leo wrote:
There are shots in the IMPACT books of an early Fulton recovery technique being used to pick upi downed pilots, agents, etc with a Lysander.
I'd be interested to see that, because it's almost certainly an error. The Westland Lysander like previous British Army co-operation aircraft had a message pick-up hook fitted as standard and they would lift a message bag slung between two poles (or rifles) positioned by a radioless troop unit.
There are many pre- and early war photos of this, taken in Britain, France and North Africa - it was something of a party piece for the press, and I suspect rarely used in practice due to the nature of the Blitzkrieg.
Much later when used for agent dropping and pickup, there are stories recorded of Lysanders 'parachuting' agents in and picking up messages with a re-fitted message hook. When I've tried to track those down, it's usually turned out to be someone's lack of understanding of the Special Duties squadron's operations.
It does seem possible that Japanese soldiers were dropped from Lysanders by parachute to tell their colleagues that the war was over - there are AWM photos showing them boarding the aircraft, but I suspect they may have actually been landed as parachuting from a Lysander would be a dangerous job given the aircraft's configuration.
I cannot see how a Fulton technique would work with a Lysander. I can recommend 'We Landed by Moonlight' by Hugh Verity if you want to read of the true and amazing stories of the Special Duties units.
Regards,
James Kightly, author of '
The Westland Lysander'.
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