELEVATOR TRIM INDICATOR 52. MIXTURE LEVERS 53. RUDDER TRIM CONTROL 54. ENGINE FUEL COCKS 55. TANK SELECTORS 56. FUEL CROSS-FEED 57. VACUUM CHANGEOVER MOSQUITO OPERATION PROCEDURES PRE-START-UP Crew door closed and latched Main Battery switch on Fuel selector to main tanks. Engine fuel cocks OFF Fuel transfer cock OFF Fuel pumps off Master ignition off Parking Brake lever on Bomb doors closed Avionics switches on Close radiator shutters Flaps up or at 15 degrees (33%) START-UP Per engine: Fuel pump on Fuel cock ON (in) for engine being started Master ignition ON Throttles cracked Mixture to full rich Propeller control to full RPM Press boost coil switch Press engine starter switch (hold until engine fires) N.B. Because of mouse limitations, you must ensure that you press the relevant engine starter IMMEDIATELY you have pressed the boost coil switch. MOSQUITO OPERATION PROCEDURES WARM-UP Once engine has started, release starter and allow to idle. Return throttles to idle position. Turn off fuel pumps Warm up engines at 1,200RPM Open radiator shutters PRE-TAKE-OFF After taxying, move forward a few feet to straighten the castoring tail wheel. Flaps up or at 15 Release park brake Throttle up to full gradually and keep the aircraft straight by syncronising the throttles. There should be little tendancy to drift if the throttles are balanced. As soon as is practical, raise flaps and gear. Safety speed is recommended at 155mph IAS Safe climbing speed is 150-160mph IAS Stall speeds are: Flaps and gear up 105mph IAS Flaps and Gear down 95-100mph IAS Power on under approach conditions 90-95mph Generally the aeroplane is quite stable in normal flight and can be trimmed to ‘hands-off’ state, providing the engines are balanced and correct trims are applied. MOSQUITO OPERATION PROCEDURES APPROACH AND LANDING Approach and landing is quite normal but remember that this aircraft flies and lands quicker than most contemporary fighters. Concentration is required to achieve a good standard of landing skill. Ensure propeller controls are at full RPM Mixture to full rich Reduce speed to around 120mph IAS and lower flaps and undercarriage. Be prepared to use trim and gentle power to stabilize the descent rate. Keep the airspeed above 110mph for the final approach. Cross the threshold at around 100mphIAS or just above stall speed. Cut the throttles before touchdown. Keep the aircraft straight on the landing roll with throttle syncronisation. Apply backpressure to yoke once the tailwheel has settled and apply firm braking. Taxy using differential braking. Raise flaps. Apply Park Brake once stopped. Before shutdown, run up engines to ensure correct operation and open bomb doors if bombing up is required. Close shutters. Use the fuel cut-off controls for each engine to shut down. Turn off all switches. Breathe out. DH 98 MOSQUITO MK. FBIV This aircraft is representative of the type that flew with Pathfinder Squadrons attached to Bomber Command. Usually based at the same airfield, the Pathfinders were the advance guard of the mass bomber formations. Flying low and fast, they were operated by pilots of immense courage and stamina. Mosquitos of this group were used to fly ahead of the main bomber force and guide them onto the target by dropping flares and 'spotting' targets of strategic interest. Unarmed but extremely fast, the Mosquito would often leave base up to an hour behind the main force and still arive ahead of the Lancasters! We hope you enjoy this added attraction to the Lancaster simulation pack. It is a small of what can be found in the complete MOSQUITO pack from JUST FLIGHT © Copyright 2006 JUST FLIGHT