HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX bomber

[bradnmack1]

My Grandfather piloted a Halifax out of the 429th Bison squadron,I have tons of pics from bombing raids and him on base with his squadron.I love watching these vids and reading about the men that fought and flew for our country.Truly an amazing part of history and what helped to give us our freedom today! 1 dislike??? Must be a disgruntled ex S.S or Gestapo soldier still hating the world and freedom!

[LinnBoy]

My father was navigator on this unsung hero. Used to say how he struggled to stay awake with the drone of the engines...

[b19djs]

My father was the pilot of Friday the 13th and he gave me a bit of his seat which he made into a pouch for his lier dyce that i still have.

[PS3TrophyWhore100]

Im proud to say my Grandad helped build this during the war <3

[campbellhen]

My Father awas a tail gunner in a halifax. Shot down over Holland in 43 and liberated by Russians from POW camp in 45. Thanks for this

[MrJoelthegreat]

good for killing women and children asleep in their home

[Saxe333]

@MrJoelthegreat Good for killing dickheads too! Let me know when you can hear the drone of the engines over head.

[Saxe333]

@MrJoelthegreat Good for killing dickheads too! Let me know when you can hear the drone of the engines over head.

[darkageman68]

My stepfather Keith Edward White was a radio op/gunner in halifaxes at Snaith Uk, 51 sqdn. he was an raaf member in a raf crew. Bailed out once when the halifax went down over basingstoke after a raid. that was bomber MHA. all the crew survived the 30 required missions, only getting a rest after the Basingstoke bail out!

[MrBNaylor]

My other Great Uncle Norman, flew as a Pilot in a Halifax for 158 Squadron, completed 35 sorties and awarded the DFC. He even flew the famous "Friday the 13th" Halifax Bomber stationed at 158 Squadron at Lissett Airbase. One of the few Bombers to make it over 100 sorties. Too bad some guy decide to scrap such a historic item. Great though, that the Yorkshire Air Museum Restored a Halifax and named her" Friday the 13th" .

[MrBNaylor]

My Great Uncle and his fellow crew mates of 77 Squadron ( six Canadians and one Scott) were shot down in their Halifax Bomber, while returning from a Bombing Raid, over DusselDorf Germany. All seven were KIA. Them and so many others like them, paid the Ultimate sacrifice, so we could be free. A Sacrifice that should always be Remembered. The true meaning of the word " Hero". I have a tribute video on my channel, for my Great Uncle and his fellow crew mates, called " the Last flight of....."

[moggie8plus8]

My father still alive at 89 (Group Captain Retired) Bomber Command 1940/2 and subsequently Wireless Operator with Halifax II Pathfinder 35 Squadron. Shot down at 21 years old during his 11th Pathfinder mission in 1943. Picked up by the Dutch Resistance and spent 6 weeks travelling through occupied Europe to Gibraltar. His wife,my mother, unaware of his fate for that time. (55,000 killed Bomber Command)

He really should write his memoirs but rarely talks about the mind blowing experience

[chrisinblackpool]

@moggie8plus8 Do you know which sqd he was linked to? My Grt Uncle was part of 102 sq and then transfered to 35. Joe Marsh was shot down and killed in July 1943.

All the best

Chris

[moggie8plus8]

@chrisinblackpool Hi Chris. My father was initially with 77 sqd. Whitley and subsequently Halifax Bombers. Then transfered to 35 sqd. Pathfinder force (Graveley), shot down on Aug31 1943 while on one of the 1000 plane raids on Berlin. He did not know Joe, but as you aware many crews were lost on a daily basis. He now lives in the Gold Coast ,QLD. At 89 not too many still alive today.....(Group Captain Herbert A. Penny OBE)

[Barnakos]

My grandfather was a rear gunner in a Halifax and did 34 missions with the RAF. Let's take this november 11 to remember all the heroes of the greatest war. But the good thing is.... My grandfather is still with us, and I'm buying him dinner later today !

[5515terminator]

@Barnakos why not take him to the yorkshire air museum ,we have the only complete halifax in the world quite a sight

[jonewer]

Both USAAF and RAF allowed doctrine to become dogma. Hence the US insisting it achieved pinpoint accuracy when it couldnt and the RAF insisting it couldnt hit the water if it fell of a boat while it could effectively hit a railway yard with very little collateral damage.

The main effect of the US bombing was fighter attirtion in the later years, while the effect of RAF bombing was the disproportionate diversion of vast NAZI resources to ineffective retributive attacks against the UK mainland.

[mmcceng77]

A restored Halifax is on display at CFB Trenton, Ontario. Magnificent plane. Problem with them was their exhaust streams were visible at night as a blue streak, making them easy to spot for Kraut night fighters.

[EricIrl]

Early Halifaxes had serious control and structural problems, especially with the tailfins. The project nearly got canned. However, the later versions were excellent aircraft and the Halifax went on to serve in a multitude of roles apart from being just a heavy bomber.

The Lancaster was the better bomber, but not as versatile.

Like the Lancaster, a series of transports evolved from the Halifax - the Halton, Hermes and Hastings.

[martynpank]

No Lancaster, but an underated craft! Despite its ceiling faults! If only R J Mitchell's prototypes were not destroyed during the Blitz! We would be saying the same about the Lanc!

[TheFNFALRules]

I like B24 Liberator better.. still a very good plane

[SAHBfan]

A lot of comments in the British Vs American bombing accuracy are confusing actual facts with wartime propaganda, I think. The USAAF & the RAF certainly had different ways of doing things. The Americans had a steep learning curve to go through, which the RAF had done some years before. One scandal of WW2 was that the American generals refused to listen to the British experience (eg sending bombers in daylight without escort) - and lost a lot of airmen making the same mistakes for themselves.

[mallorcatim]

My father flew as a rear gunner in Halifaxes, I believe aircrew were all volunteers and many lost their lives (44% of bomber command.) I'm not sure we would stand for it today. God bless them all.

[bikeymikey748]

My dad was a navigator. Shot down over Belgium at 19 years old. Only surviving member of his crew (his station was directly over the forward escape hatch). Spent time in a Luftstalag, until liberated at war's end. "God bless them all"? You bet !

[squirrly001]

My Dad volunteered and was a flight engineer on a Halifax. He was also shot down over Belgium. There was a storm and the plane lit up with St. Elmo's fire and they were an easy target, The Pilot managed to glide it into a newly plowed field. He survived because he was thrown but I believe half his crew died in the ensuing fire.

[tombayly13]

My Great Grandad was a member of crew in a Halifax bomber. He had the job of being the bomb aimer. He had a log book of all the flights he had, which I've still got today. He was awarded by the King!

Very fascinating stuff.

[chazzatheninja]

@tombayly13 My great uncle was the tail gunner, it had a high casualty rate, but he survived 40 missions and was shot down over belgium, he made it back to England and then to Australia.His journals are amazing.

[tombayly13]

@chazzatheninja wow thats fantastic!

great to hear!

[martynpank]

The forgotten bomber. We all remember the wimpy & the Lanc. Never forget the Halifax.

[MCCXK120]

Fact:- The British and the Americans had very similar target hit rates- please remember we are talking nearly 70 years ago, and there were no satellite navigation aids or micro-computer controlled bombs or missiles, we all take for granted now, it is easy to assume the airmen of the 1940's had today's technology- they didn't. Best remember instead the sacrifice of over 55,000 brave men who gave their lives so we all could live in freedom for the past 65 years.

[crocfme]

Anyone have any info on Mr. Batchelder(the Gent being interviewed here)?He was my Gr.Dad's room mate in 102sqad. in '41. He discusses this and my Gr.Father's death on op.s in "

[crocfme]

the documentary "air war over Germany" here on youtube. I would dearly like to correspond with him.

[nbemister]

Have you had any luck finding Mr. Batchelder? I showed this video to my father and he believes that the mentioned flight of an inverted Halifax returning after several crew bailed out was a flight of his. he would also very much like to correspond with him. please let me know if you find anything.

[Hennersbass]

shame no 'faxs are flying. a fax, stirling and lanc flypast would be incredible

[sorel]

Are you sure that there are none flying? The one at CFB Trenton is listed as 'fully restored' and I saw a plane that looked a lot like a 'fax fly over my house a couple days ago. It could have a been a Lanc too.

[Hennersbass]

Absolutely sure buddy. What you saw was most likely the RCAF Lancaster. They are virtually indentical apart from the obvious radials instead of the mighty merlins, so its easily done.

But no, unfortunately there are none of these wonderful planes flying, the one in particular you mention has not flown for over 40 years and as far as i'm aware, will not be issued a PTF under the conditions of it being a "complex aircraft".

Seeing one fly with a Lanc would be lovely though.

[blobby1972]

I am proud to have grown up at pollington better known to raf as raf snaith or 51 sqadron i used to love sneeking around the old hangers in the 80's its and industrial estate now

[halifaxmkv]

fantastic, oh to see one fly again, side by side with the Lanc

[alfaclass1]

"A Largely unsung bomber somewhat in the shadow of the lancaster"-for a reason! The Lancaster could carry more-further and more importantly had 33 feet of unobscured bomb bay, no spars or bracing in the way alowing extreemly flexible bomb loads including the 22000lb Grandslam, didnt see many halifax's hauling them!! The whole point of a bomber is carry bombs to the target! The Halifax was a good aircraft and loved by many no doubt, but not as effective at the job as the Lancaster.

[AldbroBev]

"A Largely unsung bomber somewhat in the shadow of the lancaster "

How very true, but a great aircraft in its own right. Thanks for posting this vid, informative and enjoyable watching. :-)

[LopSidedBobb]

"bomber" Harris...What a legend!

[FetidToecheese]

Yeah he served up a whirlwind alright

[vmoney1995]

my grandmas dad flew in one of the Halifax he was a bomb aimer and he got shot down over belgium

[LEONSMURAVSKIS]

I've flown both the Lancaster and the Halifax bomber and i'd say the Halifax was much easier to control in bad weather.

[Teddyboy53Rocker]

May I ask what station you were at with the Halifax, I live in york, we are surrounded by ww2 halifax stations

Jim

[ryansiki]

in my opinion the handley page halifax is better than the lancaster

[jawajawa350]

The Lancaster was good, but by all accounts the Halifax was a stronger and more durable airframe, and with some slight modifications the Sterling would have been exeptional too. The most over-rated allied heavy bomber had to be the B17 though.

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

I agree with you re the Stirling, there was definitely potential there to improve it's performance. The Halifax was an excellent bomber, the later variants proved to be faster than the Lanc at 312 mph. When all is said & done though, the Lanc is the heavy weight champ! The B17 had a pitiful bomb load compared to the Lanc, all those guns & armour reduced the bomb load. The Lanc could carry a massive punch in the form of the Grandslam & Tallboy bombs, the B17 & B24 were lightweights by comparison.

[Gromit801]

Forgot about the B-29 did you?

And while the B-17 and B-24 carried smaller loads, they actually HIT their targets far more often.

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

No. B-29 was not operational in Europe for starters, so it is not relevant. Secondly, the USAF boasted that it could drop a bomb in pickle barrel from 20,000 ft. This was complete nonsense. When the RAF actually acquired the allegedly ultra accurate US bomb sight, it was no more advanced than that used by the RAF. The USAF greatly exaggerated it's ability to bomb accuracy. The greatest & most daring precision bombing raids of WW2 in Europe were ALL RAF efforts. EG Dambusters, Amiens Prison etc.

[Gromit801]

Your original comment didn't say ETO aircraft only. Regardless of the propaganda concerning the Norden bombsite, more bombs were put on target by B-17's and B-24's than all the Lancs, Halifax, and Sterlings combined. Harris did a wonderful job of plowing up German forests and fields, and wasted a lot of bombs and crews at night.

Big bomb load doesn't mean a thing, if most of it isn't hitting anywhere near the target.

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

So what if my comment did not specify ETO aircraft? YOU elected to bring B-29's into the debate. If you wish to believe in the myth of US bombing accuracy, be my guest, the historical FACTS simply do not support that particular US boast. US accuracy? "THE 8TH AIRFORCE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE STAYED IN BED TODAY, FOR ALL THE GOOD THEY DID! " This quote belongs to an AMERICAN officer who fought at Omah beach on 6th June 44. As a result, the GI's had zero cover from fire-the rest IS history.

[Mcplkelly]

USAAF precision bombing was only precision in name, not practice. Roughly half of USAAF bomb drops were on targets obscured by clouds, and thus were blind. Plus the formations they flew in, and the tactic of dropping on command of the lead bomber meant a corridor a half mile wide if not more was leveled, and guaranteed many bombs fell outside the target.

[jawajawa350]

Stirling...see previous comment.

[GibsonElectric]

Unfortunately friend, the historical facts blow your opinion out of the water (if you know what I mean lol)

[ryansiki]

actually they don't. The Halifax matured into a better bomber. The death rate for personnel in this plane was actually lower than the lancasters.

[GibsonElectric]

Again ryanski, the facts don't support your argument. The Lancaster went on to be developed into the Avro York transport, Lancastrian and Lincoln bombers due to the fundamental soundness of the basic design. As for the Halifax, that served well and wasn't developed further. Although on a Halifax page I don't expect anyone to agree!

[ryansiki]

what ever helps you sleep at night

[GibsonElectric]

hey ryanski - don't be a petulent child, it's called a discussion normally. Discussion closed.

[ryansiki]

lou zer

[GibsonElectric]

nobb-edd

[jawajawa350]

I noticed the white asbestos exhaust covers fitted to the early models, clearly visible on this footage. I think this was the only aircraft ever fitted with them.

[Excalibur322]

Nice to see some footage of those early Mk.1's Hallybags...

[StarTux]

This clip is from "Forgotten Bombers of the RAF". Available on DVD, highly recommended :)

[snizzle515151]

my grandad flew a halifax in ww2, ive been looking for anything on his squadren

[wombatry]

my grandad flew a halifax what squdren was yours in

[sx976]

Thanks for posting.

It's interesting that the Union Jack at the unveiling ceremony is apparently upside down !

[danlefou]

Perhaps not upside down as seen from the rostrum.

[Panzershreek]

lol i got the dvd for this i went to the raf museum in trenton where they got one fuly restored

[Soupdragon1964]

Thanks for posting, an interesting clip. My Great Uncle flew Halifax and had a great respect for them.