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Different Aircraft and Tough Navigating
Mr. Wilson discusses his surprise at being selected for fighter pilot training, and goes on to describe training on the Miles Master and Hurricanes. He describes the challenge of navigating in industrial cloud cover.
An Unusual Welcome to England
Mr. Wilson describes arriving in Scotland, traveling by train to Bournemouth and being welcomed there by a German dive bomber.
Tiger Moths and Harvards
Mr. Wilson compares the experience of training in a single-engine Tiger Moth and the much more powerful twin-engine Harvard.
Remembrance
Mr. Kondra reflects on how Canada's youth can remember our Veterans, and what they sacrificed for today's freedom.
Post War Flying History
Mr. Kondra discusses his various flying assignments during the Cold War, and the improvement in aircraft he saw before retiring as a flight engineer on a Hercules.
English Fog And 26 Dead Airmen
Mr. Kondra describes the safe return from a bombing run of his entire squadron, only to have four aircraft crash trying to land in dense English fog, resulting in the loss of twenty-six airmen.
The Civilian Cost
Mr. Kondra acknowledges that civilians were the victims of 'collateral damage' on many bombing runs, often because Germany housed its slave labor adjacent to its factories.
Debriefing And Rum Tots
Mr. Kondra discusses the types of information that bomber crews were expected to provide in order for Air Command to plan safer routes for their next bombing runs. This session was followed by a tot of rum, administered by the padre.
Flying Home In A Disabled Bomber
Mr. Kondra describes flying back to England against serious odds. After being shot up on a bombing run, his aircraft loses an engine, and ruptured hydraulics prevent closure of the bomb bay doors, causing excessive drag and extra fuel consumption. Coupled with landing gear that wouldn't lower, his trip home is stressful!
The Risk Of Formation Flying
Mr. Kondra discusses some of the risks associated with bombers flying in proximity; mid-air collisions, bombs falling on aircraft flying at lower altitude, and even being fired on by other bomber crews.
German Defenses And Evasive Maneuvers
Mr. Kondra describes the fact that bombers were anti-aircraft targets from the North Sea into Germany. He discusses the risk from night fighters, and from being coned, a German technique of isolating a bomber in beams of light.
Night Fighters And Fuel Tanks
Mr. Kondra describes the German strategy of attacking the unprotected belly of a Lancaster, where vulnerable fuel tanks led to many aircraft exploding in mid-air. He goes on to describe countermeasures to make fuel tanks less vulnerable.
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