The day I jumped from an Avro Lancaster.

[General Savage]

As so many of my fellow forum members await speechless in anticipation for my next post each day, it is time I revealed my personal history in regard to aviation. So few here have had operational experience in the WW2 era.
Few would realize that my introduction to aviation was on Avro Lancasters.
To cut across a lot of the opening preamble I would like everyone to read this article before I relate my exploits..

http://www.raafawa.org.au/wa/museum/lanc/history.htm

Back in 1962 my friend an I had a great interest in all aircraft as we lived near Perth airport. Having spent all our childhood tearing up to the airport after school to see what we could perve on, that day in '62 was a day like no other.
We could hear the roar of four Merlins as something big circled the suburbs of Perth and knew that it had subsequently landed at Perth airport.
By the time we got to the airport we could see that it was a Lancaster and that it was now parked unattended at the edge of the runway near the road.
Making it to the aircraft unobserved, we proceeded to the rear turret to look at the 50 cal mounting. Whilst messing around with this, the turret moved and we were able to swing it aside and climb in. Although knowing that the rear gunner could bail out from this position, we were surprised that the turret didn't lock.
We proceeded through the aircraft past a stinking open toilet bucket to the cockpit. Here we spent an hour doing what we wanted. I released my bomb load on Berlin and was turning for home when a truck pulled up outside.
We were both in the front seats and behind us was a green canvas black out curtain which I pulled closed.
We heard men's voices and one said that the gauges for the tire pressures was on the dashboard.
Someone got into the aircraft and made his way up to the cockpit and pulled open the curtain.
He got as much of a fright as us and yelled out. A guy outside called to ask what was wrong and the one in the aircraft said that there were two kids in here.
He said " Get out you two"! We jumped up and got out through a hatch above our heads that was open like a sun roof in a modern car.
We slid down the body onto the wing and got to the flap area and looked down. It was fifteen feet to the ground. He said "Jump". I said it was too far and onto bitumen. He said " Too bad, jump".
We did and I sprained an ankle. I hobbled off and we made off fast with our bikes.
This ended my time in Lancasters as I was demobbed by Dad the next day when he found out.

[Ruy Horta]

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us, which apart from the sprained ankle is the stuff that boyhood should be made of. Unfortunately few of us can say that they had them in a real Lancaster!!!