LUBECK.

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CCCCCC" TEXT="#080000" background="043b85a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>R.A.F. TRANSPORT COMMAND VETERANS ASSOCIATION.</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="R.A.F. TRANSPORT COMMAND VETERANS ASSOCI"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NEW POSTINGS.">NEW POSTINGS.</A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="M/SHIP APP. FORM.">M/SHIP APP. FORM.</A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US.">CONTACT US.</A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JIMS NEWS.">JIM'S NEWS.</A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="T.C.V.A. SHOP.">T.C.V.A. 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Anyone from the photo recognize them selves. </div> <div> I am laying down, for once.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="116900b0.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="267" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> No idea who these three are, anyone know ??</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1174bdf0.jpg" border=0 width="331" height="223" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> From the left, looking at the photo, me,on the white horse Bert,  </div> <div> and two wireless mech's.</div> <bR> <div> <B>      </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="11899990.jpg" border=0 width="153" height="153" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="1192c600.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="352" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The first photo was taken in Lubeck, the second in Hamburg, </B></div> <div> <B>in 1948, on the Berlin Airlift. Anyone know the chap on the right , </B></div> <div> <B>in the first photo ?, and it is the same chap on the left in the second one.</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                 </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="11a58800.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="384" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Wife and I, returned to Lubeck in 1987, and had a good look round the airfield, </div> <div> by kind permission of the Border Guard and then round the town, we were escorted </div> <div> around Lubeck by an old friend of our's from the German Red Cross, (DRK).</div> <div> Brought back a lot of memories. Les Haines.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> #######################################################################################</div> <bR> <div> The following item and photo was sent in by,</div> <div> Bob Ashley.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="11c883f0.jpg" border=0 width="392" height="575" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >                                        </FONT> <B><U>A JOURNEY I REMEMBER.</U></B></div> <bR> <div> I WAS SERVING IN THE BRITISH AIR FORCE OF OCCUPATION (BAFO) IN GERMANY IN 1948/49. IT WAS A GOOD POSTING AND WE HAD AN EXTRA TEN DAYS LEAVE. THIS WAS BECAUSE IT WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN OVERSEAS POSTING. WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO BE OFF THE BASE AFTER r2210 PM, THIS WAS FOR OUR OWN SAFETY. A NUMBER OF SERVICEMEN, ARMY AND AIRFORCE, HAD DISAPEARED WHEN THEY HAD GONE INTO `NO GO' AREAS.  IN MID 48 THE BERLIN AIRLIFT STARTED, I WENT ON LONG DETACHMENT, FROM MY HOME UNIT, RAF WAHN, NEAR COLOGNE TO RAF LUBECK, RIGHT ON THE NORTH BALTIC COAST. THIS AIRFIELD AN OLD WW2 LUFTEWAFFE NIGHT FIGHTER STRIP, WAS SITUATED RIGHT NEXT TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPIED AREA. WE COULD WALK DOWN THE ROAD AND SEE THE MOGOLIAN GUARDS ACROSS A SMALL RIVER. ON APROACHING TO LAND OUR PLANES HAD TO FLY LOW OVER THE RUSSIAN ZONE IN BAD WEATHER THIS SINGLE RUNWAY STRIP AND WAS NOW BEING USED FOR ABOUT THIRTY RAF DAKOTA TRANSPORTS FLYING, DAY AND NIGHT, ON THE AIRLIFT THAT HAD JUST GOT GOING. </div> <div>      THE AIR FORCE HAD BOOKED ME TO TRAVEL UP TO HAMBURG, ON THE 'RHINE ARMY SPECIAL', THE DAILY TRAIN FOR BRITISH AND ALLIED OCCUPATION FORCES. IT RAN FROM THE SOUTH OF THE BRITISH OCCUPATION ZONE, VIA THE RHUR, TO HAMBURG. THE GERMAN RAIL NETWORK WAS ONLY JUST BECOMING OPERATIONAL DUE TO WAR DAMAGE AND ANY CIVILIAN TRAINS WERE VERY CROWDED, WHEN THEY WERE AVAILABLE. I HAD TRAVELLED ON A FEW HANGING ON OUTSIDE OR EVEN SITTING ON THE BUFFERS BETWEEN THE CARRIAGES. DOING THIS I HAD SEEN THE CITIES OF COLOGNE AND placeCityDUSSELDORF AND BOTH WERE AN ENDLESS MASS OF RUINS BUT I HADN'T REALLY SEEN THE REST OF THE RHUR INDUSTRIAL AREA. WHEN THE TRAIN PASSED THROUGH, THERE STILL SEEMED TO BE ONLY TWO THROUGH LINES OPEN. ALL ONE COULD SEE OF THE RAIL YARDS AREAS WERE A MASS OF WRECKED ROLLING STOCK WITH UP ENDED ENGINES TOSSED AROUND ALL OVER THE BOMBED AND TORN TRACKS OF THE MARSHALING YARDS. THIS DAMAGE WAS THE SAME IN HAMM, ESSEN, DORTMUND AND EVERY INDUSTRIAL CITY WE PASSED THROUGH. STRANGLY ENOUGH, OUT OF THE TOWN THOUGH, THINGS SEEMED TO BE COMING TOGETHER AND LOOKED, TO ME, THAT IN THE TYPICAL GERMAN FASHION, TO BE GETTING REORGANISED.</div> <div> IN THE LATE AFTERNOON THE TRAIN ARRIVED IN HAMBURG AND ALL THE TRANSIT PASSENGERS WERE TAKEN TO NO 201 ARMY TRANSIT UNIT IN AN OLD GERMAN ARMY BARRACKS. THIS WAS SITUATED IN THE NOT SO HEAVILY BOMBED, CENTRAL PART OF TOWN. A FEW OF US WENT OUT TO LOOK AROUND, BUT THE ONLY PLACE TO GO WAS A LARGE SERVICE CLUB AS WE HAD BEEN TOLD NOT TO WANDER TO FAR FROM WELL LIT AREAS, AGAIN FOR OUR OWN SAFETY. </div> <div> THE NEXT MORNNG, FOR SOME REASON, I MISSED MY EARLY CALL SO I COULD CATCH THE TRAIN UP TO LUBECK. THE ARMY TRANSPORT OFFICER THERE TOLD ME THE TRAIN I WANTED WENT FROM HAMBURG ALTONA STATION AND IT LEFT AT EIGHT OCLOCK. HE THEN SAID I HAD TIME TO GET THERE ON THE CIVILIAN STRASSEN BAHN (TRAM). THIS WENT FROM JUST DOWN THE ROAD SO I LOADED UP ALL MY KIT AND WALKED DOWN TO TRY TO FIND IT. FORTUNATELY, FAIRLY QUICKLY A TRAM TURNED UP, GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT, AS I DIDN'T SPEAK GERMAN, I COULDN'T READ OR UNDERSTAND ITS DESTINATION. WITH LITTLE CHOICE I TOOK A CHANCE, GOT ON HOPING FOR THE BEST. AFTER A FEW MINUTES THE TRAM SUDDENLY WENT DOWN INTO AN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL SYSTEM. I LATER FOUND OUT, WAS GOING UNDER THE HARBOUR TO THE OTHER SIDE, THE INDUSTRIAL PART OF HAMBURG. WHEN IT CAME UP TO ROAD LEVEL AGAIN I HAD NO IDEA WHERE WE WERE BUT DECIDED TO GET OFF TO TRY AND FIND OUT. WHEN I LOOKED AROUND I WAS STANDING IN AN AREA COMPETLY BOMBED AND BURNT OUT. NOT A BUILDING LEFT STANDING FOR A LONG DISTANCE, ONLY THE STREETS HAD BEEN CLEARED OF RUBBLE. I FELT A BIT OUT OF PLACE. STANDING THERE IN RAF UNIFORM, IN THE MIDDLE OF A COMPLETELY BOMBED OUT PART OF THE CITY. JUST THEN I SAW IN THE DISTANCE, A TRAM COMING TOWARDS ME, ON IT I READ HAMBURG ALTONA BAHNHOFF. (STATION). I WAVED IT DOWN HOPEFULLY AND GOT ON, TEN MINUTES LATER, WITH 5 MINUTES TO SPARE, MANAGED TO CATCH MY TRAIN.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> #####################################</div> <bR> <bR> <div> As Bob said our aircraft coming in to land had to come and go over the Russian zone. One day or night, (so long ago), a Dakota was taking of and some one from the Russian zone had driven a steam roller on to the end of the runway, and the Dak had its belly opened up by the smoke stack. All was OK apart from the gapping hole and the shake up of the crew.</div> <div> It was Bob comments that brought this back.</div> <div> Les Haines.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> ##################################################################################################</div> </td> </tr></table></body>