Flying Officer JB Burnside, a flight engineer with No. 619 Squadron RAF, checks his instruments in a Lancaster bomber, 14 February 1944. The flight engineer sat on a stool to the right of the pilot, his job being to monitor the flying condition of the aircraft during an operation. He checked fuel levels and engine performance, tried to solve any mechanical problems, and performed the elaborate systems pre-flight check list with the pilot. Flight engineers were trained in the basics of flying the bomber in case the pilot was too badly injured. During the long flight many other tasks fell to the flight engineer: retracting and putting down the undercarriage; helping to operate the throttles; checking the crew's oxygen equipment; and, when not otherwise employed, watching for enemy fighters. [Imperial War Museum image CH12289]
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