Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster, England, 2002
Description
Role	Heavy bomber
Crew	7—pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid-, upper and rear gunners
First Flight
Entered Service
Manufacturer	Avro
Dimensions
Length	69 ft 5 in	21.18 m
Wingspan	102 ft	31.09 m
Height	ft in	5.97 m
Wing area	ft²	120.8 m²
Weights
Empty	lb	16,705 kg
Loaded	63,000 lb	28,636 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines	4 Rolls-Royce Merlin XX piston engines
Power	1,280 hp	954 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	280 mph at 15,000 ft	448 km/h at 5,600 m
Combat range	2,700 miles with minimal bomb load	4,320 km with minimal bomb load
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	23,500 ft	8,160 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Thrust/Weight
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Guns	8 x Browning 0.303 in (7.62 mm) machine-guns in three turrets
Bombs	normal 14,000 lbs (6,350 kg) special versions 22,000 lbs (10,000 kg)
Missiles
Rockets
Other

The Avro Lancaster was a four-engined World War II bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force. First used in 1942, together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was the main heavy bomber of both the RAF and the RCAF, and the most heavily used. The Lancaster was primarily a night-time bomber; unlike the Halifax, it was not used during the war for other duties than bombing.

The original design was for a twin-engined heavy bomber to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Vulture engines. The resultant aircraft was the Avro Manchester, a disappointing aircraft that was doubly hampered by the unreliable engines. It was withdrawn from service in 1942 with only 200 aircraft built.

When the Vulture proved unreliable, A. V. Roe's chief designer Roy Chadwick switched to a design using four of the more reliable Rolls-Royce Merlin engines instead. The result was the aircraft initially called the Type 683. Renamed the Lancaster, it made its first test flight on January 9, 1941.

The majority of Lancasters during the war years were manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers, Armstrong Whitworth and A.V. Roe. The Avro was also produced at the Austin motor works in Longbridge later in World War II. Only 300 of the Mk II with Bristol Hercules engines were made. The Mk III had newer Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions; 3030 Mk IIIs were built, almost all at A.V. Roe's Newton Heath factory. Of later versions only the Canadian-built 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 having a differently configured mid-upper turret. 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built over the war; a 1943 Lancaster cost £45-50,000.

The 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 to be scrapped in 1947.

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) or for special targets the 21 feet (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,448 kg) 'Tall Boy'. Towards the end of the war, attacking hardened targets, the 'Special B' Lancasters could carry a single 25.5 feet (7.77 m) long 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) 'Grand Slam' or 'Earthquake' bomb. This required modification to the bomb-bay doors. (Note: the exact weight in kg of 'Tall Boy' and 'Grand Slam' bombs differs according to source. The figures above are the most common.)

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 primitive radar installations - the rear looking H2S system was a notable disaster, transmitting constant warnings of bombers in the same formation it was ignored by crews and instead served as a homing beacon for suitably equiped German night fighters.

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" 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 against the German battleship Tirpitz with 'Tall Boy' bombs, ended with sinking 'Tirpitz'.

A development of the Lancaster was the Avro Lincoln bomber. There was also a civilian airliner based on the Lancaster, known as the Lancastrian: it was a Lancastrian that was involved in the mysterious "stendec" incident. Other developments were the York, a square-bodied transport, and the Shackleton, which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992.

Two Avro Lancasters remain in air-worthy condition, although few 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 FM 213 of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

Two Lancasters with extensive combat histories in Australian Squadrons have survived as static exhibits. S for Sugar of 463/467 Squadron RAAF flew 135 operational sorties, and is now on display at the RAF Museum, Hendon. G for George of 460 Squadron RAAF flew 90 operational sorties, and is now on display at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

External links

• The Avro History (http://www.raafawa.org.au/wa/museum/lanc/history.htm)
• Surviving Birmingham and Manchester made Avro Lancasters (http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/lancs.html)
• PA474 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/bomber.html)
• FM 213 of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (http://www.spitcrazy.com/mynarski_memorial_lancaster.htm)
• Lancaster FM159 - The Nanton Lancaster (http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/)
• The Australian War Memorial G for George page (http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/george/)
• R1155 radio receiver (http://www.shlrc.mq.edu.au/~robinson/museum/R1155.html)

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