Heating onboard RAF Lanc/Halifax bombers

Good day folks, hope someone can help me with this.

I'm interested in the types of heating systems that were installed in Lancaster and Halifax bombers through the course of WWII but particularly around '43.

I understand a heating blower provided some warmth to the Halifax crew quarters (up front anyway) but the Lanc's was much less effective. Can anyone expand on that? And were electrically heated suits common to all crew in these aircraft or just gunners?

Many thanks in advance!

 

I semm to recall reading in one of Middlebrooks bombing books that the hot air blower came out near the radio operators seat....so he was always boling hot while everyone else froze......

I think only the rear and mid upper gunners got a heated suit.....

Hope this helps....

 

I took this shot while aboard a B17G, just curious if they had the same kind of plug-in "toaster" suits that the Americans had?



well the pics not working, but anyway, it's got a dial with two standard plugs in it for the suits.

 

Thanks for the posts guys.

Seem to have found what I was looking for. Seems there was a blower providing engine heat to the cockpit area.. This quote from one vet:

"The "Office" aircrew at the front end, Pilot, navigator, Wop etc. with their "central heating" did not require the bulky additional clothing which the Air Gunners needed, so flying boots and an outer sheepskin jacket were usually sufficient for them. This was because the front part of the fuselage in the cockpit area received the constant heated warm air blown from the inboard engines (The heat controls for the front crew compartments were on each side of the fuselage just forward of the front spar with adjustable louvers operated as needed by the flight engineer).


Exceptions were the mid upper and rear gunners who were equipped with electrically heated flying suits and gloves, both plugging in to sockets in the fuselage as in the B17.


Thanks for the help and interest!