Inside The Cockpit - Short Sunderland

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- Disclaimer: This video is sponsored by War Thunder

Join me on an absolute exclusive, as I jump inside the Short Sunderland at the RAF Museum London and explore the ins and outs of this magnificent machine!

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- Sources -
ACD 2005 (2), Manual of ASV Mk II (Aust), June 1945.

AP 1186, RAF Signal Manual, Dec 1938.

AP 1566A, The Sunderland I & II Aeroplanes, February 1942.

AP 1566C, Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes, Sunderland III, November 1943.

AP 1566E, Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes - Sunderland V, March 1945.

CD 0896 L, H2S Equipment Mark IIc Mark IIIa, July 1944

RAAF, Technical description Transmitter Type T.1154 Receiver Type R.1155, n.D.

- Timecodes -
00:00 - War Thunder [Sponsored Segment]
00:15 - Walkaround
16:12 - War Thunder [Sponsored Segment]
17:49 - Lower deck
27:40 - Upper deck
33:58 - Crew positions
44:10 - Cockpit
48:07 - Outro

- Audio -
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound

[nicktaylor]

My old boy undertook 3 tours of operations between 1939 and 1945. Towards the end of the war he transitioned to Coastal Command on Sunderlands as a WOpAG. He then went on to fly as an AOE/Instructor on Shacks and then Nimrods and retired in 1975 having joined up in 1937. He received the DFC, MID *2, KCVS (Air) *2 and was awarded LDeH before he died at the age of 97. He loved the Sunderland.

[kayakhell]

I showed this video to my grandmother's cousin whose older brother, Frank, flew RCAF Sunderlands through the Donegal Gap on 12+ hour anti-submarine patrols over the North Atlantic until KIA in Oct 1943, This walkaround brought tears of joy to a 94 year old man who still mourns and misses his brother. Sincere thanks!

[rickbarker]

Thanks to you and the RAF museum for the terrific tour.

[GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I'm watching this later, but posting now for the algorithm. I'm also curious to see how well this video does in terms of views. Do people want sea plane stuff? I know I want to watch it.

[robg]

Hi. Ex Short Brothers engineering apprentice here. Gouge flaps were designed by Arthur Gouge, Short Brothers Chief Designer. Hence the name. I don't know of any other aircraft using Gouge flaps; the design may have been copyrighted. Great video!

[stuartmoles]

As an ATC cadet I was visting RAF Pembroke Dock in 1952 and was fortunte to fly in a Sunderland for about 4 hours when we flew around Southampton. I then went on the join the RAF for 5 years and spent following 40 years in the Aviation industry, flew on many old aircraft such as the Anson, Tiger Moth and Lincoln bomber. But I never once experianced the excitment of that Sunderland trip and it will always remain one of my favourite Aircraft, apparently named a flying Porcupine by the German airforce.

[matthewrikihana]

Probably the first WW2 Era flight deck I got to sit in at eight years old. That was 1979 and I've loved the Sunderland ever since. In the decades since, New Zealand's Museum of Engineering and Technology has restricted internal public access so I'm lucky to have my childhood photos.

[Fizzoid]

Absolutely love the Sunderland. For many of her crews, they were their home

[priceyA]

If you like large flying boats and happen to find yourself in Auckland, New Zealand, you can see TWO of them side by side at the MOTAT aviation park. A Sunderland and a Short Solent MK4. They are both beautifully restored and sitting side by side. Well worth a look.

[BigSteveBlackpool]

my father was rear gunner on sunderlands mainly based at Pembroke dock one time they returned with depth charge stuck on the racksothey landed outside the bay and sent an SOS message and a launch was sent topics up the crew; At the next camp dance a fellow member point out the wireless operator who answered the call my father took one look at her and said he would marry her and that is how my parents met each other!

[Teyanis]

Its awesome that you're getting some exclusive looks at normally restricted parts of planes. This is preserving those bits in a way that museum can't. Keep up the great work, sir.

[bikeroffthebeatentrack]

Thank you for this video. I’ve seen this Sunderland many times but have never been able to see the upper deck. My grandfather, before being posted to the Far East, served as air crew on Sunderland’s with RAF Coastal Command. One of his roles was to prime and wind out the depth charges during attacks. On one occasion when they attacked a U Boat, a faulty depth charge fuse caused a premature explosion, seriously damaging the airframe. The explosion also caused the crew to lose consciousness and sent the aircraft into a dive. My grandfather came to first and crawled forward to the cockpit. The pilots were slumped forward and he pulled the captain back to check on him. The captain was still holding his control stick and this action pulled the stick back and took the aircraft out of it’s dive. The crew managed to limp the badly damaged aircraft back to their base in Scotland, dipped their flying suits into buckets of pitch, and used them to plug the biggest holes in the fuselage. The temporary repair allowed the Sunderland to land on the Scottish Lough, and the crew to escape. As they paddled their dinghy away they watched their Sunderland slowly sink into the Lough.
However my favourite story was of his participation in a top secret, unlogged mission to fly to N Ireland from Scotland and buy turkeys from the local farmers for an unofficial squadron Christmas dinner 👍

[GaldirEonai]

One of my childhood dreams was living in one of these things. Just hopping around between oceans and lakes as a flying yacht...

[bofoenss]

Great video and walkthrough as always. About the rifle rack. I read somewhere that it was actually for the four fixed .303 machineguns in the nose when the aircraft was handling on water so they would not get salty seawater all over and rust up. So this was apparently where they were stored and only put into firing places when in flight.

Also about the speed of reloading the bomb racks. I read several accounts that after a first run on a submarine, by the time the Sunderland had ascended and turned to be in position for a second pass, many crews were able to reload the racks and roll them out again. Of course, that depends on how fast a Sunderland could turn around a safe distance from the U-boat firing back. But it was apparently possible to do it in a matter of minutes.

[cearth]

My late father was an RAF Pilot who flew the Sunderland in the 1950’s. Stationed in Singapore he was ordered home with his crew to pick up a newly renovated Sunderland from shorts of a Belfast. He then flew it back to Singapore. The trip was full of hazards and it took them approximately one month. It was the last Sunderland flown to Singapore and the story got into the papers. Sadly just a few months later the squadron was disbanded and the Sunderland is cut up for scrap and everybody came home.

[rileyuktv]

Many years ago I was lucky enough to get to know Wing Commander Derek Martin (who lived near Marlow) - a WW2 Sunderland pilot. An amazing and humble man.

[terrancecoard]

Flying boats are next to the DC-3 in my love for slow fat planes. I first heard about them from my mom who along with my grandmother almost got run over by one while in a small boat between the islands of Grenada and Trinidad circa 1944. The pilot did not see them until the last minute because he had to pull up hard. They got showered by the water falling off the floats. She enjoyed watching Tales of The Gold Monkey with me back in '82. A flying boat was a main character in this adventure tale. Back them I did not know of their wartime duties and exploits. This was a treat getting a walk through.

[briantitchener]

What an excellent, detailed tour of a legendary aircraft. Well done, and 'thank you' to the R.A.F. Museum for allowing for video access to all areas on board. As kids, we would build Airfix kits of WW2 aircraft. My brother once chose an Airfix kit of a Sunderland as a Christmas present. Our biggest model plane. Great days. Thanks again.

[pault]

What an amazing tour, thanks to you and the RAF Museum for the chance to see the upper floor!

[patrickmulder]

The father of a friend of mine, back when I was a teenager, used to be a navigator in one of these. He used to be in the pacific theatre. The good man has been dead for many years now, but it's great to finally see his work station. We, being young, cared/asked way to little about what he went through inside these aircrafts when he was our age. Thanks to you and the RAF museum for sharing!