Lancaster Crew Audio Recordings




Below are some audio recordings that were made by the BBC inside Lancaster bombers during combat missions, along with written transcripts of the recordings. A BBC sound engineer went along with the crews on the flights and made the recordings on disks, each of which held about three minutes of recorded sound.

The crew members were aware that they were being recorded, and so at times the crew conversation seems somewhat formal and almost scripted. At other times, such as when the crews are under attack by fighters or flak, the conversation becomes more spontaneous and the stress and tension among the crew members is very apparent.

  1. Raid over Essen, Germany (April, 1943) -- This is probably the most dramatic of the three recordings, as flak can be heard exploding in the background and the plane is actually hit by flak -- (869 KB mp3 file)
  2. Raid over Stettin, Germany (April 20, 1943) -- (653 KB mp3 file)
  3. Raid over Berlin, Germany (September 3, 1943) -- On this recording the crew is attacked by a fighter plane -- (495 KB mp3 file)
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