Seated in a small chair when operating the front gun turret, but positioned in a laying position underneath the seat when directing the pilot on to the aiming point prior to releasing the bomb load. This role required constant high levels of skill and concentration to navigate the aircraft in the dead of night with few if any landmarks on the ground. Note the curtain, just visible in the picture, that could be pulled around so the Navigator could have his map light on without upsetting total blackout conditions. Seated at a table facing to the port (left) of the aircraft and directly behind the Pilot and Flight Engineer.
He maintained the engines, hydraulics, bomb doors, landing gear and so on thereby letting the Pilot get on with the business of flying. Seated next to the pilot on a folding seat (to allow access to the front gunner position), the Flight Engineer handled all the technical tasks of keeping the aircraft operational. However, this wasn’t possible when approaching the target – slow and level flight was required at this point to give the bomb aimer the best chance of a “hit” a period of perilous danger for the whole crew. Although armed, the Lancaster’s best defence was to take evasive action and, despite its size, the aircraft was very manoeuvrable – a decent pilot could whip the plane in a practised corkscrew action around to foil attacks against it.
The Pilot’s job was to lead the crew and to keep it all together in the most stressful of situations. The Pilot’s seat was on the left hand side of the cockpit. Small wonder each of the crew was instructed to complete his will before his first mission. Their astonishing bravery is made obvious by the fact that the loss rate was, on average, 5% so you were lucky to survive more than 20 missions.
BOMBER CREW POSITIONS FULL
A full tour of duty for those crew members was 30 missions after which, they had “earned” their pass an could be transferred to less dangerous duties. An action-ready Lancaster Bomber had a crew of seven, as detailed below.
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