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Avro Lancaster Image Gallery (there are a total of 115 images)
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Aircraft description (most info is taken from Wikipedia)
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The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). First used in 1942, together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was the main heavy bomber of the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving with RAF Bomber Command. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing. The Lancaster was famous as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 raids on Germany's important dams.
Design and development The origins of the Lancaster design were in a twin-engined heavy bomber powered by Rolls-Royce Vulture engines submitted to Specification P.13/36 which was for a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers. The resulting aircraft was the Avro Manchester, which, although a capable aircraft, was troubled by the unreliability of the Vulture. It was withdrawn from service in 1942 by which point 200 aircraft had been built. Avro's chief designer, Roy Chadwick, was already working on an improved Manchester design using four of the more reliable but less powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines on a larger wing. The aircraft was initially designated Avro Type 683 Manchester III, and later re-named the Lancaster. The new aircraft made its first test flight from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire on Thursday, 9 January 1941 and proved to be a great improvement on its predecessor. Some of the later orders for Manchesters were changed in favour of Lancasters; the designs were very similar, and both featured the distinctive greenhouse cockpit, turret nose, and twin tail although the Lancaster discarded the stubby central third tail fin of the Manchester by using a wider span tailplane and larger elliptical twin fins. The majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured by Avro, Metropolitan-Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth. The plane was also produced at the Austin Motor Company works in Longbridge, Birmingham later in the Second World War and postwar at Chester by Vickers Armstrong. Only 300 of the Lancaster Mk II with Bristol Hercules engines were made. However, the Lancaster Mk III had newer Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions with 3,030 Mk IIIs built, almost all at A.V. Roe's Newton Heath factory. Of later versions, only the Canadian-built Lancaster Mk X was produced in significant numbers, built by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario. 430 of this type were built, earlier versions differing little from the British-built predecessors, except for using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instrumentation. Late-series models replaced the Frasier-Nash mid-upper turret with a differently configured Martin turret mounted for weight balance in a slightly farther forward location. 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built throughout the duration of the war; each at a 1943 cost of £45-50,000 (approximately equivalent to £1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency). Lancasters from Bomber Command were to have formed the main strength of Tiger Force, the Commonwealth bomber contingent scheduled to take part in Operation Downfall, the codename for the planned invasion of Japan in late 1945, from bases on Okinawa. Operational history In 1942-45, Lancasters flew 156,000 operations and dropped 608,612 tons of bombs. Only 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, only to be scrapped in 1947. The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on 14 October 1944. The aircraft is carrying Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment, as shown by the two vertical aerials on the fuselage. The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on 14 October 1944. The aircraft is carrying Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment, as shown by the two vertical aerials on the fuselage. An important feature of the Lancaster was its extensive bomb bay, at 33 feet (10.05 m) long. Initially the heaviest bombs carried were 4,000 lb (1,818 kg) "Cookies." Towards the end of the war, attacking special and hardened targets, the B1 Specials could carry the 21 foot (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,448 kg) "Tallboy" or 25.5 foot (7.77 m) long 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) "Grand Slam" "earthquake" bombs, which required modification of the bomb bay doors. While eight .303 in machine guns were the most common Lancaster armament, twin .50 turrets were later available in both the tail and dorsal positions. A Preston-Green mount was available for a .50 cal mounted in a ventral blister, but this was mostly used in RCAF service. This blister was later the location for the H2S radar. A Fraser-Nash FN.64 periscope-sighted twin .303 ventral turret was also available but rarely fitted as it was hard to sight. (Similar problems afflicted the ventral turret in the North American B-25C, for example). Some unofficial mounts for .50 cal or even 20 mm guns were made, firing through ventral holes of various designs. The Lancaster had a very advanced communications system for its time; the famous 1155 receiver and 1154 transmitter. These provided radio direction-finding, as well as voice and Morse capabilities. Later Lancasters carried:
A development of the Lancaster was the Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. These two marks became the Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively. There was also a civilian airliner based on the Lancaster, the Lancastrian. Other developments were the York, a square-bodied transport and, via the Lincoln, the Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. In 1946, four Lancasters were converted by Avro at Bracebridge Heath, Lincolnshire as freighters for use by British South American Airways, but proved to be uneconomical and were withdrawn after a year in service. Four Lancaster IIIs were converted by Flight Refuelling Limited as two pairs of tanker and receiver aircraft for development of in-flight refuelling. One aircraft was flown non-stop 3,355 miles in 1947 from London to Bermuda. Later the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, they achieved 757 tanker sorties. Argentinian models were used several times during its service in several military coups. Variants B I The original Lancasters were produced with Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engines. Minor details were changed throughout the production series - for example the pitot head design was changed from being on a long mast at the front of the nose to a short fairing mounted on the side of the fuselage under the cockpit. Later production Lancasters had Merlin 22s and later Merlin 24s. No designation change was made to denote these alterations. B I Special Adapted to take first the super-heavy "Tallboy" and then "Grand Slam" bombs. Upgraded engines with broad-bladed propellers gave more power, and the removal of gun turrets reduced weight and gave smoother lines. For the Tallboy, the bomb bay doors were bulged — for the Grand Slam, they were removed completely and the area faired over. Two airframes (HK541 and SW244) were modified to carry a dorsal "saddle tank" with 1,200 gallons mounted aft of a modified canopy. No. 1577 SD Flight tested the aircraft in India and Australia in 1945 for possible use in the Pacific. PR 1 B 1 modified for photographic reconnaissance, operated by 82 Squadron, RAF. B I(FE) In anticipation of the needs of the "Tiger Force" operations against the Japanese in the Far East, a tropicalised variant was based on late production aircraft. The B Mk I (FE) had modified radio, radar, navaids and a 400 gallon tank installed in the bomb bay. The mid-upper turret was also removed. B II Bristol Hercules powered variant, of which 300 were produced, using Hercules VI or XVI engines. One difference between the two engine versions was the VI had manual mixture control, leading to an extra lever on the throttle pedestal. These aircraft were almost invariably fitted with an FN.64 under turret and bomb bay bulge. B III These aircraft were fitted with Packard-built Merlin engines and produced in parallel with the B.I, the two marks being indistinguishable externally. The minor differences between the two variants were related to the engine installation, and included the addition of slow-running cut-off switches in the cockpit:- a requirement due to the SU Carburettors fitted to the Packard Merlin engines. B III Special Variant built to take the "Upkeep" (bouncing) bomb for the dam busting raids. The struts and mechanism to take the cylindrical bomb were fitted below the bomb bay, and search-lights fitted for the simple height measurement system which enabled the accurate control of low-flying altitude at night. The mid-upper turret was removed to save weight - the gunner was moved to the front turret to allow the bomb aimer to assist with map reading. ASR III/ASR 3 B III modified for air-sea rescue, carrying a lifeboat in the bomb-bay. GR 3/MR 3 B III modified for maritime reconnaissance. B IV Increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage. Two-stage Merlin 85s - later renamed Lincoln B 1 B V Increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage. Two-stage Merlin 85s - later renamed Lincoln B 2 B VI Nine aircraft converted from B IIIs. Fitted with Merlin 85s which had two-stage superchargers, giving improved high altitude performance. These aircraft were only used by Pathfinder units, often as "Master Bomber." B VII The B VII was the final production version of the Lancaster. The Martin 250CE mid-upper turret was re-positioned slightly further forward than on previous Marks, and the Frazer-Nash FN.82 tail turret with twin Browning 0.5 in machine guns replaced the four-gun 0.303 FN.20 turret. B X The B X was a Canadian-built B III, differing in having Canadian/US made instrumentation and electrics. Also on later batches, the Martin 250CE was substituted for the Frazer Nash FN.50 mid upper turret. The greater weight of this turret necessitated moving the turret forward for "C of G" balance reasons. Canada was a long term user of the Lancaster, utilising modified aircraft in postwar Maritime Patrol, Search and Rescue and Photo Reconnaissance roles until 1963. Surviving Aircraft There are 17 known Avro Lancasters remaining in the world, two of which remain in airworthy condition, although limited flying hours remain on their airframes and actual flying is carefully rationed. One is PA474 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the other is FM213 of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Among the non-flying survivors are:
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