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. [123], The Lancaster continued to be operated in significant numbers until the introduction of the Avro Lincoln, a development of the Lancaster. 1. 44 Squadron, based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, became the first RAF squadron to convert to the Lancaster; it was quickly followed by No. [13] The majority of Lancasters manufactured during the war years were constructed by Avro at its factory at Chadderton near Oldham, Lancashire and were test-flown from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire. Busted A selection of bombers became famous after Operation Chastise, a mission to destroy dams in the Ruhr Valley, which inspired The Dam Busters. In addition, four Lancaster IIIs were converted by Flight Refuelling Limited as two pairs of tanker and receiver aircraft for the development of in-flight refuelling. The transparencies were difficult to see through at night, particularly when trying to keep watch for enemy night fighters that appeared without notice astern and below the aircraft when getting into position to open fire. [130], Immediately following the end of hostilities, the Lancaster was used without any major modifications as a transport aircraft, being used to ferry thousands of prisoners of war (POWs) back to the British Isles from across the continent. In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. [25], Early production Lancaster B.Is were outfitted with a ventral gun turret position. In conjunction, low-level nighttime bombing raids continued, but the emphasis shifted away from the strategic bombing of German industry in favour of directly attacking military concentrations, such as U-boat pens and V-1 flying bomb launch sites. Some Interesting Facts - Random interesting facts from the World. 8 (PFF) Group which commenced operations in August 1942 with mixed Lancaster/Halifax . [123], During the summer of 1946, No. Numerous strikes on the German capital occurred over the following weeks, sometimes by an all-Lancaster force. Nicholas Stephen Alkemade (10 December 1922 - 22 June 1987) was a British tail gunner in the Royal Air Force during World War II who survived a freefall of 18,000 feet (5,490 m) without a parachute after abandoning his out-of-control, burning Avro Lancaster heavy bomber over Germany. [35] The Mk.VII and late Mk.X Lancasters used the heavier, electrically-controlled Martin 250 CE 23A turret equipped with two .50in (13mm) machine guns[35] which was mounted further forward to preserve the aircraft's longitudinal balance, and because it had an internal mechanism to prevent firing on the aircraft itself, it did not require a coaming. On 14-15 Feb 1945, Lancaster bombers and their American counterparts devastated the German city of Dresden, killing at least 25,000 (some estimates . As the bomber fell, he attempted to free the tail gunner trapped in the rear turret of the blazing and out of control aircraft. [58], On 17 April 1942, 12 Lancasters of No. The Avro Lancaster Bomber is one of the most famous heavy bombers of the Second World War. 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. 09:10 EST 18 May 2008 More than 7 days of PA474 history is available with an upgrade to a Silver (90 days), Gold (1 year), or Business (3 years) subscription. [22] In response to feedback on the lack of application for the ventral turret, the ventral turret was often eliminated during the course of each aircraft's career. During early 1942, No. 44 and No. 1. Avro Lancaster by Jeroen Veen (Tamiya . The Lancaster bomber on display at MOTAT has captivated crowds for decades. [68], While the Lancaster had been designed to conduct night-time operations, daylight raids were occasionally performed by the type as well. Collateral Between 1942 and 1945 Lancaster bombers flew 156,000 sorties and dropped approximately 609,000 tons of bombs on military and civilian targets. Avro Lancaster B Mark I, R5620 'OL-H', of No. It also spearheaded the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. The initial attack on Essen comprised 412 bombers, 140 of which were Lancasters. [129] They served throughout the 1950s, when they were supplemented by the Lockheed Neptune and finally replaced by the Canadair Argus. var notice = document.getElementById("cptch_time_limit_notice_74"); [55] On 10 March 1942, the type's first bombing mission was conducted over the German city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. With this weapon, Harris was able to drop 2,000 tons of high explosives on Cologne on 30-31 May 1942; in a mere 90-minute window, the Lancaster bombers left 45,000 residents of Cologne homeless. The Avro Lancaster is best known for the Dambusters raid over Germany in 1943. Click on pop up icons to see archival photos, watch videos, hear audio recordings, and uncover the stories behind one of the most famous bombers of . [27], The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engined strategic bomber that was used as the RAF's principal heavy bomber during the latter half of the Second World War. [81] In June, Lancasters begun operating in North Africa using the tactic of shuttle bombing from airfields in Blida and Maison Blanche. The Lancaster bomber that was in Edmundston for 50 years is being restored in Ontario at the National Air Force Museum of Canada, where it will eventually be on display in 2024. . ); John Robinson, right, president of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association, and Brad Saunders, project director for the Lancaster restoration project, check out a wing section of Windsor's FM . It's the oldest, and has the greatest operational history.". This recording was made of the crew inside a Lancaster bomber during a raid over Berlin in September 1943. [74] The first radial engined Lancasters were also introduced to service during January, alongside some new bombing aids. A full-size replica of a Lancaster bomber cockpit that was painstakingly made by a history buff has emerged for sale for 150,000. While some groups chose to discard the position entirely, various trials and experiments were performed at RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire and by individual squadrons. In total 364,514 bomber command operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action. CH18371", "Avro 683 Lancaster: The most iconic heavy bomber of World War II", "RAF BBMF to host Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Lancaster during visit to England. On 23 August, a major raid on Berlin was conducted, dropping roughly 1,700 tons of bombs on the city; German night fighters responded, causing a 5.4% loss rate amongst Lancasters, while the Halifax and Stirling bombers suffered 8.8% and 12.9% loss rates respectively. This is famously one of only a small number of design alterations made to the bomber, which was deemed to be just right after its test flights. This was a key element of Operation Bellicose, the bombing of a German radar factory in the former Zeppelin Works at Friedrichshafen and the Italian naval base at La Spezia. 617 and 9 Sqns, a combination of Lancaster B.I and B.III bombers were armed with Tallboy bombs and were adapted with enlarged bomb bay doors in order to accommodate their special payloads and additional fuel tanks to provide the necessary endurance. [5] This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war. 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. Crew Due to its large size, hefty armament and technical complexity, the Lancaster bomber had a crew of seven. [note 3] Aside from early B.Is and the prototype B.IIs, the FN-64 was almost never used. [30] The distinctive tail unit of the aircraft was outfitted with a large twin elliptical fins and rudder arrangement. Was A German Invasion Of Great Britain Actually Possible? [citation needed], An important feature of the Lancaster was its unobstructed 33ft (10m) long bomb bay. He could then exit through the rear entrance door. In this video, he walks through some of the components of a vintage Second World War Lancaster Bomber. Many crew members from Lancasters were awarded the Victoria Cross for their heroic actions in battle, a notable example being the two awarded after a daring daytime raid on Augsburg, Germany. ", "A History of Navigation in the Royal Air Force", "ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 19421945. The plane was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin XXV12 liquid-cooled piston engines that drive three-bladed propeller units. [72], On 16 January 1943, the German capital city of Berlin was raided for the first time in over a year; conducted by an all-Lancaster force, the Berlin raid was fairly inconsequential beyond its psychological impact, not causing meaningful damage to either side. timeout LEFT: Inside the radio room of the British RAF Lancaster Bomber, as used during WWII. Jun 19, 2005. In this video, our expert tells us why the Lancaster Bomber played such a crucial role in WW2. While the overall build remained similar the tri-fin was removed in favour of a twin-finned set up instead. [citation needed], The Avro Lancaster was initially equipped with four Nash & Thompson Frazer Nash hydraulically operated turrets mounted in the nose, tail, mid-upper and underside. Lancaster bomber NX611 "Just Jane" taxiing. Indeed, the bay was so spacious that with a little modification it could house the massive Grand Slam earthquake bomb, a 10,000kg giant that when released would reach near sonic speeds before penetrating deep into the Earth and exploding. Around this time, Lancasters would also provide direct support to the local operations of field forces. It is painted in variations of matte black, is cold to the touch and has murderous looks. In some later variants of the Lancaster the twin 7.7mm machine guns were replaced with 12.7mm models, which delivered more power. The bomber measured 69 feet 6 inches in length, had a wingspan of 102 feet, and stood 20 feet 6 inches in height off the ground weight. Despite eight of the Lancasters being lost during the operation, as well as the lives of 53 crew, a small number of bouncing bombs were released and they caused two dams to be breached, one to be heavily damaged and 1,296 civilians to be killed. 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