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chris spear
12/11/2012 6:44:21 PM | On page 153 of the B-17 Pilot Training Manual there are ditching instructions that include removal of the "pigeon crate" by the Bombardier?! Has anyone else heard of this? WTH?
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Paul Bellamy
12/11/2012 6:50:43 PM | Homing pigeons in crates were commonly carried in case of an emergency by RAF Bomber Command aircrew during WWII, to pass on their location in the event of ditching in the sea for example, as a backup if the radio had failed.
I can't say I've come across them being used operationally by the 8AF in the UK though.
Paul Bellamy
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chris spear
12/13/2012 7:53:46 PM | Paul, Yes, who was in charge of the tiny bird electrically heated suits and oxy masks? ha ha.
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Paul Bellamy
12/13/2012 7:59:17 PM | I found this NARA photo earlier of pigeons being loaded into a 376BG B-24 in North Africa in 1943.
Interestingly, they are being carried in what appear to be standard RAF pigeon boxes.
LINK
Paul Bellamy
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