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Avro Lancaster

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Air & Sea transport;
World War II

   Lancaster
   An Avro Lancaster flying in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
   Type Heavy bomber
   Manufacturer Avro
   Designed by Roy Chadwick
   Maiden flight 9 January 1941
   Introduced 1942
   Retired 1963 (Canada)
   Primary user Royal Air Force
   Number built 7,377
   Unit cost £45-50,000 when introduced
   ≈£1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency
   Developed from Avro Manchester
   Variants Avro Lancastrian
   Avro Lincoln
   Avro York

   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.

Design and development

   Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at RIAT 2005
   Enlarge
   Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at RIAT 2005

   The origins of the Lancaster design was 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   was withdrawn from service in 1942 by which point 200 aircraft had been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; it was later named the
   Lancaster. The new aircraft made its first test flight from
   Manchester's Ringway Airport on 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. The Lancaster Mk III had newer Merlin
   engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions; 3,030 Mk IIIs
   were built, almost all at A.V. Roe's Newton Heath factory. Of later
   versions, only the Canadian-built Lancaster Mk X was produced in any
   numbers, built by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario; 430 of this type
   were built. They differed little from earlier versions, except for
   using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instrumentation;
   late-series models also replaced the Frasier-Nash mid-upper turret with
   a differently configured Martin turret mounted in a slightly different
   location. 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built over the war; a 1943
   Lancaster cost £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. 3,249 Lancasters were lost in action. Only 35 Lancasters
   completed more than 100 successful operations. The greatest survivor
   completed 139 operations and survived the war, only to be scrapped in
   1947.
   The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on Oct 14, 1944.
   The aircraft is carrying Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment,
   as shown by the two vertical aerials on the fuselage.
   Enlarge
   The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on Oct 14, 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. This 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.
   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:
     * H2S - Ground looking navigation radar system - though it could be
       homed on by German night fighters' NAXOS receiver and had to be
       used with discretion.
     * Monica - a rearward looking radar to warn of night fighter
       approaches - a notable disaster, transmitting constant warnings of
       bombers in the same formation it was ignored by crews and instead
       inadvertently served as a homing beacon for suitably equipped
       German night fighters, who would then use Schräge Musik to attack
       the bombers.
     * Fishpond - an add-on to H2S that provided additional (aerial)
       coverage of the underside of the aircraft to display attacking
       fighters on the main H2S screen.
     * GEE - A receiver for a navigation system of synchronized pulses
       transmitted from the UK - aircraft calculated their position from
       the phase shift between pulses. The range of GEE was 3-400 miles.
     * Oboe - a very accurate navigation system consisting of a
       receiver/transponder for two radar stations transmitting from the
       UK - one determining range and the other the bearing on the range.
       As the system could only handle one aircraft at a time it was only
       fitted to Pathfinder aircraft which marked the target for the main
       force. Later supplemented by GEE-H, similar to Oboe but with the
       transponder on the ground allowing more aircraft to use the system
       simultaneously. GEE-H aircraft were usually marked with two
       horizontal yellow stripes on the fins.
     * Village Inn - A radar-aimed gun turret fitted to some Lancasters in
       1944.

   The most famous use of the Lancaster was probably the 1943 mission,
   codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley
   using special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis, and
   carried by modified Mk IIIs. The story of the mission was later made
   into a film, The Dam Busters. Another famous action was a series of
   attacks, including one from a temporary base at Yagodnik in the Soviet
   Union, against the German battleship Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs, ended
   with the sinking of the Tirpitz.

   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,
   they 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 this
   change.

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;
   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.

PR 1

   B.I modified for photgraphic reconnaisance, operated by 82 Squadron,
   RAF.

B II

   Bristol Hercules powered variant. 300 produced. These aircraft used
   Hercules VI or XVI engines. One difference between the two engine
   versions was the VI had manual mixture, leading to an extra lever on
   the throttle pedestal to control mixture. 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 to the B.I. The two marks are indistinguishable
   externally. The minor differences between the two variants were related
   to the engine installation, and included the installation of slow
   running cut off switches in the cockpit, due to the SU Carburettors on
   the Packard Merlin engines.

B III Special

   Variant built to take the "Upkeep" ( bouncing) bomb for the Dambusting
   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. 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, for 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. Martin
   250CE mid-upper turret re-positioned slightly further forward than
   previous Marks. Frazer-Nash FN.82 tail turret with twin Browning 0.5 in
   machine guns replacing four-gun 0.303 in FN.20.

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 balance reasons. Canada was a long-term user of the Lancaster,
   utilising modified aircraft in postwar Maritime Patrol, Search and
   Rescue and Photo Reconnaisance roles until 1963.

Surviving Aircraft

   Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster.
   Enlarge
   Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster.
   Side Profile of a Lancaster front turret.
   Enlarge
   Side Profile of a Lancaster front turret.

   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:
     * B I R5868 "S-Sugar" is the oldest surviving Lancaster. Previously
       "Q-Queenie," this aircraft flew 135 operations, first as
       "Q-Queenie" with No. 83 Squadron RAF from RAF Scampton and then as
       'S-Sugar' with No. 463 and No. 467 RAAF Squadrons from RAF
       Waddington. This aircraft was the first RAF heavy bomber aircraft
       to complete 100 operations, and is now on display at the RAF
       Museum, Hendon.
     * B I W4783 "G-George" was operated by No. 460 Squadron RAAF and
       completed 90 sorties. It was flown to Australia in the war for
       fundraising purposes, and was assigned the Australian serial A66-2.
       The aircraft was later placed on display at the Australian War
       Memorial, Canberra, and underwent a thorough restoration between
       1999 and 2003.
     * B VII NX611 "Just Jane," served with the Aeronavale until the
       1960s, when it was flown back to Britain. At one stage, the
       aircraft was kept at Blackpool and following the removal of R5868,
       served as gate guardian at RAF Scampton. NX611 now resides at the
       Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at the former RAF East
       Kirkby, and is frequently taxied on a length of the old perimeter
       track.
     * B VII NX622 served with the Aeronavale until 1962, when it was
       donated to the RAAF Association. It is now beautifully restored,
       and displayed at the RAAF Association museum in Bullcreek, Western
       Australia
     * B VII NX665 with H2S radar is preserved at Auckland's Museum of
       Transport and Technology. This aircraft served with the Aeronavale
       until the 1960s, when it was presented to the museum. The airframe
       originally lacked the mid-upper turret, having been built with the
       mountings for a Martin 250CE. An earlier FN50 was retrofitted in
       the late '80s. This required modifications to the aircraft's
       structure as the turret mounts had to be moved rearwards.
     * B X FM104 was donated to the City of Toronto in 1964 and placed on
       a pedestal on Lakeshore Drive. After sitting outside for 36 years,
       the aircraft was removed from the pedestal and placed on loan to
       the Toronto Aerospace Museum in Toronto, Canada. The aircraft is
       now under long term restoration to static display condition. With
       spare parts from the remainder of FM118, it is slated to be
       complete as a museum quality piece in 2015.
     * B XFM159 arrived in Europe after the fighting ended and thus never
       saw combat. After returning to Canada and being placed in storage,
       it served from 1953 to 1955 with the No. 103 Search and Rescue Unit
       in Greenwood, Nova Scotia before being transferred to Comox,
       British Columbia to serve as a maritime and ice patrol aircraft. It
       was withdrawn from RCAF service in 1958 and purchased in 1960 by a
       trio of men from Nanton, Alberta with a view to building a war
       museum in their town. The aircraft is currently on display at the
       Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum and is the only surviving
       Lancaster to offer guided tours of its interior.
     * Mk 10P FM212 was withdrawn from RCAF service in 1962 and placed in
       storage. The city of Windsor, Ontario purchased the aircraft for a
       memorial; it was mounted on a pedestal in Jackson park in 1965.
       Unfortunately, weather and poor maintenance had taken their toll on
       the aircraft and it was removed on 26 May 2005. In its place are
       mounted a Spitfire and a Hurricane replica.
     * B X KB 944 now in the Canada Aviation Museum, it was built in
       Canada in 1945 by Victory Aircraft. After serving overseas briefly,
       before entering long-term storage in Canada later in the same year,
       it went on to spend most of the following years in stored reserve,
       except for a brief period with 404 Maritime Patrol Squadron at
       Greenwood, Nova Scotia in 1952. In 1964, the RCAF refurbished this
       aircraft and placed it in the Force’s historical aircraft
       collection.

   See the link under External links for details of the known survivors.

Military Operators

     * Argentina
          + Argentine Air Force
     * Australia
          + Royal Australian Air Force
               o No. 460 Squadron RAAF
               o No. 463 Squadron RAAF
               o No. 467 Squadron RAAF
     * Canada
          + Royal Canadian Air Force
               o No. 404 Squadron RCAF
     * Egypt
          + Royal Egyptian Air Force
     * France
          + French Navy, Aeronavale
     * New Zealand
          + Royal New Zealand Air Force
               o No. 75 Squadron RNZAF
     * Poland
          + (Polish Government and Army were in exile, during the duration
            of World War Two).
     * Sweden
     * United Kingdom
          + Royal Air Force

Civil Operators

     * Canada
          + Spartan Air Services
          + World Wide Airways
     * United Kingdom
          + British European Airways
          + British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)
          + British South American Airways
          + Flight Refuelling Limited
          + Skyways Limited

Specifications (Lancaster)

General characteristics

     * Crew: 7: pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless
       operator, mid-upper and rear gunners
     * Length: 69 ft 5 in (21.18 m)
     * Wingspan: 102 ft (31.09 m)
     * Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
     * Wing area: 1,300 ft² (120 m²)
     * Empty weight: 36 828 lb (16,705 kg)
     * Loaded weight: 63,000 lb (29,000 kg)
     * Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V12 engines, 1,280 hp (954 kW)
       each

Performance

     * Maximum speed: 240 knots (280 mph, 450 km/h) at 15,000 ft (5,600 m)
     * Range: 2,300 nm (2,700 mi, 4,300 km) with minimal bomb load
     * Service ceiling: 23,500 ft (8,160 m)
     * Wing loading: 48 lb/ft² (240 kg/m²)
     * Power/mass: 0.081 hp/lb (130 W/kg)

Armament

     * Guns: 8× 0.303 in (7.70 mm) Browning machine guns in three turrets
     * Bombs:
          + Maximum: 22,000 lb (10,000 kg)
          + Typical: 14,000 lb (6,400 kg)
          + For Comparison see: Maximum Reported B-17 & B-24 Bomb Loads

Related content

Related development

     * Avro Manchester
     * Avro York
     * Avro Lancastrian
     * Avro Lincoln

Comparable aircraft

     * Handley-Page Halifax
     * Vickers Windsor
     * Short Stirling

Designation sequence

     * 652A - 679 - 683 - 685 - 688 - 689 - 691

Related lists

     * List of aircraft of the RAF


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