Luck of a Lancaster: 107 Operations, 244 Crew, 103 Killed in Action

by Gordon Thorburn

No 9 Squadron of Bomber Command converted from the Wellington to the Lancaster in August 1942. W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. A further thirteen of the seventy would soon be lost by No 9. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war. Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J. Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemunde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, 'still going strong' and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz. During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Gordon Thorburn about the RAF during World War 2. The book focuses on the career of a single Lancaster called J-Johnny Walker that did 107 operations with 9 Squadron during the hardest battles fought by Bomber Command from 1943 onwards. It focuses on the different aircrews that flew the plane during these operations and their subsequent fates. But the book is more than that and also incorporates 9 Squadron's war and the bombing campaign under Bomber Harris, which was very controversial. Highly recommended!!

[Emma-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

High 3*

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apart from a few sections where the author forgot himself and actually wrote a coherent narrative, this book is largely lists of operations and statistics interspersed with occasional incomplete anecdotes. If you want to read a better book on this general subject, I recommend "Lancaster" by John Nicol.

[Shaun Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting

This book tells the story of one 9 squadron aircraft and the men that flew it night after night. If you have an interest in Lincolnshire or Bomber Command you will enjoy

[Bob R]

A very good picture of what being in bomber command was like. In a very honest way the casualilties were given for individual raids. This honesty does not take away how dreadful the likelihood of return from a mission was. Really good book

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attribute to a Lancaster and it's crew

It is almost unbelievable that a Lancaster could survive for over 100 missions. This book brings home to the reader thebraeryy of the me who flew her.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a dry diary

Obviously well researched, the author has crafted an easily readable saga that highlights the incredible loss of life in Bomber Command.

[Ian James Perryman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping.

A thorough history of one planes historic contribution to winning WW2. I was not aware of the huge sacrifice of airmen lost, significant because I was born in 1943.

[MR ANDREW TUCKER · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story

To think this aircraft flew this many missions and retire is a celebration for British engineering but also sad the amount of crews that died.

[Roy Grindrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Limited interest but worth reading.

The book traces the operations which one plane was involved in. It also follows the careers, and fates, of the plane's many crews.

[B Herring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lancaster

A very absorbing and poignant war history illustrating the courage of young men in Bomber Command and revealing the dreadful attrition rate.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets a bit listy