World War Two Ferry Pilots

[old man emu]

An interesting little bit of enfotainment produced in WWII about the way aircraft were delivered from factory or maintenance depot to active units. The dialogue is pukka British, but the visulas are worth watching.

 

 

[rgmwa]

I came across that yesterday. Quite informative and entertaining. Very British but a least the women ferry pilots get a mention too.

[facthunter]

 The Handling notes relating to various types and provided to Ferry Pilot's are very Practical and make interesting reading.   Nev

[old man emu]

Here's another interesting one. Notice how many women are involved in heavy work.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

The ferry one had the worst yank accent ever.

[onetrack]

Interesting how they all keep doing 3-point landings. Was that the preferred landing style in WW2?

[old man emu]

I marveled at the amount of stuff that they had warehoused. The war wasn't won so much on the battle field as in the factories. We never think about the thousands of non-combantants whose efforts supported the front line forces. 

[facthunter]

o/t they are "not quite" 3 point landings. but the sooner the Tailwheel is on the ground the better you steer it. A full wheeler would also be faster. Nev

[nomadpete]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

A full wheeler would also be faster. Nev

Quicker, Except for some of those floating, gentle bounce, wheeler landings....

 

But remember, most of the pilots were young, and had just stepped out of their Tiger moth with maybe ten hours pic time.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2025 by nomadpete
Fast Fat finger fixes

[facthunter]

The faster the touchdown the higher the tail must be.   Nev

[facthunter]

You don't tend to bounce off a three pointer. That's why I always preferred to do them.  Nev

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

The war wasn't won so much on the battle field as in the factories. We never think about the thousands of non-combantants whose efforts supported the front line forces. 

A strange thing happened at Hawker DeHavilland's before I was dragged away like I was a Jew going to an internment camp for slaughter. Everyone in the factory was working harder and faster. I asked an older bloke why that was. He said it's because of our commitment to the war in Vietnam. But the feeling I got from it, was not one of patriotism, but that their primary concern was hanging on to their jobs in the belief they too might end up directly involved in the war somehow if they didn't put in an extra effort at their machines.

[facthunter]

Could well be the Case..  Nev

[spacesailor]

'Ferry pilot '

The young lady  ( Cornell's Fort ) that survived the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbour

Was killed, when a male ferry pilot landed on top of her plane as she landed her delivery plane in the USA. .

Cornelia Fort was training a student in 1941 Pearl Harbour attack

spacesailor

[facthunter]

THAT happened quite often and not just limited to Ferry Pilots in the War. Nev