Hopefully, there will still be at least one still alive, who may have crewed in the front turret of a Mk111 Wellington...
I am trying to resolve a conundrum in my Grandfather's memoirs from an episode in 1942, in which his Wimpey crash-landed (belly-flopped) in France, at night. The port engine was dead, hence no turret or undercarriage power; the pilot elected to belly-land due to ploughed fields - so, would the front gunner have stayed in his turret, strapped-in, as training manuals may indicate - or would he have left the turret backwards into the fuselage and strapped-in elsewhere for his safety? If inside, where exactly, please?
Fingers crossed!
-- Edited by Barry L on Monday 27th of February 2012 04:50:13 PM
I'm far from an authority on this and no longer have any Wellington bomber contacts however:
If the aircraft was on decent and the Pilot (Captain of the aircraft) had declared an emergency with a belly landing imminent the aircrew would assemble and brace at crash positions. I believe this was in the fuselage generally aft of the main spar. That's if there was time to vacate their stations and get there.
As the front turret was generally manned by the Air Bomber sometimes he would remain on request in the co-pilot's seat next to the pilot to serve as an extra set of eyes but that would be at the Captain of the Aircraft's discretion.
Gunners generally did not remain in their assigned turret for wheels up belly landings. If however the order to abandon aircraft was imminent and the aircraft was at altitude I believe it was only the rear gunner who rotated the tail turret 90 degrees and baled out backwards.
The front turret wasn't used in this way because to bail out might put the airman pretty near right into the chopper so to to speak (the propellor).
The escape hatch at the nose of the turret was the hinged entry hatch on which the bomb aimer's cushion was and upon with he lay to use the downward sighting window. This was the main entry into the aircraft and the primary escape route.. The co-pilot's seat folded up out of the way and the aircrew could bale out one at a time supposedly in a set sequence by clambering down into the nose and dropping down and out through the hatch. This would likely have taken a fair bit of dexterity outfitted in flying gear and parachute harness but when neccessary and motivated by fire, flak or fear I expect didn't take too long.
One can only hope the plane was stable and centrifugal forces of a steep dive or evasive action allowed escape to happen.
There might be a few Caterpillar Club members left who could relate their experiences for certain but that's my hazy second-hand awareness of it.
Hope that helps. I'll see if I have any Wimpy escape stories about.
Barry, All gunners left their turrets and moved to the position in the fuselage between the engined according to this ... http://historyjournal.co.uk/wellington.aspx Alan.
Very many thanks, Gentlemen! It's a bugging detail in the story that needed filling in, as Grandad was a bit vague over this issue, even though the belly-landing and its build-up is a crucial part of the entire story. I had been informed (by hint, no more) that the crash station was close to the Navigator's table (itself just five feet ahead of the wing-spar), so it would seem we're all right on the button!
I'll read your link, Alan - many thanks again, chaps! Tally-Ho!!!
Another escape hatch in the Wimpy was the 2' x 5' Astrodome hatch just aft of the Navigator's station which was hinged on one side and dropped inside allowing top side escape. Additionally I believe the canopy over the Pilot's head swung up and out as an escape route. In event of a belly landing or a ditching these would be the likely avenues of departure.
Thanks for that, Mr Fulford - I have had the honour of climbing inside the (ex-Loch Ness) Wellington at Brooklands Museum to take pictures, and the astrodome exit was explained to me by the curator. The pilot also used the astrodome in this particular belly-landing, as his canopy exit was a higher drop to the ground, and from the 'dome, all they had to do was slide onto the wing then to the ground behind the flap at that point - much less of a drop!
I found no trace of a side exit in this MK1A Wimpey, nor any references to such a door in the cutaway & technical drawings I've seen of later MK111's, etc - perhaps it was in the last few models?
Many thanks for your help with this query, gents - very much appreciated!
