![]() ![]() By the spring of 1944, radar-equipped Lancasters were capable of bombing at night with considerable accuracy, particularly when attacking targets close enough to Britain to be guided by the radio bombing aids. ![]() Some Lancasters were equipped with H2S ground-mapping radar from 1943 and later with improved H2X radar as well as receivers for “Gee” and “Oboe” radio guidance systems. Another was the sinking on November 12, 1944, of the German battleship Tirpitz in the remote Kaa fjord of Norway by 31 Lancasters dropping 12,000-pound (5,400-kg) “Tallboy” bombs. The Lancaster’s more-spectacular exploits included successful attacks on the Möhne, Sorpe, and Eder hydroelectric dams in Germany on the night of May 17, 1943, using special spinning bombs that were designed to skip across the water when released at low altitude, hug the face of the dam as they sank, and then be detonated at the proper depth by a hydrostatic fuse. Most Lancasters were armed with a powered tail turret mounting four 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) machine guns, a powered twin-0.303 turret on the upper rear fuselage, and a pair of 0.303s in the nose a few had twin-0.303 belly turrets. For these missions the planes’ spacious bomb bays typically carried a mixed load of high-explosive bombs-for instance, a cylindrical 2,000- or 4,000-pound (900- or 1,800-kg) high-blast “cookie” or several 1,000- or 2,000-pound (450- or 900-kg) bombs-with the balance of the bomb load consisting of small incendiaries. The engine production problem was eventually resolved with Packard-built Merlins imported from the United States.įrom zeppelins to jet-powered propellers, launch into this quiz and test your knowledge of aircraft and aviation.Īlmost all of the 7,377 Lancasters produced during the war were committed to the nighttime strategic bombing of German cities. Lancasters powered by Bristol Hercules air-cooled radial engines also were produced as a result of shortages of Merlin engines, but these proved to be less capable than Merlin-powered versions. It could reach a maximum speed of 280 miles (450 km) per hour and a ceiling of 24,500 feet (7,500 metres), and it could carry a 14,000-pound (6,350-kg) bomb load to a range of 1,660 miles (2,670 km) at 200 miles (320 km) per hour. It was operated by a basic crew of seven, including the pilot, copilot, bombardier, navigator, radioman, and gunners. A mid-wing design with a twin tail, the Lancaster was powered by four 1,460-horsepower Merlins, had a wingspan of 102 feet (31 metres), and was 69 feet (21 metres) long. The Lancaster first flew in January 1941 and entered production in early 1942 it entered combat in April of that year. Avro then proposed a redesigned Manchester powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, and the result was the Lancaster. However, the Vulture engine proved to be a failure, and the Manchester was produced only in small numbers. The resultant aircraft, the Manchester, first flew in July 1939, entered production the following year, and was committed to combat in February 1941. Roe & Company, Ltd., to a 1936 Royal Air Force specification calling for a bomber powered by two 24-cylinder Rolls-Royce Vulture engines. The Lancaster emerged from the response by A.V. Lancaster, also called Avro Lancaster, the most successful British heavy bomber of World War II.
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