Added: 4 years ago
From: Bomberguy
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  • A norwegian pilot Per Hysing-Dahl wrote an excellent book (Vinger over Europa - Wings over Europe) about his time flying with 161 squadron, first Halifaxes and later the Lysander. He flew two full tours including several pickup operations in France. I dont know if the book is translated into English unfortunately but it is hugely reccomended. He also had the honor of flying a special mission to Norway on the morning of May 5. 1945 where they dropped leaflets to German soldiers about the peace.

  • This is brillaint stuff, I'm writing a 'novel' that needs an aircraft that flew missions into war zones with spies and supplies during the 2nd world war. I guess a lot of people are alive today because of hero pilots and this humble little aircraft. Are there any still flying in Britain?

    Thanks again.

  • @wanlockhead As well as Lysanders, Handley Page Halifaxes were used a lot by SOE to drop agents and supplies into France, and de H Mosquitos sometimes carried agents, VIPs and wounded in their bomb bays

  • I don't suppose you'd have any footage of the Westland Lysander P.12 in your collection? That's the one with the Delanne-type rear wing with wingtip fins and a four-gun turret (mock-up) in the tail. I am very interested in tandem-wing designs and am looking for footage of this one, which was test flown by the great Harald Penrose. Thanks for all the great aviation footage you've put up. Cheers!

  • Excellent stuff, great footage,I too as a kid had this in a Airfix kit, thanks Bomberguy

  • i just found one of the old matchbox kits(its released in 1978) in1/32 scale on ebay for a low price....since today i could never forget how i build the same kit 30 years ago together with my grandfather....today i´ve started to build the cockpit....fascinating aircraft....thanx for posting this-greetings from munich/ bavaria ,Teasy

  • @splatterday Revell re-issued the 1.32nd Lysander, Beaufighter, Spitfire and Martlet, some with massive decal sheets! Iv'e the Lysander but would love the Beaufighter too!

  • Thumbs up on British engineering and thumbs down on Liberal British Politics especially during this era.

  • The Lysander looks rather spiffy in its pre-war doped silver finish. Thank you for these rare films. The raw footage is fascinating in its realism.

  • Very nice video! thanks Bomberguy. This aircraft is a beauty,wonderfully draw,wing project is a work of ART!

  • My favorite aircraft. Thanks. Wonderful memories of building model Lysanders and listening to a radio programme in the 1960's about operations in France. Great!

  • Do not forget the brave men who flew them at night from England into German occupied France and Belgium to pick up, and drop off agents and arms and munitions. All done without GPS, glass cockpits or ATC. They were truly amazing warriors. Lest we forget.

  • @DartDakota

    Great story! Thanks.

  • The Lysander mentioned often and lovingly in "Spy Princess" by Shrabani Basu, the life of War Hero and St. George Cross Winner, Noor Inayat Khan, code name Madeleine. Her Lysander flight got her safely to France only to see her eventually beaten and executed at Dachau. She was the last radio operator in contact with London. broadcasting and outwitting the Gestapo in Paris before the invasion. It is a fascinating and informative historical read, for which a movie is rumored to be in the works.

  • that our wealth where you get these videos ???????????

  • you forget how big the Lysander really was..

  • Thanks for posting this video of my favorite aircraft, it had style, performance and brave history. From the "golden age" of kites unlike the brute force of today's aluminium bunsen burners!

  • When I was a kid I used to play with mates on the old Rawcliffe Airfield near York. I can remember in the hangers (later grain stores) messing with crates and seeing Lysander on crates. At that time the old control tower still stood, about 1969. Just about to start a rc model.

  • I am planning to scratch build a 24in. span Lysander. With mini R/C gear-3 channels and a brushless motor.

  • Similar to PZL - 11, also a good plane.

  • This was one of my favorite models to build when I was a kid. I think I built 3 or 4 different sizes.

  • I've always thought high wing military mono-planes are very cool. What a great aircraft. I think there is only one flying today, out of Duxford.

  • very cool

  • "Low Tech" hero of the moonlight squadron!!! YThanks for the memory of the humble.

  • Thanx for sharing, BomberGuy!

  • Very interesting for me. Many thanks !

    My Grand Uncle, from French Free Army, has been owned many times same planes for various mission from England to France. Unfortunatly, it's crash and die the 28 November 1941, on a special -but unknow- mission. I have the report of investigation from 1941 and other stuffs like that. But in french...

  • Thanxs for posting the video!!

  • around 3:30 "self-infaltable dinghies equipped with {...} means of keeping warm"

    Like Jamaica Rhum ;-)

  • Army co-operation squadrons were formed in Canada just before WWII with Lysanders, but were redesignated and re-equipped as fighter squadrons on deployment to Europe. The Lysanders in Canada became target tugs for the Commonwealth Air Training Program and a few surivived post-war as crop-dusters. One of the coolest planes ever, the only one to use stressed skin, fabric over steel tube and wood construction all in the same plane, IIRC

  • then he was one of a handful of the elite pilots of the RAF and more than capable

  • Did you know the early versions had a standard type tailplane (flapped) which cost a number of crews their lives, the later version had an all moving tailplane

  • Great footage of the Lysander and Walrus. Currently building the old Airfix Lysander kit and have the Matchbox one waiting in the wings. It's just been re-released by Revell.

  • A GREAT airplane!!

  • Good video. I enjoyed seeing the Walrus as well as it was probably the first Airfix model that I build as a boy

  • " - speed approaches that of the fastest fighter" Hmmm - slight bit of exageration there!

  • In 1936, when the film was made, the RAF's front line fighter was the Gloster Gladiator biplane, so he was not far wrong, concerning British aircraft anyway. Monoplane fighters were being frantically developed and built in secret on both sides of the Channel.

  • Point taken.

  • Thank's for this video,one of ww2's unsung heroes landing and collecting many french resistance and british spies during the war,these pilots have my admiration,all their operations were done with no self defence.

  • Lysander and Walrus: Among the first Airfix models I built (and pretended to fly) as a kid. Thanks for posting films of the real ones!

  • Super vintage Film wonderful footage

    more please, Did wwe really speak like that?

  • @Mikey4lock

    Harrumph! We did right through the 60's when 'action tv' heroes all had such accents viz: Steed, Simon Templar, Jason King, etc & etc.

  • @pierstheoneandonly Thru the fifties and sixies I was too engrossed with other things to really remember how I spoke, thoughI know my grandad and mum didn't speak as did I "But enough siad about that," I still have a soft spot for the Lysander and built more than one model of it in the mid to late fifties. p.s exsuse the spelling as its never been my strongest point! Thanks again for putting this clip up here regards Mickey

  • I once built a Matchbox 1/72 scale model Lysander. I always loved the look of this plane - compact and capable. Thanks for posting!

  • Very interesting footage. Thanks

  • Keep 'em coming, Bomberguy!

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