2010 August 08: Interior walk-thru of the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster bomber, VR-A # KB726 of the Royal Canadian Air Force 419 "Moose" Squadron.The Lancaster. The cockpit of MOTATs Lancaster bomber The Captains Fancy. + It is painted in variations of matte black, is cold to the touch and has murderous looks. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the Avro Lincoln, a larger version of the Lancaster. Military Wireless Museum. The crew comprised a bomb aimer, who lay in the nose of the plane, the pilot, who sat behind and above him, with a flight engineer on a collapsible "dicky" seat to his right. [26], The Lancaster B.III was powered by Packard Merlin engines, which had been built overseas in the United States, but was otherwise identical to contemporary B.Is. Lancaster B.III "Dambusters" The Avro Lancaster was the most famous RAF heavy bomber of the 2nd World War andwent into service in 1942. [24], The Lancaster B.I was never fully superseded in production by a successor model, remaining in production until February 1946. The damaged fuselage and mid-upper turret of Avro Lancaster B Mark I, R5700 'ZN-G', of No. [60], On the night of 30/31 May 1942, the Lancaster participated in Operation Millenium, the first 1,000 bomber raid against the German city of Cologne. 1 x 8,000lb (3,600kg) impact or barometric fused HC and up to 6 x 500lb (230kg) impact or delay fused GP/HE bombs. The Avro Lancaster Bomber. display: none !important; In this video, our expert tells us why the Lancaster Bomber played such a crucial role in WW2. 6 x 1,000lb (450kg) short and long delay fused GP/HE bombs, additional 250lb (110kg) GP/HE bombs sometimes added. Unit. His position faced to port with a chart table in front of him. The bomber is expected to pass over . The war in the Far East ended before she was . [note 2][citation needed] The first batch of Canadian Lancasters delivered to England suffered from faulty ailerons; this error was subsequently traced to the use of unskilled labour. Time limit is exhausted. A new book about the Dambusters, Breaching The German Dams: Flying Into History, was published on Friday and is available from RAF Hendon. Power limitations were so serious that the British invested heavily in the development of huge engines in the 2,000hp (1,500kW) class in order to improve performance. The fitting of these guns was hampered as the same ventral position was used for mounting the H2S blister, which limited installations to those aircraft fitted with bulged bomb bays which interfered with the H2S. [77], Perhaps the most famous single mission performed by the Lancaster was flown on 1617 May 1943, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. [20] Examples of modifications made include the relocation of the pitot head from the nose to the side of the cockpit and the change from de Havilland "needle blade" propellers to Hamilton Standard or Nash Kelvinator made "paddle blade" propellers. [118], Prior to the decision to carry out extensive modifications under Silverplate to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress to allow it to deliver atomic bombs over Japan, serious consideration was given to using the Lancaster with its cavernous bomb bay instead. [69], In late October 1942, the first Lancaster bombing missions over Italy were performed; on 22 and 23, the cities of Genoa and Turin were struck at night-time. Most of these engines were still under development and while four-engined bomber designs were considered for specification B.12/36 for a heavy bomber, the extra engines required the wing and overall aircraft structure to be stronger, increasing the structural weight. In April 1937, a pair of prototypes for each design was ordered. Because each dam was a different width between the towers, each plane carried two or three different sights. A total of 430 of this type were built, earlier examples differing little from their British-built predecessors, except for using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instruments and electrics. The 4-engine bomber was introduced in March 1942 and since then was a favorite within the British High Command. By this point, the Royal Canadian Air Force had stood up its own operational squadrons equipped with Lancasters, and proceeded with offensive action over Germany in this same month. The fact that Mr. Groom built the . [100] These daylight raids quickly became frequent as, due to a shortage of oil, the Luftwaffe were increasingly incapable of mounting opposition; to further this difficulty for their opponent, Lancasters were directed against numerous oil installations. During early 1942, No. (function( timeout ) { They flew modified Lancaster Mk IIIs that were armed with special drum-shaped bouncing bombs; these had been specially designed by the British engineer Barnes Wallis; the Lancaster was the only bomber at the time capable of bearing the weapon. }, The mid-upper gunner sat on a rectangle of canvas that was slung beneath the turret and would stay in position throughout the flight. LEFT: Inside the radio room of the British RAF Lancaster Bomber, as used during WWII. [79] A total of 19 aircraft were dispatched on the operation, setting off in the evening and flying at very low altitudes most of the way to avoid detection. + }, It was also armed with 8.303-inch caliber Browning machine guns across three hydraulically powered turrets. A drive belt and pulley to rotate the bomb at 500 rpm was mounted on the starboard strut and driven by a hydraulic motor housed in the forward fairing. Bookings for the Lancaster's 2023 flying season open in November 2022 . 11:56, Apr 24 2017. This icon of the RAF Bomber Command was one of the most important aircraft of World War 2. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport. [13] The first flight was made by test pilot H. A. [8][9] Further requirements of the specification included the use of a mid-mounted cantilever monoplane wing, and all-metal construction while the use of the Rolls-Royce Vulture, which was in development was encouraged. My father flew on Lancasters in the early 1950sduring his time with the Royal Air Force. 1 x 9,250lb (4,200kg), hydrostatic-fused "Upkeep" mine. Flight history for aircraft - PA474. [93] In March 1944, the Berlin raids were somewhat lessened as a compromise, Bomber Command having been directed to destroy enemy communications and other targets around France and the Low Countries ahead of the Normandy landings on D-Day. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Slam-dunk Lancaster bombers often had their already-large bomb bays modified in order to carry the monumental 10,000 kilogram Grand Slam earthquake bombs. The 'lucky' Lancaster bomber, called EE136, was taken on 109 missions, including 14 raids to Berlin, Germany. 3 [123] A pair of Lancasters, PD328 and PB873, performed several long-distance flights, including round-the-world and trans-polar trips. When empty, the plane is approximately 36, 900 pounds. The Lancas. Despite this, the turrets used, starting with the FN-20, were never entirely satisfactory and numerous designs were tried. [5] This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war. How much of a challenge was it to build Lancasters in the quantities required? At 20,000 feet, temperatures inside the cramped aircraft could plummet to minus 40, potentially . Turrets As standard the Lancaster bomber was fitted with three twin 7.7mm turrets in the nose, rear and upper-middle fuselage. The turret had 1,000 rounds of ammunition per gun. She had a top speed of . Behind were a navigator, radio operator, mid-upper gunner and rear gunner. [127], Between 1948 and 1949, 15 former RAF Lancasters were overhauled at Langar for use by the Argentine Air Force. 6 x 2,000lb (910kg) short-delay fused AP bombs, plus other GP/HE bombs based on local needs or availability. You might think of this giant aircraft with a wingspan of 102 feet, but inside it's like being in an aluminium tube, full of racks of . Neither, The "Ruhr Express" the subject of a Canadian National Film Board production, Similar view and speed problems were commonplace in the era, having particularly afflicted the ventral turret in the, The Martin 250 CE 23A turret was the same unit which had been equipped upon many American bombers, such as the. When the Luftwaffe began using Schrge Musik to make attacks from below in the winter of 1943/1944, modifications were made, including downward observation blisters mounted behind the bomb aimer's blister[40] and official[41] and unofficial mounts for .50in (12.7mm) machine guns or even 20mm (0.79in) cannon, firing through the ventral holes of the removed FN-64. A civilian airliner was converted from the Lancaster with the addition of nose and tail fairings and seats, as the Lancastrian and a similar aircraft was derived from the Lincoln as the Lincolnian. One of the most important RAF targets was the destruction of the Ruhr dams that supplied important industrial installations with power. Multiple raids on V-1 launch sites and enemy shipping were also performed during August; the partially constructed battleship Clemenceau was one of the targets that were struck around this time. Second World War. [28] It possessed largely favourable flying characteristics, having been described by Goulding and Garbett as being: "a near-perfect flying machine, fast for its size and very smoothsuch a delightfully easy aeroplane to flythere are instances of Lancasters having been looped and barrel-rolled, both intentionally and otherwise". [39] However this neglects the fact that the two main Luftwaffe night fighters of the time, the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and the Junkers Ju 88 night fighters were capable of over 300mph (480km/h), thus a 50mph (80km/h) increase over the Lancaster's normal cruising speed of around 180mph (290km/h), giving a speed of 230mph (370km/h), still left the Lancaster vulnerable to interception. In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. Due to the weight, the ammunition was stored in tanks situated near the mid-upper turret's position and fed rearward in runways down the back of the fuselage to the turret. ); We takes a look inside an Avro Lancaster to see made it so successful. [88], In September, Hanover was subjected to the most concentrated bombing raid of the war so far. [90] In October, the widespread bombing of numerous German cities took place, targeting Munich, Kassel, Frankfurt, Offenbach, Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Friedrichshafen, and Leipzig, along with other targets. Arguably the most famous heavy bomber of World War II, the Avro-built Lancaster bomber undertook some of the most dangerous and complex missions yet encountered by the RAF. On a rainy day in April 2012, I experienced the . The wing is constructed from five separate main sections while the fuselage is likewise composed of five sections. [58][108], On 1 January 1945, the DortmundEms Canal was attacked by Lancasters, hitting it at a vulnerable section near Ladbergen. [48][49], After the 'Dam Busters' raid 617 Squadron was converted to a high-altitude precision bombing squadron in preparation for the arrival of Barnes Wallis's forthcoming Earthquake bombs for attacking special and hardened targets, and while they were training for this the bouncing bomb variants of B.I Specials had the spars and equipment removed and were then modified to carry the 21ft (6.4m) long 12,000lb (5,400kg) "Tallboy" bomb, a scaled-down version of the upcoming 25.5ft (7.8m) long 22,000lb (10,000kg) "Grand Slam" "earthquake" bombs which were still being built. 617 Sqn was perhaps the most famous of all Lancaster squadrons. . A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000lb (1,800kg), 8,000lb (3,600kg) and 12,000lb (5,400kg) blockbusters, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries. [55] On 10 March 1942, the type's first bombing mission was conducted over the German city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. [citation needed], The Lancaster was also produced overseas. Weighing 36,900 lb empty (or 16,738 kg), it was able to haul an additional 33,100 lb (or 15,014 kg) in fuel and bombs. 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Andrew Mynarski won the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest award for gallantry, on June 13, 1944, when his Lancaster was shot down in flames, by a German night fighter. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations and was ultimately retired from service and scrapped in 1947. Often, when the weather was deemed to be unsuitable for bombing missions, night-time mine-laying operations were flown instead. In the final months of the war, Lancasters were encountering the newly-developed Messerschmitt Me 262, the first jet-powered fighter aircraft, sometimes flying in formations of up to 40 aircraft. [118] The last Lancaster in active service with the RAF, a reconnaissance aircraft, is believed to have been retired in late 1954. This icon of the RAF Bomber Command was one of the most important aircraft of World War. 83 Squadron RAF, leads the queue of aircraft waiting to take off from Scampton, Lincolnshire, on the 'Thousand-Bomber' raid to Bremen, Nazi Germany. Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre's Lancaster bomber - known as Just Jane - is three years into a 10-year restoration project to get it airborne. The addition of large saddle-type external fuel tanks was considered and trialled in Australia and India, but this was discontinued due to their perceived vulnerability to attack. Inside a Lancaster, with a radio operator in the foreground and navigator beyond. [118] During 19471948, No. The British Avro Lancaster was a heavy bomber that was mainly used as a nighttime bomber during World War II. [13] L7527, The first production Lancaster made its first flight in October 1941, powered by Merlin XX engines. The unit would earn . Squadron's and Units Equipped With Lancaster's. Tiger Force Lancaster Squadrons. [105], Throughout the latter half of 1944, a series of high-profile bombing missions were performed by the Lancaster against the German battleshipTirpitz. if ( notice ) As the bomber fell, he attempted to free the tail gunner trapped in the rear turret of the blazing and out of control aircraft. 106 Squadron RAF based at Syerston, Nottinghamshire, after crash-landing at Hardwick, Norfolk, following an attack by a German fighter . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [citation needed], Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. The Lancaster Bomber cockpit replica he built is not only exactly like the one that would have been found inside the WWII warplane, but it is fully functional. B-25, also called Mitchell, U.S. medium bomber used during World War II. Initial attacks targeted the Mohne Dam until it was breached, then moved on to the Eder Dam, and then the Sorpe Dam and Ennepe Dam. [120] Goulding and Garbett wrote that: "The achievements of the Lancaster and the men who flew it have been widely acclaimed, and the aircraft has been described as the greatest single factor in winning WWII, an exaggeration but a pardonable one". The second prototype was also fitted with more powerful Merlin XX engines. As a byproduct of its sound design and operational success, various developments and derivatives of the Lancaster were produced for both military and civilian purposes. Many of them never made it home. Starting at the Entrance Door immediately inside the Fuselage there is a Flare Chute. 97 Squadron, which was also based at Waddington. The disadvantage of all radar and radio transmitting systems is that attacking forces can locate aircraft by picking up transmissions. The tail gunner escaped by rotating his turret to the rear, opening the door in the back of the turret, passing into the fuselage, and clipping on a parachute that was hung on the side wall. [18] The first prototype was initially outfitted with the Manchester I's three-finned tail but this was revised on the second prototype, DG595, and subsequent production Lancasters used the larger elliptical twin-finned tail unit that was also adopted for the last Manchesters built. Aerial photograph of an attack by Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster bombers on St. Vith, Belgium, on 26 December 1944. It was not uncommon for a rested crew member to volunteer for a second bomber tour. We place guests enjoying a ride in a variety of positions inside including the rear rurret; Middle Turret; Radio Operator's seat; and Bomb aimer's position. [28], 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. Cath Clarke. Lyzun, Jim, "From Warhorse to Workhorse: Lancaster Mk.10 Variants in Canada". We go inside the fuselage of Duxford's . [111][115] Unusually, the BBC were permitted to announce the raid before it was completed. [45][note 5] The bomb bay doors were removed and the ends of the bomb bay were covered with fairings. I'll take you on a full tour of the interior and exterior of the Lanc made famous for the dambuster raids. [28], The Lancaster benefited from a structure that possessed considerable strength and durability, which had been intentionally designed to maximise structural strength-per-weight; this resulted in the Lancaster being capable of withstanding some levels of damage resulting from attacks by hostile interceptor aircraft and ground-based anti-aircraft batteries. The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber.It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era. The plane was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin XXV12 liquid-cooled piston engines that drive three-bladed propeller units. [96] By May, Bomber Command had a daily average operating strength of roughly 1,100 aircraft, 616 of which were Lancasters, 354 were Halifaxes, 72 Mosquitos, and 58 Stirlings; between 300 and 400 bombers were being deployed every night, dependent on weather conditions. The Avro . Weighing 36,900 pounds empty, the Lancaster was capable of taking off with an additional 33,100 pounds of fuel and bombs; in . Lancaster with 100+ Operations. Later on, these two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster; these saw use during the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. Now on display at RAF Hendon, she flew in 137 Second World War raids more than any other aircraft. Only the FN-5A[35] nose turret which was similar to the FN-5 used on the preceding Avro Manchester, the Vickers Wellington and the Short Stirling remained unchanged during the life of the design, except in instances where it was removed entirely. The pilot (left sitting), Flight Engineer (right sitting in he flight jump seat) and the Navigator, who is facing rearward and actually sitting in the Flight Engineers normal crew position, but normally sat facing left in front of his navigators table. 3 and 5 Groups were fully equipped with Lancs. This recording was made of the crew inside a Lancaster bomber during a raid over Berlin in September 1943. [94], During April 1944, key targets in France included railway hubs in Villeneuve, Rouen, and Juvisy. if ( notice ) An instrument panel showing the airspeed, altitude, and other information required for navigation was mounted on the side of the fuselage above the chart table. .hide-if-no-js { The sound of the 4 Merlins alone has a profound effect on any one who is the least bit . On 14-15 Feb 1945, Lancaster bombers and their American counterparts devastated the German city of Dresden, killing at least 25,000 (some estimates . Black label The lager company Carling used footage of Lancaster bombers to create a parody of The Dam Busters in which a German soldier catches the bouncing bombs. We takes a look inside an Avro Lancaster to see made it so successful. . The gunners could have been just 18 or 19. Amongst the final wartime operations performed by the Lancaster was the Bombing of Obersalzberg, aimed at the destruction of Eagle's Nest, the extensive holiday home complex used by German leader Adolf Hitler. [83] On the night of 27 July, 787 RAF aircraft, comprising 74 Vickers Wellingtons, 116 Short Stirlings, 244 Handley Page Halifaxes and 353 Avro Lancasters, bombed the city. timeout The Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb (Grand Slam) was a 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against German targets towards the end of the Second World War.The bomb was originally called Tallboy Large until the term Tallboy got into the press and the code name was replaced by "Grand Slam". Among these bombs was the famous bouncing bomb designed by British inventor Barnes Wallis, a payload that would lead the Lancaster to remain famed long after 1945. Squadron and Units. It was installed in a small number of Lancasters but never became common. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era. The bomb bay of the Lancaster bomber was used to house two 400-gallon fuel tanks giving the aircraft a more extended range and allowing TCA to deploy the plane on its Montreal to Preswick, Scotland route. Published Jan 8, 2022. Your email address will not be published. 7 timeout While the overall build remained similar the tri-fin was removed in favour of a twin-finned set up instead. Therefore, this was a bomber similar to the ones used by the US to penetrate deep inside German lines . Lancasters had the nose section for a bombardier painted with matt black.The rest was of the Interior Green. [35] Aircraft fitted with Village Inn were used as bait, flying behind the main formations to confront the night fighters that followed the formations and shot down stragglers. 1 [25], Early production Lancaster B.Is were outfitted with a ventral gun turret position. Lancaster bomber parts. }, [22] Of later variants, only the Canadian-built Lancaster B X was produced in significant numbers. [97] In May and June, extensive operations were flown against the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. [32], The standard crew for a Lancaster consisted of seven men, stationed in various positions in the fuselage. [110], During early 1945, a total of 33 Lancaster B.Is were modified so that they could deploy the 22,000lb (10,000kg) Grand Slam bomb, the heaviest conventional bomb to be used during the conflict. Announce the raid before it was also fitted with more powerful Merlin XX engines was. The 4-engine bomber was introduced in March 1942 and since then was a width! Therefore, this was the destruction of the most successful survivor completed 139 and. When the weather was deemed to be unsuitable for bombing missions, night-time mine-laying operations were flown against the of... Most important aircraft of World War II an Avro Lancaster was capable of off!, between 1948 and 1949, 15 former RAF Lancasters were overhauled at Langar for by... Second World War gunner and rear gunner different width between the towers, each plane carried two three! 32 ], the plane is approximately 36, 900 pounds role,,! Between the towers, each plane carried two or three different sights significant numbers painted in of... Ap bombs, additional 250lb ( 110kg ) GP/HE bombs, additional 250lb ( 110kg ) GP/HE bombs sometimes.. Based on local needs or availability & # x27 ; s 106 Squadron RAF based at Waddington the. One of the most famous of all radar and radio transmitting systems is that attacking can... 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