The Halifax and Lancaster in Canadian Service
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Canadian Military History Volume 15 Issue 3 Article 2 2006 The Halifax and Lancaster in Canadian Service Stephen J. Harris Directorate of Heritage and History, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Harris, Stephen J. "The Halifax and Lancaster in Canadian Service." Canadian Military History 15, 3 (2006) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Harris: The Halifax and Lancaster The Halifax and Lancaster in Canadian Service Stephen J. Harris n our early discussions on the bomber section rate aircraft. I had to know how clapped out Iof The Crucible of War, the third volume of Halifaxes were; and I had to find out whether the official history of the Royal Canadian Air the allocation of aircraft was biased along Force, Ben Greenhous and I wondered whether national lines. What I found was that Harris we should adopt a chronological or topical exaggerated somewhat; that he did not allocate organisation. I preferred the latter; Ben the aircraft on national lines; and, perhaps not former. He was the principal author; he got his surprisingly, that bomber crews who survived a way – he was right, of course, I now admit freely; tour on Halifaxes were quite happy with their and his instructions to me were “to write an aircraft. Why not? They made it through. So, they account of Bomber Command and the strategic talked about its robustness: that they came bombing offensive on a chronological basis home, in some cases, with damage that would weaving in issues of tactics, technology, have destroyed a Lancaster. Lancaster pilots operations, morale, equipment, air battles, and talked about its superior performance, that let policy as tightly as Goretex cloth.” We agreed, them fly above all those poor Hally drivers three however, that I could begin by doing topical thousand feet below. narratives, because I would have to know the full story of these topics, as it were, in context, In the end, Robert Linnell, the producer of in order to weave them into a chronological Warriors of the Night and Last Flight to Berlin, account. I knew where I could find the bombing undertook a film documentary on the Halifax in policy story from Puble Record Office documents conjunction with the Trenton restoration project. and the Harris and Portal papers; and it was He found a Handley Page aviation engineer who there, implicitly, in Webster and Frankland. But said that he should use modern technology to there was no consistent study of gun turrets, test what he believed had been, in retrospect, a German air defences, bombsights, and the two design problem that had inhibited the Halifax’s main British heavy bombers – at least, none that performance: something which, as I understand were going to help me. So I did research on these it, could not have been known at the time. I do topics in London and here in Ottawa and did not know the details, but Bob Linnell said that the narratives and then incorporated both detail when they tested the guy’s theory, it proved to and my conclusions into the text. The beauty of be accurate. Oftentimes we decry documentary it was that having done all that primary research film producers for their shoddy work. But in this on these topics to produce the narratives long case, Linnell, who began his work while we were before I tried to write the chapters, I was really doing Crucible and kept in touch with me, took well prepared to handle these issues. official history work and, after ten years of searching, found someone who could answer his The Halifax/Lancaster controversy was, of question – and mine: far too late for the official course, central to any Canadian book on the history. Harris had been right – there was a bomber offensive because of the traditional design problem that limited the Halifax’s allegations that Harris was all too prepared to performance, but it never could have been found give Canadian squadrons clapped-out, second- or corrected at the time. © Canadian Military History, Volume 15, Numbers 3 & 4, Summer-Autumn 2006, pp.5-26. 5 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2006 1 pg005-026 5 11/9/06, 2:52 PM Canadian Military History, Vol. 15 [2006], Iss. 3, Art. 2 So, what follows is the research report that I or long-term requirements. Specification P.13/ compiled and then used to deal with the Halifax 36, for example, called for a twin-engined issue in the official history. medium bomber capable of carrying 8,000 pounds of bombs, clearly an advance over the * * * * * Hampden, Blenheim, Whitley, and Wellington,2 while B.19/38, subsequently renumbered B.1/39 hen war broke out in September 1939, in March 1939, looked to the development of a WBomber Command was equipped, or about four-engined machine, for use in all parts of the to be equipped, with aircraft designed to meet world, which would replace all existing medium Air Ministry requirements set down between and heavy bombers. It was to have a minimum 1932 and 1936. The Handley-Page Hampden and speed of 280 miles per hour at 15,000 feet, a Vickers Wellington derived from Specification range of at least 2,500 miles and carry a B.9/32, calling for a twin-engine day bomber; the minimum bomb load of 9,000 pounds. Defensive Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley from Specification armament was also to be upgraded substantially B.3/34, which asked for an experimental twin- over current standards, with eight Hispano 20 engine heavy night bomber; the Blenheim from mm cannon housed, four each, in the dorsal and Specification B.28/35, which allowed for ventral turrets.3 modification of the civilian Bristol Type 142 as a fast bomber; and the Short Stirling from Specification B.1/39 in particular met many Specification B.12/36. (Although as might be of the recommendations made in the air staff’s obvious, perhaps it is worthwhile to point out and Bomber Command’s own investigation of that the last number in a Specification, eg. /36 the “ideal bomber,”4 but neither it nor P.13/36 indicates the year in which the specification was produced the anticipated results. The engines issued.) intended for the latter were failures, while B.1/ 39 was cancelled in May 1940 by Lord The latter was the first Air Ministry Beaverbrook to allow the aircraft industry to specification for a four-engined bomber, capable concentrate production on existing types to meet of reaching targets anywhere in Western Europe. the immediate German threat. Despite the lifting It called for a minimum range of at least 3,000 of such restrictions on the development of new miles, a speed of 230 miles per hour at 15,000 designs the following year, the British aircraft feet (the anticipated bombing altitude given the industry was thrown off balance, and subsequent bombsights of the day), a service ceiling no lower specifications bore little fruit until 1943, when than 28,000 feet, and a maximum bomb load B.14/43 resulted in the Avro Lincoln. But none over shorter distances of 14,000 pounds, falling of these four-engined heavy bombers were ready to 2,000 over greater ranges. Had these for operations before late 1945, some months specifications been met, Bomber Command after the Japanese surrender.5 Moreover, the would have had a first-class machine available Lincoln could not be considered as belonging to in 1940, but the Stirling fell far short in several the same generation as the American B-29 or crucial areas. Its service ceiling was 16,500 feet the final few bomber designs produced in (raised to 17,000 in the Mark III), which was Germany. lethal in heavy Flak, and it never achieved the speeds desired at normal bombing altitudes – Although they were not proceeded with, the which proved to be lower still than the service specifications issued between spring 1941 and ceiling. Indeed, Stirling losses were such that, B.14/43 still deserve some attention. Not only by 1943, the type had to be withdrawn from do they indicate the development of Air Ministry operations over Germany.1 thought with regard to bombing, but perhaps more important, they may – this is speculation The standards called for in these – have provided Bomber Command with a specifications more or less established the constant reminder of what might have been theoretical limits of what Bomber Command possible in the best of all possible worlds. would be capable of in the first few years of the Specification B.5/41 (which was succeeded by war. But it should not be thought that the Air B.3/42 issued on 8 December 1942) aimed, for Ministry or Bomber Command had fixed on them example, at the design and development of a high as satisfying all or even most of their immediate altitude, pressurised heavy bomber with a 6 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol15/iss3/2 2 pg005-026 6 11/9/06, 2:52 PM Harris: The Halifax and Lancaster Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Centre (CFJIC) PL 10459 PL (CFJIC) Centre Imagery Joint Forces Canadian A Handley-Page Halifax Mark I or II of 405 Squadron RCAF, with early style vertical stabilizers and the nose-mounted Boulton Paul turret, in flight. service ceiling of 38,500 feet, a speed of 345 American B-29.