Supermarine Walrus in Action

[IOWVIRTUALGUIDE]

Great video. We have added to our History page on Island Eye. Just search Allied Supermarine Walrus L2335 on Island Eye in the History Section.

[Merlin2Stage2Speed]

A late friend of mine, who flew Spitfires with 485 Squadron, was rescued by a Walrus in the English Channel after floating in the frigid water for three hours.

His Spitfire had been hit in the glycol tank by German flak over the French Coast - and he only made it back halfway over the channel before the engine overheated and seized - bail out time.

He certainly appreciated the rescuing Walrus and it's crew - they took off parallel to the swells running at the time - hell of a bumpy ride!

[carmium]

The Andrews Sisters could sure sing, but boy, they wrong goofy songs for them to sing. "Shrimp and rice... very nice" 14 times??

[alneal100]

To the tempesttom: I'm not sure your meaning of "rig it up"

[pervertt]

Not sure if downed pilots cared much about seafood like oysters and lobsters, much less shrimp and rice.

[InfiniteMushroom]

High time these humble auxiliary aircraft got some attention!

I find less well-known aircraft more interesting than the same famous fighters we're treated to all the time.

[SlideRulePirate]

My Dad was in the navy during WWII, escorting north-atlantic convoys in HMS Pimpernel to start with then in Air-Sea Rescue boats later on covering returning bombers. He used to tell stories about the number of times they had to tow Walrus' back because the chop was preventing them from getting up to take-off speed.

Touch down to pick up a downed flyer then find that you're in need of rescue yourself. That's rough.

[alneal100]

I built a Airfix model of the Walrus as a kid too! (1/72 scale) The struts were a chore on such a small scale. I read somewhere that the Walrus was structural very strong and could do aileron rolls.....but the hull tended to leak, so water went everywhere.

The Walrus reminds me of my ex mother in law...........loud and obnoxious and extremely homely. Actually, she was more ugly than homely.

[thetempesttom]

@alneal100 Just wondering with the model did you 'rig' it up? :)

[highmountain0]

shrimp and rice

[bakery26]

agree,, shes an ugly ass plane,,but with a very respectable purpose,but  i would love to see her bring in downed airmen. she will be the most beautiful sight those downed pilots would ever like to see.

[johncliffe39]

Reginald Mitchell who designed the Spritfire designed this amazing plane.

[Alembic25]

She was one ugly bastard! A welcome sight though if you were a downed pilot in a dingy in the channel in January. Brrrrr..... :)

[pierstheoneandonly]

Great post. Witty too, using this song. : ^ )

[Northside777]

I built the Walrus model by Airfix as a kid and since then its been one of my ugly airplane favorites. Great flyby and touchdown (splashdown?) scenes. Near the end of this clip I'm sure the crew got a kick out of the close-up posed shots from just outside the cockpit, spotting the downed pilot, though inter-cut with real rescue footage. The tired rescued airman looked authentic, as if he probably had bailed out and bobbed up and down in a dingy for a while. Thanks for posting this!

[kennethj1956]

GOOD GOD!.... just shoot it down and put it ,and us out the misery of have to look at something sooo ugly.

[freebeerfordworkers]

I read it was a dreadful aircraft to take off in and even worse landing on wheels.

[majajh]

Not very attractive- like a Walrus.

[flyboy8492]

this and the kingfisher are my favorite props.

[b43xoit]

Someone should come up with a better excuse to make cool, powerful machines than having to kill each other all the time.

[mig15fan]

100% agree.love warbirds and hate war.

[binaway]

Believe it or not my dad witnessed a Walrus shoot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Crete. It apparently was a very lucky shot that set something on fire. The German pilot was captured and could hardly believe what had happened to him.

[mig15fan]

I didnt know a walrus has been credited with a vic to this day! may be could be interesting for fleet air arm historians

[killingamps]

@binaway Well, Walruses HAD guns, and any gun can hit the brainpan.....just a matter of luck.

[binaway]

@binaway Correction. Dad says it was Norway

[goawaygoat1]

Another thought ... the Walrus had an Air Gunners position immediately BEHIND the engine, and the Air Gunner's head would have been about metre from the propellor blade tips ... brave men indeed that crewed them! Deaf as well I guess!!

[goawaygoat1]

Great video ... only us Brits could have could have built such a marvellously eccentric yet outstandingly successful aeroplane! Btw, with a Walrus the sound usually came before the sight ... it's Bristol Pegasus engine had individual exhaust stubs (no exhaust collector ring) which must have made it one of the noisiest aircraft ever built! Not exactly "stealthy" ... but a most welcome sight (sound?) to any airman down "in the drink"!

[carsnapper]

Do you or any of your other viewers know who the pilot is in the second half of this clip?

[hyppolitoocho]

It looks like James Hankinson, RNMHSV. I believe this film was shot after he was released to be a liaison officer to the 8th regt RCN, RCHNVHS.

[carsnapper]

Amazing! I thought that request would be a very long shot. Do you have a source of info/history for James Hankinson? Sorry, but the abbreviations are lost on me. (And Google!) It appears to me the plane is being flown out of a Pacific island, they were certainly very useful bits of kit. The only James Hankinson I can find is the Canadian CEO of Ontario Power Generation.

[danlefou]

Here's the poem Chris Wren wrote (after Lewis Carroll) to accompany his delightful cartoon of the Walrus.

'The time has come' the Walrus said,

'To talk of many things -

Of pusher-screws and "Shagbats"

And strutted, swept-back wings.

I'm an aeronautical wonder

And if that is not enough,

Then I've wheels that I can land on

When the sea's a bit too rough.'

The Walrus was also known as "Pusser's Duck", the "Flying Gas Ring" and the "Steam Pigeon".

[danlefou]

I once showed a former Walrus pilot around the "Shagbat" (actually an Aussie Seagull V but painted as a British Walrus) in the Battle of Britain Museum.

The guy was in tears much of the time, running his hands over the structure and controls. He said it was like meeting a dear old friend after half a lifetime .

I hear the type is held in such affection by most of those who worked in and on it.

[MechelenManiac]

Many a downed airman or seamen in rafts were grateful for the sound and sight of this aircraft.

[wind4watts]

I was making a model of one of these 40 +yrs ago and my Dad was recalling he had seen them very often in WW2,680 hp radial engine, quite powerful for the day i would think must have been a very tough design very interesting thanks!.

[noel2x]

nice vid. 10/10.

[HermannGoering]

Fab Video, but please tell us "What is the song?" I absolutely love that as well

[Bomberguy]

Hold tight - Andrew Sisters

[CaesarInVa]

@Bomberguy I should have known that you would know the answer to that question! By the way, I LOVE your channel! Gregory Peck was awesome in Twelve O'Clock High!

[BaronKrolok]

The Walrus was so successful, that she was supplanted in 1944 by the Supermarine SeaOtter, the last biplane of the RAF to enter service and basically a refined Warus with pulling engine.

[Tuberglue]

Guten abend, Herr Baron.. :)

[Iowahorse]

Another fantastic Vid! Thanks!

[zeboczulu]

Excellent video thanks.My father trained on these Fleet Air Arm May1943!

[superhive]

Great job Bomberguy!Who couldn't love the old Walrus!

Thanks

[denberg2]

Keep 'em coming, Bomberguy!

[Syd1940]

It's a chilling thought - bunting a plane as ungainly as this!

Thanks for posting

[pacificlipper]

Designed by the guy who designed the Spitfire??? if so ...hard to believe!!

[dynmicpara]

War is a struggle of rock, paper, scissors (RPS) to be the right overmatch at the right time; a Walrus seaplane launched from a cruiser/battleship that finds the 30 mph enemy ships at 135 mph wins the who-sees-the-other-first RPS round. This video reminds us how wrong our seaplane-less USN that lacks 24/7/365 air/ASW cover is today.

[A20havoc]

Bomberguy...you are a Godsend because I crave these sort of things but don't get to watch em on TV and the video's/DVD's are limited what they sell. Thank you so very much for your dedication to our Father's, Grandfather or even Great Grandfather's who served in the air arms! And thank you for keeping this video(and others)...HISTORY alive in the avaiation field. Hats off to you and please keep them coming.

[amphiltis]

for military enthusiasts have a look on HMVFTV COM, its like you tube but for all things military, you can also post your video's on there, great vid,thanks

[stjohnstjohn]

Thankyou

[spritz0]

Bomberguy, this is yet another "pick of the litter" from your collection... you have to feel sorry for the guys who flew these- a good Japanese Zero floatplane would have a field-day!

[saito125]

old biplanes in WW2? Those were brand new back then! :)

Bomberguy, you're a gold mine! Thanks!

[Auggie56]

Thanks for your hard work presenting your videos Bomberguy.

[peepeevagi]

My single most favorite, duck style plane, ever!

[oldcremona]

Great video. Gotta admire those tough Brits and Aussies that flew old biplanes in WW2.