Avro Lancaster
| Avro Lancaster (Mark I) | ||
|---|---|---|
  | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Heavy bomber | |
| Crew | 7 - pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid upper and rear gunners | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 69.5 ft | 21.18 m |
| Wingspan | 102 ft | 31.09 m |
| Height | 5.97 m | |
| Wing area | 120.8 m² | |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 16,705 kg | |
| Loaded | 63,000 lb | 28,636 kg |
| Maximum take-off | ||
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 4 x Rolls Royce Merlin XX | |
| Power | 1,280 hp each | 954 kW each |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 280 mph at 18,500 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 | ||
| Service ceiling | 23,500 ft | 7,163 m |
| Rate of climb | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 8 x Browning 0.303 in (7.62 mm) machine-guns in three turrets | |
| Bombs | normal 14,000 lb special versions up to 22,000lb | normal 6,350 kg special versions up to 10,000 kg |
The Avro Lancaster was a four-engined World War II bomber aircraft made by Avro for the Royal Air Force. First used in 1942, together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was the main heavy bomber of the RAF and the most heavily used.
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 It was withdrawn from service in 1942 with only 200 aircraft built.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 were manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers, Armstrong Whitworth and A.V. Roe. 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 ÃÂã4545-50,000.
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. The Lancaster was primarily a night-time bomber. (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 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 sqaure-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.
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