2021 is the
year we celebrate the Centenary of the RAAF and the Australian War Museum has
published an incredible WW2 story of one Halifax’s unlikely return home after
sustaining major damage in a raid near Paris in June 1944.
The aircraft was badly shot-up, some crewmembers had bailed out in anticipation of a crash landing, but it managed to limp home.
The story has led to the argument that
Halifax’s were unjustly tagged as “bride’s maid” to the Lancaster when their resilience
deserved higher praise. Interestingly, it is reported that the survival rate
for aircrew shot down over Germany was significantly higher from Halifax aircraft
and apparently their wider fuselage, and escape hatch locations were key.
The AWM article can be found here, and if you would like to read more on the Lancaster/Halifax rivalry you might like to check this article – Halifax or Lancaster.
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