|
About Lancaster Bombers
by Marshall of the Royal Air Force Sir
Arthur T. Harris,
wartime chief of Bomber Command
Windsor's Lancaster
FM 212 on display in Jackson Park, Windsor
Photo by Spike Bell P.P.A. Certified, M. Photog. M.P.A.
|
During World War II the Lancaster was
the most successful bomber used by the Royal Air Force and
the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Lanc had speed, ceiling,
and lifting power that no other aircraft of the day could
match. Weighing 36,900 pounds empty, the Lancaster was capable
of taking off with an additional 33,100 pounds of fuel and
bombs; in other words it could almost carry its own weight
again. The Lancaster carried 64% of the tonnage dropped by
the RAF and RCAF during the war. The “Grand Slam,”
a 22,000 pound special purpose bomb designed to penetrate
concrete and explode below the surface to create an earthquake
effect, could only be delivered by the Lancaster
and the Lancaster was thus chosen for special operations such
as the “Dambusters” raid and the attack which
sunk the German Battleship Tirpitz.
Lancasters were built to accomplish their
specific purpose and crew comfort and security was clearly
a secondary consideration. Generally flying under the cover
of darkness, the Lancaster had virtually no defensive armour.
The front, mid-upper, and rear gun turrets were hydraulically
powered and carried a total of eight .303 calibre machine
guns for defence against enemy aircraft.
The crew worked in cramped conditions,
particularly the air gunners who remained at their posts for
the entire flight. Some had to place their flight boots into
the turrets before climbing in, and then put their boots on.
At night and at 20,000 feet the temperature in the turrets
frequently fell to minus forty degrees and frostbite was not
uncommon. Air gunners manned the rear and mid-upper gun turrets.
A pilot, flight engineer, navigator, wireless operator, and
bomb aimer/front gunner completed the crew of seven.
The Lanc's massive bomb bay stretched
for 33 feet and, unlike other bombers, was one continuous
uninterrupted space. Partly for this reason, the Lanc had
the versatility to undertake raids with large, specialized
weapons. However, this meant that the main wing spars became
obstacles to movement within the aircraft, particularly for
airmen wearing heavy clothing and flight boots.
Windsor’s own
Lancaster as she looked while still in service.
|
Of the total of 7377 Lancasters built
(430 of them in Canada), 3932 were lost in action. During
the war Lancasters flew a total of 156 308 sorties and dropped
608,612 tons of bombs, and placed over 12,000 mines in enemy
waters.
Some of the aircraft's finest hours were
in “non-offensive” operations as the war was about
end and shortly after peace finally was in place. The first
of these was during “Operation Manna.” Lancaster
squadrons dispatched a total of 3,156 sorties to drop 6,684
tons of food supplies to the starving Dutch in May 1945. The
second saw many of the Lancaster squadrons tasked to return
Allied Prisoners of War from various locations throughout
Europe back to England. In a period of 24 days a total of
2900 round trips were flown and 74,000 ex-POW's were returned.
With the end of hostilities on all war
fronts, the Lancaster was by no means finished in its service.
The RAF continued to use the aircraft in various roles including
photographic and maritime duties until October 1956. The Royal
Canadian Air Force, who flew back many of the surviving Mk.X's
back to Canada, continued to use the aircraft in photographic
and maritime reconnaissance roles until the early 1960s. The
last three RCAF Lancasters were retired at a ceremony on April
1, 1964.
Lancaster Bombers
 About
Lancaster Bombers
Windsor’s
Own Lancaster Bomber FM 212
Windsor’s “Bad
Penny” on the Move
|
