On a Wing and a Prayer

This hour-long program is narrated by Richard Todd but centers on Jack Currie, one of the Lancaster pilots in 1944, whom we follow as he roams around the now deserted and woebegone airfield, climbs awkwardly into a Lancaster, and shows us the positions of the seven crew members.

Currie is quite a guy. He was the author of "The Lancaster Legend," and if the book is anything like his anecdotes about his mates it must be hilarious. One involves an upper turret gunner who asked to leave his position and clean up because he was "passing wind" or thought he was. He was refused permission because of the night fighters. I won't go on with the story. Currie tells all this with a perfectly straight face.

Much of the footage is from the period, autumn 1944, and it's integrated into this film. The original documentary was available on VHS from 1975 but isn't listed on IMDb.com. You can watch it on YouTube under the title "In Search of RAF Bomber Command," for some reason. Both this program, "On a Wing and a Prayer" and "In Serch of RAF Bomber Command" are linked together on YouTube.

There have been many documentaries on preparations for raids over Germany -- and feature films too -- but this is one of the most thorough I've come across.