A little something I thought you all might enjoy...

[BobM]

Found this while searching for PV-1 Ventura photos, this is NOT a Ventura! But it is a Lancaster...

[Kevthemodeller]

Awesome stuff,

[Stokesy44]

They're all thinking, should we tell the CO someone's nicked the bomb in the middle?

[Twokidsnosleep]

They're all thinking, should we tell the CO someone's nicked the bomb in the middle?

That is probably what they are looking for.........

[Kevthemodeller]

They're all thinking, should we tell the CO someone's nicked the bomb in the middle?

That is probably what they are looking for.........

They're all thinking, should we tell the CO someone's nicked the bomb in the middle?

Found this site very interesting http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_bomb_loads.htm
The load in the picture looks like what was called: Bomber Command Executive Codeword: "ABNORMAL"

Target Type: Factories, Rail yards, Dockyards

14 x 1,000 lb Medium Case (MC), General Purpose (GP) RDX or US short-finned High Explosive (HE) bombs. With mix of instantaneous (nose-armed) and long-delay (up to 144 hours, tail-armed) fusing.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I found this image of the Germans manufacturing the HE-____??
Sorry I am not at all up on axis aircraft, someone fill in the blanks for me



What is the significance of the horrible symbol on the tail vs the fuselage side...why are they different??

[Stokesy44]

They are He111s

The cross is historically German / Prussian I think. The swastika was adopted by the Nazis as part of their identity. It’s originally a Hindu or Sikk symbol when shown straight and level, not tilted like we see here.

Feel free to correct me, anyone.

[Twokidsnosleep]

They are He111s

The cross is historically German / Prussian I think. The swastika was adopted by the Nazis as part of their identity. It’s originally a Hindu or Sikk symbol when shown straight and level, not tilted like we see here.

Feel free to correct me, anyone.

But why both on the plane?

[DBMiller]

They are He111s

The cross is historically German / Prussian I think. The swastika was adopted by the Nazis as part of their identity. It’s originally a Hindu or Sikk symbol when shown straight and level, not tilted like we see here.

Feel free to correct me, anyone.

But why both on the plane?

From what I've read the 'Balkan Cross' is for Germany and the Swastika is a NAZI symbol, as Stokesy44 wrote, adapted from a much older symbol.
Back in the 70's my uncle was in the Peace Corp in Nepal. The swastika was used in clothing and other work from that region.

From Wikipedia:
"The swastika (as a character 卐 or 卍) is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon used commonly in the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia, where it has been and remains a sacred symbol of spiritual principles in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In the Western world, it was historically a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck, but in the 1930s, it became the main feature of Nazi symbolism as an emblem of Aryan race identity, and as a result it has become stigmatized in the West by association with ideas of racism and antisemitism."

From http://www.aircraft-insignia.com/page10.htm
"History
The German Army obtained its first aeroplanes in 1910, and the German Navy in 1912. Before the First World War national markings consisted of a black stripe across each wing. A roundel in the national colours of red, white and black was considered but never implemented presumably because shape rather than colour was the important factor in identifying friend or foe. On 28 September 1914 German Army aircraft adopted a black Maltese cross insignia. This was displayed on the wings, fuselage and across the fin and rudder, and was outlined in white on a dark colour. This was marked on wings and rudder only. By 1915, however, the Maltese cross was also being applied to aircraft fuselages. On 15 April 1918 the cross was changed to a straight-edged, so-called 'Balkan' cross. Some Bavarian units adopted black and white striped fuselage markings and an all-black rudder.
Germany's defeat in November 1918 led to the complete destruction of its air force, but by the late 1920s various clandestine attempts were being made to form a new air arm. These aircraft carried no national markings. After 1933 aircraft, military in all but name, were being marked with rudder stripes in the national colours of red, white and black on one side of the rudder and a red band bearing a black swastika on a white disc on the other. The straight crosses on wings and fuselage and the black swastika on the fin were the standard markings throughout the Second World War. As the war progressed many variations of this insignia were used."

[Twokidsnosleep]

Interesting,thanks DB

[Twokidsnosleep]

Struck me as a nice photo