Geoffrey Sinclair

FM-1 Serials: BuNo 14992 to 15951, 960 a/c, BuNo 46738 to 46837, 100 a/c, RN JV325 to JV414, 90 a/c, Total 1,150 Both RN and USN Serials: RN JV415 to JV636 from BuNo 14992 to 15951 block, 222 a/c, JV428 (BuNo 15415) delivered to USN then to UK. USN order NOs-99036 18 April 1942 for 1489 USN and 311 RN FM-1, total 1,800, additions of 100, 200 and 600, cancellations of 1,265 and 285, leaving 839 USN and 311 RN, total 1,150. BuNos 46738 to 46837 come from NOa(S)-227. Production, Sep-42: 1 USN 0 RN Oct-42: 3 USN 0 RN Nov-42: 5 USN 2 RN Dec-42: 12 USN 0 RN Jan-43: 9 USN 8 RN Feb-43: 30 USN 8 RN Mar-43: 39 USN 17 RN Apr-43: 58 USN 21 RN May-43: 82 USN 23 RN Jun-43: 89 USN 32 RN Jul-43: 56 USN 42 RN Aug-43: 113 USN 57 RN Sep-43: 64 USN 94 RN Oct-43: 142 USN 6 RN Nov-43: 132 USN 1 RN Dec-43: 4 USN 0 RN Total: 839 USN 311 RN I do not have the USN/RN Serial allocations. By end June 1943 328 USN and 111 RN, which should make June the month RN FM-1 started to also have BuNos unless the build order was very much not in serial order. JV325 to JV414 fit in with the first 410 BuNo going to the USN.

My Hurricane book questions are what was a IIE (short lived not very official designation for 230 IIB and 40 IIC factory fitted with bomb racks in 1941/42) What engine did the mark IV have (Merlin XX). The mark IV is a big one given all the aircraft cards and accident reports. Where there any mark X or XI (none except some RAF documents refer to Canadian built mark I as X) If the claim is there were mark X and XI with US Merlins when did production start (Packard in August 1941 for engines) Where there any US Merlin using Hurricanes (No, apart from some tests) How many Sea IC? (Answer under 10 confirmed, conversions done from existing Sea in 1943)

Performance Tables of British Service Aircraft, Air Publication 1746, dated August 1939 but data includes 1940/41 aircraft. The ranges of fighters are shown as ranges at maximum economic cruising power on the fuel available, after deducting fuel used in 15 minutes at maximum power at sea level. This allowance is for warming up and climbing to operational height. Hurricane I DH Propeller 180 mph at 15,000 feet 600 miles Hurricane I Rotol Propeller 170-180 mph at 15,000 feet 600 miles Hurricane IIA 168 - 176 mph at 15,000 feet 524 miles Hurricane IIC 165 - 170 mph at 15,000 feet 500 miles

I suspect the stories of many Sea IC come from the mostly filled order pre Operation Torch for 100 IIC conversions and the 60 new builds. Without some sort of documents it is hard to say whether the batch of Ic were meant as trials or the start of conversion to cannon armament and when the program started and finished. Or even if there ever was an official program. The IIB went out of production in November 1942, many IIB arriving from Canada in 1943 were given C wings before RAF service. With the war situation as of early 1943 the Hurricane II was still a required aircraft on many fronts, not a strong candidate for one way sorties. Checking out what 59 OTU thought it received from the MSFU would be useful.

L1697 11 Group 24 Oct 38, 79 Sqn 9 Nov, still with 79 sqn on 7 May 1940 when a tyre burst on a night landing the aircraft tipped onto its nose and the undercarriage collapsed, the accident report says Merlin II 117947, 13MU 18 May When L1696 had an accident on 14 September 1940 it had Merlin III 118574 When L1698 had an accident on 9 July 1940 it had Merlin II 117853.

L1547 to L2146 Hawker first contract (600 a/c) (Brooklands). N2318 to N2729 Hawker second contract (300 a/c) (Brooklands and Langley). Third contract split between Gloster P2535 to P3264 (500 a/c) and Hawker (Brooklands and Langley) P3265 to P3984 (500 a/c), P8809 to P8818 (10 a/c), R2680 to R2689 (10 a/c), W6667 to W6670 (4 a/c) The RAF Contract Cards have L1909 as first Merlin III, L1980 as first variable pitch propeller. Rotol propellers for all Hawker built aircraft from the third contract, Gloster from P2682 (101st a/c). The RAF Serial Registers explicitly mark the following early Hurricanes as metal wing L1877 AMDP at works, Metal Wings L2026 AMDP Hawkers, Rotol Airscrew. Metal Wing L2027 To Turkey L2028 To Turkey L2039 L2045 L2046 L2047 L2055 L2058 L2065 L2066 L2067 L2068 L2077 To Romania L2078 To Romania L2079 To Iran The contract card note for N2427 says last fabric wing, it was delivered in mid November 1939, around the time Langley and Gloster began production. Langley built N2318 to N2337 and I believe it (and Glosters) only fitted metal wings, N2322,3,4 and 7 went to Finland so that may provide confirmation but they went via Glosters meaning changes are possible. The above is saying there was a change over period at Hawker Brooklands probably starting at L2026 (482nd a/c) ending at N2427 (666th a/c), doubtful that every metal wing aircraft in this batch were marked as such, as it would mean Turkey and Romania received a mixture of fabric and metal wings. Note in mid 1940 there was a batch of P, R and V serial aircraft built by Hawker with fabric wings. Turkey: L2015, L2016, L2017, L2019, L2024, L2025, L2027, L2028, L2029, L2030, L2031, L2032, L2033, L2125, L2126, L2127, L2128, L2129, L2130, L2131, L2132, L2133, L2134, L2135, L2136, L2137, L2138, L2139 Romania: L2077, L2078, L2085, L2093, L2094, L2095, L2096, L2097, L2112, L2113, L2114 Finland: N2322, N2323, N2324, N2327, N2347, N2348, N2358, N2392, N2393, N2394, N2395, (N2325 crashed in Scotland, returned to RAF) Canada: L1759, L1760, L1761, L1762, L1763, L1878, L1879, L1880, L1881, L1882, L1883, L1884, L1885, L1886, L1887, L1888, L1890, L2021, L2022, L2023 The Sea Hurricane mark Ic, a small number of conversions from existing Sea Hurricanes were done in 1943. Starting on 12 May 1943 the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit lists 7 Hurricanes as Ic, N2599, N2630, P3620, V6957, V7170, W9315 and Z4936. In addition there is V6741 photographed as a Ic in April 1943. All the identified Ic were part of a batch of 10 Sea Hurricanes sent to General Aircraft Limited in February 1943 from the MSFU, of these 9 returned to the MSFU in May, 7 as Ic, V6867 as 1a and W9279 which has no record book entry. None are recorded as doing catapult launches or carrier landings. The 8 known conversions come from 5 Sea IA, 2 IB and 1 either A or B. All 9 were transferred to 59 OTU in June. There were further batches of Sea Hurricanes sent to GAL in March and April but most ended up at 59 OTU later in 1943, like the Ic.

USAAF Delivery Logs file ADT-15 starting page 120. Republic Farmingdale -RE identifier (Easy to assume RE = Evansville) Acceptances 42-75215/75614 P-47D-11-RE, 400 built, September and October 1943 42-75615/75864 P-47D-15-RE, 250 built, October and November 1943 42-75865/76118 P-47D-16-RE, 254 built, November and December 1943 (only 5 accepted in December) 42-76119/76364 P-47D-15-RE, 246 built, November (4 accepted on the 30th) 1943 to January 1944 (only 2 accepted in January) USAAF Delivery Logs file ADT-16 starting page 50. Republic Evansville -RA identifier Acceptances 42-22864/23113 P-47D-11-RA, 250 built, October and November 1943 42-23114/23142 P-47D-16-RA, 29 built, November 1943 (42-23120 washout) 42-23143/23299 P-47D-15-RA, 157 built, November and December 1943 43-25254/25440 P-47D-20-RA, 187 built, December 1943 and January 1944. The -16 models appearing where they do makes for some interesting contradictions or ambiguities in references, as far as I know the model had the wing pylons, but it can be described as a D-11 (not a D-15) with provision for 100/150 fuel. It also means the Evansville line introduced the wing pylons with the D-16 or else the model was actually D-11 based, while the D-16 from Farmingdale was D-15 based. Looks like all 29 P-47D-16-RA stayed in the US, not so the P-47D-16-RE. I do not have a full 8th AF loss list for P-47, but, in serial order a list from a web site, the second date is from the aircraft cards, all had been exported. 06-Mar-44 42-75635 362nd salvaged 25 Mar 44 22-Feb-44 42-75647 353rd lost 22 Feb 44 22-Feb-44 42-75653 353rd lost 22 Feb 44 21-Jan-44 42-75658 56th lost Jan 44? 08-Mar-44 42-75672 362nd lost 8 Mar 44 08-Mar-44 42-75697 56th lost 8 Mar 44 22-Feb-44 42-75814 361st lost 22 Feb 44 04-Mar-44 42-75850 353rd lost 4 Mar 44 27-Mar-44 42-76249 56th lost 27 Mar 44 As noted it was taking around 2 months from factory to Britain, the first P-47D-15-RE reported departing US mid November 1943, then comes issue to combat units, then comes drop tank availability. Not the P-47 but to point out not even the US always had the latest quickly. P-51B production ended in April 1944, P-51C in September, while P-51D production ran from February 1944 to August 1945. 15th Air Force P-51 strength in units, P-51B \\ C \\ D numbers 29-Apr-44 \\ 72 \\ 0 \\ 0 3-Jun-44 \\ 125 \\ 9 \\ 0 24-Jun-44 \\ 166 \\ 66 \\ 53 (all groups now have a mix of B, C and D) 1-Jul-44 \\ 125 \\ 51 \\ 96 27-Jul-44 \\ 113 \\ 124 \\ 115 2-Sep-44 \\ 124 \\ 150 \\ 95 30-Sep-44 \\ 111 \\ 139 \\ 105 21-Oct-44 \\ 93 \\ 133 \\ 106 20-Nov-44 \\ 85 \\ 121 \\ 162 10-Dec-44 \\ 73 \\ 108 \\ 179 10-Jan-45 \\ 65 \\ 99 \\ 210 10-Feb-45 \\ 64 \\ 94 \\ 207 10-Mar-45 \\ 58 \\ 82 \\ 221 31-Mar-45 \\ 52 \\ 74 \\ 214 30-Apr-45 \\ 46 \\ 62 \\ 251

Britain starts reporting drop tank production in December 1943, with 5,943 paper and 3,095 metal 90 imperial gallon tanks being made for the P-47. As of January 1944 the British report building (imperial gallons) 90 gallon metal and paper tanks for P-47 and planning to built a 150 gallon metal one. By July the 90 gallon had become 108 US gallon for P-47 and P-51 and the 150 gallon was in fact US gallons for the P-47. Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual, Fighter external tanks, US Gallons nominal/actual, drop tanks available to the 8th Air Force 75/84, Steel, US, P-47 and P-51 originally for P-39, reserved for P-51 in March 1944 108/108, Steel, UK, P-47, being made in 1943. 108/108, Paper, UK, P-47 and P-51, originally for Hurricanes first used September 1943 110/110, Steel, US P-51, intended for P-47 use. 150/165, Steel, US, P-47, "flat" tank first used February 1944 150/165, Steel, UK, P-47, "flat" tank first received in March 1944 165/165, Steel, US, P-38, ferry tank, unpressurised, used up to 20,000 feet. 200/205, Steel, US, P-47, arrived November/December 1944. (Not ferry tank as previously reported) 200/215, Steel, UK, P-47. Britain reports first production in March 1945. Plus the 200 gallon ferry tanks used for a time in 1943. P-47D-15-RE (Oct-43) and P-47D-15-RA (Nov-43) introduced the wing pylons. P-47D-25-RE (Apr-44) and P-47D-26-RA (May-44) upgraded internal fuel from 305 to 375 gallons and introduced the cut down rear fuselage. Add a couple of months before the first arrivals in Britain.

The only USAAF Version in 1940 was the P-40 (ignoring the 1 P-40G) 2x0.50 inch in the fuselage and 1x0.30 inch in each wing. The P-40B began production in February 1941, it had an extra 0.30 inch in each wing, along with pilot armour, bulletproof windscreen and leakproof fuel tanks. The Tomahawk I began production a month after the P-40 and had 2x0.50 inch in the fuselage and 2x0.303 inch in each wing, then came the Tomahawk IIA, then IIB by the end of 1940.

The 170 P-400 serials AH570 to AH739 The USAAF Delivery logs note Crashed AH579, AH621. To USAAF AH728, AH732, AH735 to AH738 RAF Serial Registers say Not Delivered AH579, AH621. Kept in USA AH728, AH732, AH735 to AH738 USAAF Accident summaries, AH579 Bell Aircraft Plant, 10 July 1941 total loss, Crash due to Mechanical Failure, pilot Kelley, Frank H., 1/2 mile NE of Niagara Falls Airport, Niagara Falls, NY No record of AH621 loss. There are a large number of Hurricane accidents and losses where the pilot failed to switch fuel tanks causing "engine failure". About https://www.cahs.com/bell-p-39-rcaf.html On 27 August 1941 Canada ordered 400 Hurricanes, 100 for the Netherlands East Indies, 300 for China, not to keep the line open, this changed to 72 for the Netherlands East Indies, 328 for the USSR, to use Merlin 28 and US built propellers and shipped across the Pacific. Think of the mid 1941 advantages of shipping Canada to USSR that way. By the time production started it was 400 mark XII (actually IIB (Can)) RCAF, but in 1943 it was 250 RCAF and 150 (not 200) RAF, the 150 giving rise to the claim of the mark XI (Merlin 28 RCAF equipment), these 150 PJ serial airframes were stripped so as to be the same standard as mark II production. Canadian built Hurricanes were fitted with a Merlin on arrival in Britain, normally a new one. The US calls the 400 Hurricanes and Merlins order CD6160, with another 80 Merlins under CD6161. The engines became Merlin 29, first acceptances in February 1942, Merlin production had begun in the US in August 1941.

First point F.XIV built October 1943 to March 1945, FR.XIV prototype in October 1944, production January to October 1945, plus 1 in December 1945 and 1 in February 1946. The contract cards and serial registers mark some of them as E version but as it was a change in armament there does not seem to be a document listing which aircraft had the E armament, same for the bubble canopy. Mark XIV serials came as 12 MT, 103 MV, 191 NH, 10 NM, 50 RB, 287 RM, 97 RN, 81 SM, 6 TP, 25 TX and 95 TZ but build order is very different to serial order. In build order RB to RM then overlap with RN then overlap with SM then overlap with TP/TX/TZ is the main sequence. MT are in early 1945, MV November 1944 to April 1945, NH637 to MH652 built in March 1945, NH653 to NH720 February/April 1944 (45a/c), NH741 November 1944 to May 1945. Often within each serial batch there are a number of late deliveries relative to the serials around them. To determine whether an XIV is early or late really requires the individual delivery date information. No Start End Mark Note 12 MT847 MT858 FR.XIV 28 MV246 MV273 F/FR.XIV 9 FR 35 MV286 MV320 FR.XIV 40 MV347 MV386 FR.XIV 25 NH637 NH661 F/FR.XIV 16 FR 36 NH685 NH720 F.XIV 19 NH741 NH759 F/FR.XIV 14 FR 39 NH775 NH813 FR.XIV 16 NH831 NH846 FR.XIV 15 NH857 NH871 FR.XIV 3 NH873 NH875 FR.XIV 38 NH892 NH929 FR.XIV 10 NM814 NM823 FR.XIV 50 RB140 RB189 F.XIV 11 RM615 RM625 F.XIV 9 RM648 RM656 F.XIV 44 RM670 RM713 F.XIV 45 RM726 RM770 F.XIV 43 RM783 RM825 F/FR.XIV 1 FR (RM786) 49 RM839 RM887 F.XIV 43 RM901 RM943 F.XIV 43 RM957 RM999 F.XIV 48 RN113 RN160 F.XIV 49 RN173 RN221 F/FR.XIV 7 FR 31 SM812 SM842 F.XIV 24 SM876 SM899 FR.XIV 26 SM913 SM938 FR.XIV 5 TP236 TP240 FR.XIV 1 TP256 TP256 FR.XIV 25 TX974 TX998 FR.XIV 48 TZ102 TZ149 FR.XIV 25 TZ152 TZ176 FR.XIV 22 TZ178 TZ199 FR.XIV Second point 30 to 40 XIV are listed as doing prototype work, see the web site or Morgan and Shacklady, the aircraft taken from most of the serial blocks and are reported doing such work for 2 to 12 months before they were officially produced, if this is to believed Supermarine built them outside the production reporting system, then slotted them into the system when the serials around the chosen prototype ones were finally produced. So MT847 is around in April 1944, then officially produced in February 1945, which just happens to be in the official production date range the other MT serials have, similar for all the others. This seems improbable.

PR.IX production, 11 in April and 5 in May 1944. The first batch of 22 PR.XIX were April to June, The final VII in May, the first HF.VIII in May.

Yes, correct, I misread the initial RAF serial then added 17 to it. Posting to forums is a good way to check information. The aircraft were mostly delivered final week of August and first week of September 1939. The final 6 RAF serials, N5919 to N5924, were allocated to the Norwegian order, the note says 427, 433, 435 delivered 24 October, 425 on 26 October, 429 and 431 on 27 October 1939. Well ahead of the final RAF aircraft in April 1940.

Dating the Munich Crisis as September 1938. RAF order Gladiator mark I production had been paused while the mark I export orders continued until July 1938, none were built for the RAF February to July 1938 inclusive, the final 28 RAF mark I built 9 in August, 15 in September and 4 in October 1938 (L8005 to L8032). The 18 mark II for Sweden were produced in July and August. Gladiator mark II production began in December 1938, the first 2 months production being 16 mark II and 22 Sea (interim) starting N2265. Sea version production began in February 1939. Apart from the Swedish order all mark II exports had RAF serial numbers, export production starting in August 1939. Note the RAF aircraft N5895 to N5912 became Egyptian L9030 to L9047. As for N5628 it was delivered in April 1939, which is before the 7 Meteorological versions N5590 to N5594, N5620, N5621 in May and June. Gladiator production ended in April 1940. For what it is worth July 1938 to July 1939 inclusive, 326 Gladiator, 456 Hurricane, 288 Spitfire built.

Need to report the death of Joe Baugher, from cancer on 12 November, aged 82. No information on what will happen to his web site. There are lists of serials in Air Arsenal North America by Butler and Hagedorn. P-40N were accepted from March 1943 to November 1944. Deliveries for the USSR were made July 1943 to June 1944. I am using AFHRA reels ADT-14, P-40 delivery logs and ACR-76 USAAF cards for 42-104108 to 106379. There is a pattern to the serials not in the web site list, the ones usually without an MSN number in the following list. 42- 106261 USA 106262 (MSN 30024) to China 106263 (MSN 30025) to USSR 106264 USA 106265 (MSN 30027) to China 106266 (MSN 30028) to China 106267 USA 106268 (MSN 30030) to USSR 106269 (MSN 30031) to USSR 106070 USA 106271 (MSN 30033) to USSR 106272 (MSN 30034) to China 106273 USA 106274 (MSN 30036) to USSR 106275 (MSN 30037) to USSR 106276 (51st FG) MIA 11/6/1944, China. 106277 (MSN 30039) to USSR 106278 (MSN 30040) to China 106279 (MSN 30041) to USSR actually to USA last USAAF date recorded 22 February 1944 (Air Arsenal North America says USSR) 106280 (MSN 30042) to China 106281 China 106282 (MSN 30044) to China (Originally delivered for USA and served in USAAF until around end 1945) 106283 (MSN 30045) to China 106284 (MSN 30046) to USSR 106285 USA 106286 (MSN 30048) to USSR 106287 (MSN 30049) to USSR 106288 USA 106289 (MSN 30051) to USSR 106290 (MSN 30052) to USSR 106291 (MSN 30053) to China (Originally delivered for USA and served in USAAF until around end 1945) 106292 (MSN 30054) to China 106293 (MSN 30055) to China 106294 USA 106295 (MSN 30057) to China 106296 (MSN 30058) to USSR 106297 USA 106298 (MSN 30060) to USSR 106299 (MSN 30061) to USSR 106300 (MSN 30062) to China (Originally delivered for USA and served in USAAF until around May 1945) Aircraft card for P-40N 42-106285 Accepted 4 Sep 43, Newark by Air 13 Sep 43. W, PACT, 14, 23 Sep 43, 27 Sep 43 R, PACT, 14, 19 Nov 43, 7 Dec 43 R, PACT, CON, AFMSC, 14, 22 Jan 44, 22 Feb 44.

Agreed about Bomber Command but there is something of an irony about its operations from dusk 17 to dawn 18 August as it took no combat related aircraft losses, During the day of the 18th 1 Hampden crashed on a training sortie, no casualties reported, 2 Blenheims also on training collided, 7 killed. 17/18 August Blenheim: 35 sorties to airfields in France, Belgium and Holland, 28 aircraft attacked, 23 different airfields bombed Wellington: 20 sorties to Zeitz O/Sy, 2 sorties to Eschwege Aircraft depot, 2 sorties to Hamm M/Y, 2 sorties to Osnabruck M/Y, 2 sorties to Soest R/R, 2 sorties to Schwerte R/R, 3 sorties to Evere A/F, 3 sorties to Schipol A/F, 2 sorties to Gottingen Aircraft stores, 3 sorties to Diepholz Aircraft Park, all up 41 sorties, 6 aborts, only 8 reported bombing Zeitz and none Schwerte. Apart from the primary targets, Courtrai, Bohlen, Merseburg, Osterfeld-Sud, Waalhaven, Zeitz - 1 M NE of, Osterfeld, Dulmen - NE of and Schipol were reported bombed. Leaflets were dropped over Germany. Hampden: 20 sent to Essen, 3 aborted, 11 attacked the primary, other places reported bombed were Dusseldorf, Emmerich, Buderich, Zinderland Hampden: 5 minelayers to the Elbe estuary, all dropped their mines, one also attacked a flak battery at Wangeroog. All up 50.44 long tons of bombs dropped. Day 18 August Blenheim: 6 reconnaissance sorties "Smith's Bank and position 090 Montrose 47 miles thence a course 060 depth 160 miles." 18/19 August Whitley: 2 sorties to Turin (Fiat aero engine), 2 to Milan (Caprioni airframe factory), all bombed, plus leaflets were dropped. Whitley: 20 sorties to Rheinfelden Aluminium works, 2 aborts , 11 bombed primary, other locations bombed, Freiburg, Hassheim, Waldshut, Mulhouse, all except Waldshut being airfields. All up 24.2 long tons of bombs dropped.

42-106285 is recorded as delivered for USAAF, to Newark by air. Seems to have stayed in US, last date 22 February 1944. Not in the Air Arsenal North America list of USSR serials, the book states 130 RAF order and 980 direct lend lease P-40N to USSR. The chalk marks in the photograph might give the serial. P-40N 42-104429 to 106428, 43-22752 to 24751, 44-7001 to 8000, 44-47749 to 47968 42-106284 and 6 both delivered for USSR, to Brooklyn Port of Embarkation "by land".

RAAF 36 squadron formed in Melbourne Victoria March 1942, to Townsville Queensland December 1942, to Schofields New South Wales in August 1946. A36-3 ex civil, received September 1942, was with 36 Squadron off and on until August 1943. Ranger in line engine as received. A36-4 was an aircraft acquired in the US by R.G. Casey and shipped to Australia, it was not from a British order. As far as the British were concerned none of their Argus were shipped to Australia. When it comes to squadrons only 173 (July 1942 to February 1944) and 680 (February 1945 to July 1946) in the Middle East used them. After that comes flights and secondary units. Argus I and II had a radial, the III an in line engine. Almost all the Argus I went to Britain (October 1941 to December 1942), almost all mark II to India/Middle East/North Africa from April 1943 to July 1944. The fuselage marking looks quite early. I would try the geo locator people to identify the bridge, it looks quite substantial.

Unfortunatley not in the serial ranges you want but, Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force by Chaz Bowyer Photograph of Mark II DZ716 UP-L in flight from behind and below, day fighter scheme DZ716 L DZ717 O DZ724 S DZ760 K HJ761 P HJ775 U HJ778 A HJ784 P HJ790 R HJ809 D HX823 B MM790 F RS678 T From a list of combat claims DZ715 R DZ716 L DZ717 O HJ760 X HJ767 G HJ775 U HJ776 E HJ779 L HJ782 H HJ785 T HJ790 R HJ808 O HJ809 D MM414 Y MM429 H NS838 J NS875 R NS960 M

In 1942 4,154 effective Lancaster bomber sorties dropped 11,356.8 long tons of bombs, average 6,129.5 pounds In 1943 25,559 effective Lancaster bomber sorties dropped 100,517.8 long tons of bombs, average 8,809.3 pounds In 1944 75,093 effective Lancaster bomber sorties dropped 361,005.6 long tons of bombs, average 10,768.6 pounds In 1945 30,639 effective Lancaster bomber sorties dropped 135,724 long tons of bombs, average 9,922.7 pounds For war 135,445 effective Lancaster bomber sorties dropped 608,612 long tons of bombs, average 10,065.3 pounds The above from the War Room Manuals. There are some variations, the 1945 report gives yearly totals that add up to 608,612 tons but the Lancaster summary for war is given as 608,565.8 tons. The tonnages for 1942 to 1944 in the relevant year War Room Report are slightly different to the ones in the 1945 report.

This is partly to remind myself not to do quick notes on other subjects as an aside when doing other work. Thereby making mistakes like in designations. London Aircraft Production built 450 Halifax II between January 1942 and May 1944, JN901 was number 220, end July 1943. From December 1942 to sometime in 1943 Halifax II and V production introduced square vertical tails, 4 gun mid upper turret, new radiators, transparent noses with a single gun and Merlin 22 engines without a lot of documentation on individual aircraft fits, and plenty of retrofitting the changes to older production. Resulting in confusion about what exactly was a series I and Ia. English Electric kept fitting Merlin XX to end production, quite possibly so they could be used for overseas service being compatible with the many overseas Hawker Hurricanes. All the official documentation I have found says the old radiators are the definition of mark II or V series I and the new radiators the definition of mark II or V series Ia. August 1942, after complaints about performance. Changes were front turret removed and replaced retrospectively by a metal fairing and in production by a perspex nose, the 4 gun mid upper turret and astrodome were lowered. Improved dampers fitted and various drag producing items modified. Front turret removal and at times the mid upper turret as well resulted in the designation (Special), probably until the perspex nose became standard. Notes: Many references note the roughly early to mid 1943 introduction of a four gun mid upper turret, Merlin 22 and new radiators as the change over for the mark II and V from series I to series Ia. The rectangular fins came later. "ORS BC #90 - Monthly Review of Losses and Interceptions of Bomber Command Aircraft in Night Operations – November 1943" notes that nearly all Halifaxes that did not come off the line as series Ia had been “subsequently modified in one or more respect”. AVIA 46/112, the Halifax official biography, notes the four gun turret was fitted starting around February 1943 and the official difference between series I and Ia is whether a new radiator was fitted. The MAP statistical bulletins have data for series I radiator production July 1942 to May 1944 and series Ia December 1942 to August 1944, it is assumed after the respective end dates the figures are moved to the “other” column. The MAP figures agreeing a radiator change was the official difference. The prototype series Ia was HR679, first flight in December 1942 and delivered in January 1943. Examination of the individual Form 78 aircraft cards indicates the change over started no later than May 1943 for Handley Page, July for London Aircraft Production, Rootes and Fairey but no indication for English Electric which fitted Merlin XX to end production, while Rootes used both Merlin XX and 22 to end production. Mathematically if you release all the series Ia radiators built so far to the factories in May 1943 you still cannot make all production for the month series Ia, you have to wait until June. It takes until October before series Ia radiator production exceeds the number needed to equip all new Halifax production for the month. The use of series Ia was due to series II being allocated to a two stage Merlin variant, which was flight tested in April/May 1943. HP II serials, HR660 in December 1942, seems to be the first Merlin 22, the later serials all have Merlin 22 except for HR668, HR681, HR684, HR697–HR699, and HR711 with Merlin XX; HR672 engines are unclear; HR678 and HR682 engines not given and HR713 with Merlin 28. The first serial with Ia marked on its card is HR841 in May 1943, then HR845, HR847, HR855, as time goes on more cards are marked Ia LAP II looks like they begin fitting Merlin 22 with BB329 in March 1943, JN882 the first Ia in July 1943, JN884 no series information, JN885 on seem to be series Ia. English Electric II were still fitting Merlin XX to end production in October 1943, none of the cards checked were marked Ia. Fairey V began fitting Merlin 22 with DK235 in June 1943 and it appears to be a clean change over, with DK244 in July the first card marked Ia, but some later cards have no series information. Rootes V first series Ia LK890 in July 1943, again not all cards marked. Not all have engine marks, LK901 and subsequent are Merlin XX, LK960 in October 1943 has Merlin 20 written then 22 added, after that it is mostly Merlin 20 with some 22, the final mark V LL534 to LL542 all had Merlin XX. According to the Ministry of Aircraft Production to end December 1944 2,156 Merlin XX and 188 Merlin 22 had been shipped overseas, so expect almost all the exported Halifax II and V to have had Merlin XX, which at least made them compatible with the Hurricanes present. Merlin 22, Derby built 1,486 mid 1942 to end August 1943, Crewe 1,387 October 1942 to end January 1944, Glasgow 2,164 April to end November 1943, Ford 3,593 July 1943 to October 1944, total 8,630.

It would appear Bomber Command had bomb clusters and containers, the number of clusters (which is what Harris seems to be referring) were recorded when they began appearing in 1944, the containers were not, even as they came to rival the size of the clusters. A distinction I was not clear about. Some examples, Incendiary loads, bombers that reported attacking other targets, 3/4 July 1943, 1 Wellington 36x30, 30x4X, 420x4 1 Stirling 80x30, 810x4 1 Halifax 48x30, 60x4X, 570x4 1 Lancaster 48x30, 90x4X, 510x4 1 Stirling 80x30, 90X4X, 720x4 2 Stirling 160x30, 90x4X, 1530x4 8/9 July 1 Lancaster 48x30, 30x4X, 570x4 1 Lancaster 64x30, 510x4 1 Lancaster 48x30, 90x4X, 570x4 1 Lancaster 80x30, 570x4 24/25 July 1 Stirling 72x30, 70x4X, 720x4 1 Halifax 96x30, 180x4X, 1080x4 1 Lancaster 48x30, 90x4X, 510x4 1 Halifax 48x30, 90x4X, 540x4 Making it look like the standard load was in units of 16x30 pound and 90x4 pound 24/25 February 1944 2 Lancaster 80x30, 180x4X, 1170x4 1 Lancaster 68x30, 1200x4 1 Halifax 32x30, 90x4X, 630x4 3 Lancaster 48x30, 120x4X, 930x4 1 Lancaster 32x30, 320x4 2 Lancaster 168x30, 250x4X, 950x4 2 Lancaster 92x30, 750x4 The SBC capable of carrying 150x4 pound seems to be arround. RE126 arrived at 170 squadron on 21 March 1945 wonder when the footage was taken?

The raid would presumably 5/6 March 1943, Essen, over half the tonnage was incendiary, logged as 10,942x30 pound, 216,737x4 pound and 8,236x4 pound X. Note no mention of the SBC these must have been carried in, one of those everyone knows so no need to record them and obviously applied to what Harris called the prototype carriers, Harris says they were definitely tried, but not how many, otherwise it was the SBC until 1944. Anything else would be rare to unique. It would be interesting to see how many non SBC carriers were used in 1943, it would supply more context to the Harris remarks in his Despatch on War Operations. Looking at the raid reports as of end 1941, especially the aircraft identified as attacking alternate targets, the 4 pound incendiary loads are normally divisible by 60.

Sorry for my original typo, which should read IIa, not Ia. The definition of mark IIa is the new radiators. If you look at the card for JN901 it says IIa and Merlin XX. As for exceptions English Electric kept fitting Merlin XX to the end of mark II production, so either they never built a mark IIa or there were plenty of exceptions. The Ministry of Aircraft Production monthly report on radiator production has two lines 1) Halifax II and V (Series I), 2) Halifax II and V (Series Ia). In July 1943 Series I was 710 actual with a program for 700, Series Ia was 365 actual, 455 program.

101 Squadron carried ABC, Airborne Cigar, around 1,000 pounds of extra electronics and crew. First reported use of larger 4 pound incendiary clusters No. 14 106x4 20 January 1944, No. 15 158x4 14 October 1944, No. 16 236x4 13 February 1945, No 17 110x4 30 October 1944 No. 14X 106x4X 12 September 1944, No. 15X 158x4X 15 October 1944. (4 pound X types used from 3 January 1943) I think the first use of the 14x30 pound containers could have been 22 April 1944. Before that came the 60x4 pound in Small Bomb Containers while 30 pound bombs dropped by Blenheims tend to be divisible by 4, the heavier types by 6. Arthur Harris says as of January 1942, the SBC were 8x30 or 90x4, in 1943 came prototype 12x30 and 150x4 but no supplies until 1945. "All bombs up to and including 40 pound in weight were carried in small bomb containers, until the beginning of 1944..." DV267 was taken on charge in August 1943 and lost in February 1944, it would have had the then standard FN20 or FN120 tail turret. For the later turret types production: https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/lancasters-with-the-rose-rear-turret.60610/ Bomber Command Lancaster fuel formula in 1944 = 200 gallons plus (track miles divided by 0.95), meaning at 1,200 miles 14,150 pounds available for bombs and window, down to 12,620 pounds at 1,400 miles. Aircraft rarely used economic cruise on European combat missions and 1943/44 night raids rarely used direct routes.