Avro Lancaster

[Aussie Dave]

History and Development:

Owing to delays in the full development of the Vulture engine, the decision was taken in mid l940 to design a new version of the Manchester with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
The first conversion made use of about 75 per cent of the Manchester's parts and assemblies, the principal change being the provision of a new center section of the wing with mountings for Merlin engines.
It was this aircraft that became the first prototype of the Lancaster.

A second prototype fitted with Merlins and significantly modified in detail was designed, built and flown in just eight months.

The first production Lancaster I flew just over five months later, its power plant comprising similar 954 Kw (1,280 hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin XX Vee, liquid-cooled engines, each driving a three-blade constant-speed and fully feathering propeller.

Because of the possibility of some interruption in Merlin production, the Lancaster II was built with 1,229.5 Kw (1,650 hp) Bristol Hercules VI radial engines.

(NB: These fears did not materialize, with the result that only 300 Lancaster IIs were built.)

BT308, (A standard Manchester airframe) was fitted with a new wing center section into which were installed four of the very reliable Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines.
This aircraft flew for the first time on the 9th of January 1941.

The doubling from two to four motors meant an increase in the maximum bomb load, from 10,350 lbs to an operational average of 12,000/14,000 lbs and increased the altitude by more than double the Manchester's meager 10,000 foot ceiling.

Fuel capacity was also increased from 1,700 to 2,154 gallons and range increased from 1200 miles to 2350 miles.

In May the second prototype, DG595, took to the air and she carried both mid-upper and ventral turrets and a newly designed and enlarged twin tail configuration which discarded the center fin.
The New 1,280 HP Merlin XX engines had been installed in place of the earlier Merlin Xs.

First operational RAF squadron to be equipped with Lancasters was No 44, which used them operationally for the first time on March 3,1942 laying mines in the Heligoland Bight.
Defended by ten machine-guns and carrying a maximum bomb load of 6,350 kg (14,000 lb).
The Lancaster was, and soon proved itself to be a formidable weapon in the hands of the RAF, which had, by mid 1942, learned a great deal about night bombing operations over Europe.

By comparison with contemporary four-engined bombers the Lancaster was statistically the most effective, dropping 132 tons of bombs for each aircraft lost on operations.
(The corresponding figure for the Halifax and Stirling were 56 and 41 tons respectively.)

There were very few changes in airframe design during its wartime service. Improved power plants, however, provided steadily improving performance: the Lancaster VII, for example, with 1,207 kW (1,620 hp) Merlin 24 engines, had a maximum takeoff weight of 30,844 kg (68,000 lb) by comparison with the 22,680 kg (50,000 lb) of the early I's.

Bomb load changed considerably, the cavernous bomb bay being designed originally to carry bombs of up to 4,000 lb, with a total bomb load of 6,350 kg (14,000 lb).

(NB: It was modified progressively to also carry the 22,000 lb Grand Slam bomb.)

The Lancaster is mostly remembered for its part in two spectacular operations:
The breaching of the Mohne and Eder dams in May 1943 by No.617 Squadron (led by Wing Cdr. Guy Gibson) and the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz.

Its contribution to victory in World War II is best measured, however, by the total of 608,612 tons of bombs delivered, which represented Two-thirds of the total bomb load dropped by the RAF from the time of its entry into service.

A total of 7,366 Lancasters were built (including Mk Xs in Canada) and the type remained in front-line service with the RAF until 1954.
(Canada still had some photo-reconnaissance Lancasters in service until 1964.)



Specifications:
(Lancaster I.)

Dimensions:
Wing span: 102 ft 0 in (31.09 m)
Length: 69 ft 4 in (21.13 m)
Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)

Weights:
Empty: 36,900 lb. (16,738 kg)
Normal: 53,000 lb (24,062 kg)

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 287 mph (462 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 24,500 ft. (7,470 m)
Range: 1,660 miles (2,670 km)

Powerplant:
Four 954.5 kW (1,280 hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin 24s
12 cylinder Vee engines.

Armament:
Ten 0.303 in machine-guns and up to 14,000 lb
(6,350 kg) of bombs, maximum one 22,000 (9,988) bomb.



British and American Bomber Offensive against Germany 1939 - 1945

RAF Bomber Command
1939 31 tons
1940 13,033 tons
1941 31,504 tons
1942 45,561 tons
1943 157,457 tons
1944 525,518 tons
1945 191,540 tons
Total: 964,644 tons

U.S. 8th Air Force
1939 -
1940 -
1941 -
1942 1,561 tons
1943 44,165 tons
1944 389,119 tons
1945 188,573 tons
Total: 623,418 tons

Cheers,
Dave

[Jim O]

As always Dave, thorough and comprehensive. Thanks for the lesson and the great pics!

[Pirate-Drakk]

Originally Posted by Jim O

As always Dave, thorough and comprehensive. Thanks for the lesson and the great pics!

Excellent post!

[Wolster]

Great post, an excellent aircraft. I would love a model of the Mk.II, I believe some, if not all had a another gun position in the belly, just aft of the bomb bay.

[Aussie Dave]

Sorry Wolster, but you must be thinking of another aircraft mate.
As far as I am aware, none of the Lancaster variants had "Belly" guns or a gun turrent located there.


The special Mk.I's (and FE variant) didn't even have a mid-upper turret fitted to reduce their weight.
(The adapted Lancaster B-I "Tallboy Bomb" and "Grand Slam Bomb" bomber variants.)

(NB: No mid-upper turret fitted.)

The Mk.II's had the Bristol Hercules "Radial" engines instead of Merlin engines.

Some of the Lancasters did have a tear-drop blister fitted to their underside behind the bomb bay, but that housed the H2S System. (Ground looking navigation radar.)

(NB: Eventually, the H2S system could be homed in on by the German night fighters' NAXOS receiver and had to be used with discretion.)

Cheers,
Dave

[Wolster]

No, not wrong, most did!

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.

Note the last aircraft depicted has the buldged bombay and ventral gun position.



Here is one in the flesh:

[MAGNA]

Great memories from this one. I had an Airfix kit of this years ago. 1/72nd scale - I don't know what variant it was though.

An older bloke here whose family owned the biggest car yard in town for decades flew in one of them over the Swiss Alps in the 50's with of all people - Adolf Galland. He also had a set of ten pictures of different wartime aircraft signed by many famous fliers from the war. I offered to look after them when he didn't want them any more but he just laughed a lot.

[Aussie Dave]

You were right Wolster, after further investigation it seems some of the B.II's did have a ventral turrent fitted at first.

But it seems they were later removed altogether from most of those aircraft.

The ventral position was soon deleted on most RAF B.II Lancasters as it was thought unnecessary and took the same position as the H2S radome.

Cheers,
Dave

[Dallas]

Great pix of a legendary aircraft.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by Aussie Dave

Ten 0.303 in machine-guns and up to 14,000 lb

Hey Dave:

Thanks for the post. I see in the pictures 4 guns in the tail, 2 in the
nose, 2 in the top turrent. Where are the other 2?

Thanks, Brett