Lancaster bomber R5868 at RAF Scampton

Image: © John Lucas Taken: 20 Aug 1962

See also Image The Lancaster was a static exhibit at Scampton between 1960 and 1970, from where it had first flown operationally in July 1942 and flew 137 missions over Europe. Most of them were, of course, bombing raids but it also had a humanitarian role at the end of the war, bringing POWs home and flying food out to Europe. A very detailed log of its wartime service and afterwards is to be found at https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/74-A-12-Avro-Lancaster-R5868.pdf One of the most poignant entries in the log is as follows: 25 Apr 45 - "Flown by W/C Hay to Brussels to finalise repatriation of allied POWs. Returned the same afternoon with between 18 and 20 POWs who were landed at Westcott before returning to Waddington. George Wing described the trip; ‘The memory will always be with me of those lads faces, even though at the time I was only 20 years old myself, to see them sat on the floor of the aircraft, and some of them trying to negotiate the main spar, and the cheers when we came over the white cliffs of England. One of my happiest flights.’ Sugar [its call sign at the end of the war] was the first aircraft to undertake such a mercy flight."

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