Avro Lancaster

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Avro Lancaster

An Avro Lancaster flying in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Type	Heavy bomber
Manufacturer	Avro
Designed by	Roy Chadwick
Maiden flight	8 January 1941
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. The "Lanc" or "Lankie," as it became affectionately known^[1], became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." ^[2] Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing. The Lancaster gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's important dams.

[edit] Design and development

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at RIAT 2005

The origins of the Lancaster design were 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 It was withdrawn from service in 1942 by which point, 200 aircraft had been built.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, and later re-named the Lancaster. The prototype aircraft BT308 was assembled by Avro's experimental flight department at Manchester's Ringway Airport and test pilot H.A. "Bill" Thorn was at the controls for its first flight from there on Thursday, 9 January 1941. The aircraft proved to be a great improvement on its predecessor, "one of the few warplanes in history to be 'right' from the start." ^[3] Its initial three-finned tail layout a result of being converted from a Manchester I was quickly changed on the second prototype DG595 and production aircraft to the familiar twin-finned specification used on the later Manchesters (below).

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 early Manchesters by using the wider span tailplane and larger elliptical twin fins from the later Manchester IA.

The majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured by Avro at their factory at Chadderton near Manchester and test flown from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire. Other Lancasters were built by 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. However, the Lancaster Mk III had newer Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions with 3,030 Mk IIIs built, almost all at A.V. Roe's Newton Heath factory.

Of later versions, only the Canadian-built Lancaster Mk X manufactured by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario was produced in significant numbers. A total of 430 of this type were built, earlier versions differing little from their British-built predecessors, except for using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instrumentation. Late-series models replaced the Nash & Thomson mid-upper turret with a differently configured Martin turret mounted for weight balance in a slightly farther forward location. A total of 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built throughout the duration of the war; each at a 1943 cost of £45-50,000 (approximately equivalent to £1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency).^[4]

The test pilot Alex Henshaw is the only known pilot to have barrel rolled a Lancaster bomber, a feat considered almost impossible because of the slow speed of the aircraft.

[edit] Operational history

The first RAF squadron to convert to the Lancaster was No. 44 Squadron RAF in early 1942.

In 1942-45, Lancasters flew 156,000 operations and dropped 608,612 tons of bombs. Only 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, only to be scrapped in 1947.

The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on 14 October 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, which required modification of the bomb bay doors.^[5]

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. This blister was later the location for the H2S radar. A Nash & Thomson FN-64 periscope-sighted twin .303 ventral turret was also available but rarely fitted as it was hard to sight. (Similar problems afflicted the ventral turret in the North American B-25C, for example). 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 - eventually, it could be homed in 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, since it could not distinguish between attacking enemy fighters and nearby friendly bombers. Much worse, it inadvertently served as a homing beacon for suitably equipped German night fighters, who would then use Schräge Musik to attack the bombers. Once this was realised, it was removed altogether.
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.

Avro Lancaster over Hamburg

The most famous use of the Lancaster was probably the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The mission was carried out by the 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. The story of the mission was later made into a film, The Dam Busters. Another famous action was a series of attacks using Tallboy bombs, including one carried out by No. 617 Squadron from a temporary base at Yagodnik in the Soviet Union against the German battleship Tirpitz, which ended with the sinking of the Tirpitz.

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.

Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force dropped food into parts of the occupied Netherlands, with the acquiescence of the occupying German forces, to feed people who were in danger of starvation in the Dutch famine. The operation, Operation Manna, was named after the food which miraculously appeared for the Israelites in the book of Exodus, called Manna.

The aircraft taking part were from 1, 3, and 8 Groups, and consisted of 145 Mosquitoes and 3,156 Lancasters, flying between them a total of 3,298 sorties.

The first of the two RAF Lancasters chosen for the test flight, the morning of April 29, 1945, was nicknamed "Bad Penny" as in the old expression: "a bad penny always turns up." This bomber, with a crew of seven young men (five from Ontario, Canada, including pilot Robert Upcott of Windsor, Ontario), took off in bad weather to Holland without a ceasefire agreement by the Nazis. Bad Penny succeeded in dropping her precious cargo and was able to radio back to base, "mission accomplished," allowing Operation Manna to begin in earnest. The story of Operation Manna is dramatized in a children's book called A Bad Penny Always Comes Back

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, but 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.

During its Argentinian service, Lancasters were used in several military coups.

[edit] Variants

[edit] B I

The original Lancasters were produced with Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engines and SU carburettors. 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 these alterations.^[6]

[edit] B I Special

Adapted to take first the super-heavy "Tallboy" and then "Grand Slam" bombs. Upgraded engines with paddle-bladed propellers gave more power, and 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. Two airframes (HK541 and SW244) were modified to carry a dorsal "saddle tank" with 1,200 gallons mounted aft of a modified canopy for increasing range. No. 1577 SD Flight tested the aircraft in India and Australia in 1945 for possible use in the Pacific, ^[7] but the tank adversely affected handling characteristics when full and flight refuelling was later chosen instead.

[edit] PR 1

B 1 modified for photographic reconnaissance, operated by RAF No. 82 and No. 541 Squadrons, wartime. All armament and turrets were removed with a reconfigured nose fitted and camera carried in the bomb bay. The type was also operated by 683 Squadron from circa 1950 for photographic reconnaissance based at Aden and subsequently Habbaniya in Iraq until disbanded 30 November 1953.

[edit] B I (FE)

In anticipation of the needs of the Tiger Force operations against the Japanese in the Far East (FE), a tropicalised variant was based on late production aircraft. The B Mk I (FE) had modified radio, radar, navaids and a 400 gallon tank installed in the bomb bay. The mid-upper turret was also removed.

[edit] B II

Bristol Hercules (Hercules VI or XVI engines) powered variant, of which 300 were produced by Armstrong Whitworth. One difference between the two engine versions was the VI had manual mixture control, leading to an extra lever on the throttle pedestal. These aircraft were almost invariably fitted with an FN.64 ventral turret and pronounced step in the bulged bomb bay.

[edit] B III

These aircraft were fitted with Packard-built Merlin engines and produced in parallel with the B I, the two marks being indistinguishable externally. The minor differences between the two variants were related to the engine installation, and included the addition of slow-running cut-off switches in the cockpit: a requirement due to the Bendix Stromberg pressure-injection carburettors fitted to the Packard Merlin engines.

[edit] B III Special

Variant built to take the "Upkeep" (bouncing) bomb for the dam busting 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 which enabled the accurate control of low-flying altitude at night. 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.

[edit] ASR III/ASR 3

B III modified for air-sea rescue, with three dipole ventral antennas fitted aft of the radome and carrying a lifeboat in the re-configured bomb bay. The armament was often removed, especially in postwar use and the mid-upper turret faired-over. Observation windows added either side of rear fuselage, port window just forward of the tailplane while starboard window was fitted into the rear access door. A number of ASR 3 conversions involved swapping the rudders with a Lincoln-style rudders. ^[8]

[edit] GR 3/MR 3

B III modified for maritime reconnaissance.

[edit] B IV

The B IV featured an increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage and new Boulton Paul F turret (2 X 0.5in) with re-configured framed "bay window" nose glazing. The prototypes (PW925, PW929 and PW932) were powered by two-stage Merlin 85s inboard and later, Merlin 68s on the outboard mounts. The prototypes became the basis of the renamed Lincoln B 1.

[edit] B V

Increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage. Two-stage Merlin 85s - later renamed Lincoln B 2

[edit] B VI

Nine aircraft converted from B IIIs. Fitted with Merlin 85s which had two-stage superchargers, giving improved high altitude performance. These aircraft were only used by Pathfinder units, often as "Master Bomber." The dorsal and nose turrets were often removed and faired-over.

[edit] B VII

The B VII was the final production version of the Lancaster. The Martin 250CE mid-upper turret was re-positioned slightly further forward than on previous Marks, and the Nash & Thomson FN-82 tail turret with twin Browning 0.5 in machine guns replaced the four-gun 0.303 Browning machine guns-armed FN.20 turret.

[edit] 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 Nash & Thomson FN-50 mid-upper turret. The greater weight of this turret necessitated moving the turret forward for C-of-G balance reasons. Canada was a long term operator of the Lancaster, utilising modified aircraft in postwar maritime patrol, search and rescue and photo-reconnaissance roles until 1963.

[edit] Surviving Aircraft

The Lancaster Mk X FM213 of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum painted as "VR-A" and called the "Mynarski Memorial" Lancaster.

Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster.

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 recreated as "VR-A," the "Mynarski Memorial Lancaster" in honour of Canadian VC winner, Andrew Mynarski.

There are only three surviving Lancasters (all non-flying) that actually saw operational service in the Bomber Command campaign over Europe:

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 (it went on to fly 137 sorties ^[9]) 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 during 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.
Mk 10AR KB839 was built by Victory Aircraft and delivered to 419 Squadron RCAF in January 1945. The aircraft completed 26 sorties, wearing the code letters VR-D. The aircraft was returned to Canada after the end of the war in Europe, and modified to Mk 10AR Arctic Reconnaissance specification. After being struck of charge, the aircraft was preserved at Greenwood Military Aviation Museum, Nova Scotia, where it is currently displayed outside.^[10]

The following surviving Lancasters were used as training aircraft or were constructed too late to see operational service in the Second World War:

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 at high speed along a length of the wartime runway.
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 1980s which 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 MuseumToronto Aerospace Museum in Toronto, Ontario, 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 and mounted it on a pedestal in Jackson Park in 1965. Unfortunately, weather and poor maintenance have taken their toll on the aircraft and it was removed on 26 May 2005. Spitfire and Hurricane replicas are mounted in its place. Currently being restored by the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association.
B X KB 944 was built in Canada in 1945 by Victory Aircraft, later the same year, after briefly serving overseas, it was put into stored reserve in Canada where it went on to spend most of the following years, except for a brief period in 1952 serving with 404 Maritime Patrol Squadron at Greenwood, Nova Scotia. In 1964, the RCAF refurbished this aircraft and placed it in the Armed Force’s historical aircraft collection where it is now on display in the Canada Aviation Museum. This Avro Lancaster has been renamed "Bad Penny" to commemorate the first RAF Avro Lancaster into Holland during Operation Manna to save the Dutch from starvation in the closing days of World War II, April 29, 1945. The story of Operation Manna is dramatized in a children's book called A Bad Penny Always Comes Back

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

[edit] Operators

[edit] Military Operators

Argentina

Argentine Air Force

Australia

Royal Australian Air Force

Canada

Royal Canadian Air Force
- No. 6 Group RCAF (wartime)

Egypt

Royal Egyptian Air Force

France

Aeronavale

New Zealand

Royal New Zealand Air Force
- No. 75 Squadron RNZAF

Poland

Polish Air Forces on exile in Great Britain
- No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron "Ziemi Mazowieckiej"

Sweden

Swedish Air Force

United Kingdom

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] References

^ Cotter 2005, p. XIII.
^ Taylor 1969, p. 314.
^ Winchester 2005, p. 27.
^ Webb, Dominic. "Inflation: The Value of the Pound 1750-2005." House of Commons Library. 13 February 2006. p. 16-17.[1] Access date: 14 July 2006.
^ The exact weight in kilograms of the "Tall Boy" and "Grand Slam" bombs differs according to source. The figures given are the most common.
^ Franks 2000, p.83-84.
^ Franks 2000, p.83.
^ Franks 2000, p.87.
^ Winchester 2004, p. 27.
^ http://acam.ednet.ns.ca/newslet/mar2003/kb839.htm

A.P. 22062A-P.N.: Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes for Lancaster. Mark I - Four Merlin XX, 22 or 24 Engines. Mark III - Four Merlin 28 or 38 Engines. London: Air Ministry, May 1944. No ISBN.
Chant, Christopher. Lancaster: The History of Britain's Most Famous World War II Bomber. Bath, UK: Parragon, 2003. ISBN 0-75258-769-2.
Cotter, Jarrod. Living Lancasters: Keeping the Legend Alive. Thrupp, Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7509-4192-8.
Franks, Richard A. The Avro Lancaster, Manchester and Lincoln: A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller. London: SAM Publications, 2000. ISBN 0-9533465-3-6.
Holmes, Harry. Avro Lancaster (Combat Legend series). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-84037-376-8.
Mackay, R.S.G. Lancaster in action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-89747-130-X.
Taylor, John W. R. "Avro Lancaster." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
Winchester, Jim. "Avro Lancaster." Aircraft of World War II: The Aviation Factfile. Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-639-1.