Avro Lincoln
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lincoln | |
|---|---|
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| A line up of Avro Lincoln B IIs (B 2) | |
| Type | bomber |
| Manufacturer | A V Roe |
| Designed by | Roy Chadwick |
| Maiden flight | 9 June 1944 |
| Introduced | 1945 |
| Retired | 1963 |
| Primary users | RAF RAAF |
| Number built | 604 |
| Developed from | Avro Lancaster |
| Variants | Avro Shackleton Avro Tudor |
The Avro Type 694 Lincoln was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War, first flying on 9 June 1944 and entering service in August 1945, too late to be used in action. The last piston-powered bomber built for the RAF, a total of 604 were built.
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[edit] Design and development
It was a development of the Avro Lancaster, built to the Air Ministry Specification B.14/43, having a larger wingspan with two-stage supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 engines, bigger fuselage, and with bigger fuel and bomb loads. As a result, it could fly higher and further than the Lancaster. It was intended for use in the war in the Far East as part of Tiger Force and was known initially as the Lancaster IV and V (the V having the Merlin 68A engines), but was renamed Lincoln B 1 and B 2 respectively.
[edit] Operational service
The Lincoln became operational too late to serve with the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth air forces in World War II. One Lincoln pattern aircraft was completed in Canada by Victory Aircraft. No. 75 Squadron RNZAF re-equipped with the type but disbanded shortly after the end of the war. In the postwar Royal Air Force, the Lincoln equipped several bomber squadrons. Nearly 600 Lincolns were built to equip 29 RAF squadrons. Due to the lack of range they were partially replaced by Boeing Washingtons which could reach targets inside the Iron Curtain. They were phased out of use in the late 1950s, and were completely replaced by jet bombers by 1963.
The Lincoln was used in combat during the 1950s in Kenya against the Mau-Mau, and Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. One was shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in 1957 as it flew to Berlin on a training flight.
The type later served with Argentina and the Royal Australian Air Force. Argentinean models were used several times during its service in several military coups. From 1946- 1949, 73 Lincolns were built in Australia - the largest aircraft ever built there.
The RAAF heavily modified their aircraft in the 1950s for use in anti-submarine warfare, giving them a 6' 6" longer nose to house acoustic submarine detection gear and its operator, larger fuel tanks to give 13 hours endurance, and modifying the bomb bay to accept torpedoes. The "long-nose" variant - officially the Mk. 31 - was particularly difficult to land at night, as the bomber used a tailwheel and the long nose obstructed the pilot's view of the runway. Only 20 were built.
The Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft was derived from the Lincoln, as was the Tudor airliner, which used the wings of the Lincoln married to a new pressurized fuselage.
A transport conversion of the Lincoln B.2, using the streamlined nose and tail cones of the Lancastrian and a ventral cargo pannier, was known as the Avro 695 Lincolnian.
[edit] Variants
- Lincoln B 1 : Long-range bomber version for the RAF. Powered by four 1,750-hp (1305-kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 inline piston engines.
- Lincoln B 2 : Long-range bomber version for the RAF. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin 66, 68A and 300 inline piston engines. Built by Avro, Armstrong-Whitworth and Vickers-Metropolitan
- Lincoln Mk 3 : The Lincoln Mk.4 was intended to be a maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The aircraft later became the Avro Shackleton.
- Lincoln Mk 15 : This designation was given to one aircraft, built by Victory Aircraft in Canada.
- Lincoln Mk 30 : Long-range bomber version for the RAAF.
- Lincoln Mk 30A : Long-range bomber version for the RAAF, fitted with a longer nose.
- Lincoln Mk 31 : Anti-submarine warfare, maritime reconnaissance version for the RAAF.
[edit] Operators
[edit] General Specifications (Lincoln B 1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 7 pilot, flight engineer/co-pilot, navigator, wireless operator,front gunner/bomb aimer, dorsal and rear gunners
- Capacity: up to 22,000 lb (6,350 kg) of bombs
- Length: 78 ft 34 in (23.86 m)
- Wingspan: 120 ft (36.58 m)
- Height: 17 ft 34 in (5.27 m)
- Empty weight: 43,400 lb (19,686 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 75,000 lb (34,019 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 piston engines, 1,750 hp (1305 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 295 mph (at 15,000 ft) (475 km/h (at 4,750 m))
- Range: 3,580 miles (1,470 miles with maximum bomb-load) ()
- Service ceiling: 30,500 ft (9,295 m)
Armament
2 .50 in (12.7 mm) MGs in nose, dorsal and tail turrets, alternatively twin 20 mm Hispano cannon in dorsal turret.
[edit] References
- Franks, Richard A. The Avro Lancaster, Manchester and Lincoln. Bedford, United Kingdom: SAM Publications, 2000. ISBN 0-9533465-3-6.
- diggerhistory.info
- British Aircraft of World War II
[edit] Related content
Related development
Avro Lancaster - Avro Tudor - Avro Shackleton
Comparable aircraft
B-29 Superfortress - B-32 Dominator - B-50 Superfortress - Tupolev Tu-4 - Messerschmitt Me 264
