inside a lancaster bomber

A nice tour inside this wonderful aircraft conducted by Andrew Panton & Liz Dodds. : submarine pens); battleship. This icon of the RAF Bomber Command was one of the most important aircraft of World War 2. . 617 Squadron, which had been formed less than two months prior. [118] Aircraft allocated to the Tiger Force were painted in white with black undersides and outfitted with additional radio units and navigational aids to facilitate their use in the Pacific theatre. The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a medium bomber for "world-wide use" which could carry a torpedo internally, and make shallow dive-bombing attacks. [26], The Lancaster B.III was powered by Packard Merlin engines, which had been built overseas in the United States, but was otherwise identical to contemporary B.Is. Only the FN-5A[35] nose turret which was similar to the FN-5 used on the preceding Avro Manchester, the Vickers Wellington and the Short Stirling remained unchanged during the life of the design, except in instances where it was removed entirely. The inaugural flight from Dorval (Montreal) to Prestwick, Scotland on 22 July 1943, was completed non-stop in a record 12:26 hours; the average crossing time was about 13:25 hours. This significantly reduced operational losses; and gun-laying radar was added to the last versions of the turret. The crew comprised a bomb aimer, who lay in the nose of the plane, the pilot, who sat behind and above him, with a flight engineer on a collapsible "dicky" seat to his right. Starting with the design of the aircraft by Roy Chadwick, you will be guided through the bomber's illustrious history, from the celebrated Dams Raid to the controversy of 'area bombing' under Bomber Harris. [87], On the night of 17/18 August, Operation Hydra was conducted against the Peenemnde Army Research Center, the site of the V-2 rocket and other German guided missiles and munitions; 17 Lancasters were lost in the costly but successful attack, mainly to German night fighters. Time limit is exhausted. [28], The Lancaster benefited from a structure that possessed considerable strength and durability, which had been intentionally designed to maximise structural strength-per-weight; this resulted in the Lancaster being capable of withstanding some levels of damage resulting from attacks by hostile interceptor aircraft and ground-based anti-aircraft batteries. [123], The Lancaster continued to be operated in significant numbers until the introduction of the Avro Lincoln, a development of the Lancaster. You enjoy the only chance in Europe to be inside a Lancaster Bomber with all 4 Merlins running. 5960. [104] Extensive daylight raids were performed during the month; cities such as Cologne, Walcheren, and Bergen were targeted by hundreds of Lancasters. Nonetheless, the factory was successfully bombed, a feat that was personally hailed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the aftermath. Both were four-engine main force bombers used by the RAF with seven crew. This carries a high-velocity Flare that is dropped at the same time as the Bombs to Photograph and record the Bomb Strike. The bomb was designed by Barnes Wallis -who was also the creator of the Grand Slam and Tallboy bombs and was special in its ability to bounce along the top of a surface of water, much akin to skimming a stone. [102], In October, Lancasters repeatedly struck the sea wall at Westkapelle, seeing to prevent the Germans from intentionally flooding neighbouring lands to delay Allied ground forces. [citation needed], From 1943 to 1947, the Canadian Government Trans-Atlantic Air Service (CGTAS) provided a trans-Atlantic military passenger and postal delivery service using a modified long-distance transport version of the Lancaster Mark X. 780) and the later paddle-bladed propellers. [97] In May and June, extensive operations were flown against the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. On 31 July, 20% of Bomber Command's strength was directed against Dusseldorf, focused on Schiess A.G.'s machine tool manufacturing plant. [24], The Lancaster B.I was never fully superseded in production by a successor model, remaining in production until February 1946. It also spearheaded the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. [56], All Lancasters were temporarily grounded after a crash on 20 March in Boston, Lincolnshire; this was lifted after each aircraft had been inspected for signs of buckling on the upper wing surface. Cath Clarke. As well as direct hits on very strong or durable targets (such as submarine pens) it could be used indirectly to create a. The first combat use of Barnes Wallis' 12,000lb (5,400kg) 'Tallboy' bombs occurred around this time. The pilot (left sitting), Flight Engineer (right sitting in he flight jump seat) and the Navigator, who is facing rearward and actually sitting in the Flight Engineers normal crew position, but normally sat facing left in front of his navigators table. The Lancaster was the most well-known and effective RAF heavy bomber of World War II, yet more than half of the 7,377 produced were destroyed by enemy action or training mishaps. [69], In late October 1942, the first Lancaster bombing missions over Italy were performed; on 22 and 23, the cities of Genoa and Turin were struck at night-time. The Lancaster became a British icon of the conflict, and to this day, one is still flown by the RAF. Time limit is exhausted. = In addition, No. [82], During late July and early August 1943, large numbers of Lancasters participated in the devastating round-the-clock raids on the city of Hamburg during Air Chief Marshal Harris's Operation Gomorrah. Many of them never made it home. Jack has completed the work on the rear fuselage bulkhead and it's now all ready for paint, hopefully next week. Take a peek inside one of the town's most . The FN-121 was the Automatic Gun Laying Turret (AGLT), an FN-120 fitted with Village Inn gun-laying radar. [61] By this point, the number of Lancasters in operational service had surpassed those of the preceding Manchester. [13][14] As a result, only 200 were constructed and the type was withdrawn from service in 1942. Bomber operations proceeded in both day and nighttime against industrial towns, airfields, communications, and troop concentrations into December; one such operation was flown against the E-boat pens at Rotterdam on 29 December. More than 7 days of PA474 history is available with an upgrade to a Silver (90 days), Gold (1 year), or Business (3 years) subscription. 7 [citation needed], The Lancaster was also produced overseas. A glimpse inside a Lancaster bomber. [79], The Ruhr continued to be intensely raided by Bomber Command for months following Operation Chastise with the aim of suppressing the region's industrial output. The tail gunner escaped by rotating his turret to the rear, opening the door in the back of the turret, passing into the fuselage, and clipping on a parachute that was hung on the side wall. In the final months of the war, Lancasters were encountering the newly-developed Messerschmitt Me 262, the first jet-powered fighter aircraft, sometimes flying in formations of up to 40 aircraft. [123] A pair of Lancasters, PD328 and PB873, performed several long-distance flights, including round-the-world and trans-polar trips. [15], By mid-1940, Avro's chief design engineer, Roy Chadwick, was working on an improved Manchester[13] powered by four of the more reliable but less powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, specifically adopting the "Power-egg" installation developed for the Beaufighter II, and installed on a wing of increased span. They used them for navigation training and familiarisation trips with trainee flying officers. The aircraft used were modified Avro Lancaster Mk IIIs, which had much of their armour and central turret removed in order to accommodate the payload. [note 2][citation needed] The first batch of Canadian Lancasters delivered to England suffered from faulty ailerons; this error was subsequently traced to the use of unskilled labour. notice.style.display = "block"; It was hard to believe that crew could move around and operate in the fuselage - a confined dark environment- let alone wear leather flying suits and carry portable oxygen. Family desperate for news of Lower Hutt man missing for months. During my visits to Duxford, I enquired about the possibility of photographing the interior of the Lancaster, and happily, the client obliged. A total of 430 of this type were built, earlier examples differing little from their British-built predecessors, except for using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instruments and electrics. The plane was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin XXV12 liquid-cooled piston engines that drive three-bladed propeller units. From 1942 onwards, the Lancaster became the mainstay of the British heavy bomber fleet; by the end of the war in Europe, there were roughly 50 squadrons equipped with the Lancaster, the majority of these being the Lancaster B.I model. [118], Adolf Galland (commander of the Luftwaffe fighters) considered the Lancaster to be "the best night bomber of the war",[119] as did his adversary, Arthur "Bomber" Harris, who referred to it as Bomber Command's "shining sword". [7], The origins of the Lancaster stem from a twin-engined bomber that had been submitted to British Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 of 1936 for a twin-engined medium bomber for "worldwide use" which could carry a torpedo internally, and make shallow dive-bombing attacks. This recording was made of the crew inside a Lancaster bomber during a raid over Berlin in September 1943. .hide-if-no-js { Lancaster bomber. The city has contributed $850,000, with the restoration group, made up mostly of volunteers, fundraising $750,000. Among these bombs was the famous bouncing bomb designed by British inventor Barnes Wallis, a payload that would lead the Lancaster to remain famed long after 1945. Please reload the CAPTCHA. [80] The story of the operation was later made into a book, and subsequently a film, The Dam Busters. In 1947, one aircraft was flown non-stop 3,459mi (5,567km) from London to Bermuda. function() { These bombers had been escorted across the Channel by Spitfires before breaking formation to individually fly at low altitude to reach and fly over the Alps; a total of three were reportedly shot down by enemy fighters. [22] All of the wing and fuselage sections were manufactured separately, during which they were outfitted with all of the required equipment in advance of final assembly being performed, as a measure intended to accelerate the rate of production. At the end of the bomb bay was the mid-upper gunner's turret, at which the floor dropped down to the fuselage's bottom. With a wingspan of 102 feet and four Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engin. [31] Furthermore the Lancaster suffered longitudinal instability at speeds above 200mph (320km/h). })(120000); 1 x 22,000lb (10,000kg) short-delay fused "Grand Slam" bomb. })(120000); 1 x 12,000lb (5,400kg) short-delay fused "Tallboy" bomb. As the bomber fell, he attempted to free the tail gunner trapped in the rear turret of the blazing and out of control aircraft. The wireless operator's radios were mounted on the left-hand end of the chart table, facing the rear of the aircraft. display: none !important; Most British-built Lancasters were fitted with the R1155 receiver and T1154 transmitter, whereas the Canadian-built aircraft and those built for service in the Far East had American radios. Neither, The "Ruhr Express" the subject of a Canadian National Film Board production, Similar view and speed problems were commonplace in the era, having particularly afflicted the ventral turret in the, The Martin 250 CE 23A turret was the same unit which had been equipped upon many American bombers, such as the. Explore the Lancaster and take a closer look at it inside and out. [7] These designs put limited demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were already stretched with the introduction of so many new types into service. fter their , David Fairhead and Ant Palmer return with a wartime history of the Lancaster bomber. Before the end of the war Lancasters built in the UK standardised on the FN-82 fitted with two .50in (13mm) machine guns and a gun-laying radar as production allowed, which was also used on early models of the Avro Lincoln. [118], Civil conversions of the type continued during the initial postwar years. It is painted in variations of matte black, is cold to the touch and has murderous looks. The Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek (Perth): Website: https://aviationmuseumwa.org.auDetails about the Lancaster tour: https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/tours-and-experiences/lancaster-tour/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aviationheritagemuseum Other videos: Lockheed F-22 Raptor: https://youtu.be/l4y71pDy8t0 Boeing B-47 Stratojet: https://youtu.be/DPf40OW5Z0AF-14 Tomcat: https://youtu.be/WCDieiDmaOI F-117 Nighthawk: https://youtu.be/KTCP1_0AkxQ NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 747-100: https://youtu.be/pkwt594wn5USpace Shuttle Orbiter: https://youtu.be/2VpWxFNfUogHughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose: https://youtu.be/zwniLHX-KTc Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress: https://youtu.be/h4_ESnENDfIBoeing B-29 Superfortress: https://youtu.be/6TcTDd2v090 Convair B-36 Peacemaker: https://youtu.be/bvM0usMCQkg North American XB-70 Valkryie: https://youtu.be/O8GvQ_N_lLkNorth American X-15: https://youtu.be/YGN3b3usw5Q BAC Concorde: https://youtu.be/Dy1tRQ8BKwQ Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: https://youtu.be/McR124aLTnA Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit: https://youtu.be/xEPs9izdDJA Grumman F-14 Tomcat: https://youtu.be/WCDieiDmaOI Tour through an AVRO Lancaster bomber: https://youtu.be/5gk6hEJ0vO0Tour through a QANTAS Boeing 747-200B: https://youtu.be/E7mCtl_uJ1sTour through a QANTAS Boeing 707-138: https://youtu.be/QI4TN9xJtxUTour through a QANTAS Lockheed Super Constellation: https://youtu.be/sd5xujtsOloTour through the first ever Boeing 747 in Seattle: https://youtu.be/boGbjkx3_7c Tour through a Douglas DC-3: https://youtu.be/dUB4pjG2GVUTour through a USAF Boeing B-52: https://youtu.be/wLCuiRtolpM USAF/RAAF General Dynamics F-111: https://youtu.be/CTb8JYWyBe4 RAAF CAC Avon Sabre: https://youtu.be/Tmgblwv0g8o RAAC CAC Dassault Mirage III: https://youtu.be/XcfR4G5NRmw 100 years of QANTAS aircraft on display at the Qantas Founders Museum: https://youtu.be/qyPVGTplh2QTour through the first ever Boeing 747 in Seattle: https://youtu.be/boGbjkx3_7c Tour through Concorde: https://youtu.be/bfHEevrtog0 Tour through a VC-137B - Air Force One: https://youtu.be/yfLqNI0jaco Onboard the LAST EVER Qantas Boeing 747 flight in Canberra: https://youtu.be/EyuoX3tDWGw Tour through a DeHavilland Comet 4 at the Duxford IMW: https://youtu.be/lppTTfzV3GU Tour through the Museum of Flight in Seattle: https://youtu.be/vYurfrYAmbU#avrolancaster #aviation #lancasterbomberTour through the American Air Museum in Duxford: https://youtu.be/Wk68LRlKgiU Tour through the Imperial War Museum in Duxford: https://youtu.be/lMwi3cka-j0Other general videos: Last Ever Qantas Boeing 747 flight in Canberra: https://youtu.be/EyuoX3tDWGw Goodbye to the Qantas Boeing 747: https://youtu.be/9KakKVYHaVw Qantas 717 Hobart to Sydney: https://youtu.be/ugRi5EWTL9sJetstar A320 Melbourne to Sydney during covid: https://youtu.be/XGHL1EYY_JE Qantas Link Dash 8 Q300 Port Mac to Sydney: https://youtu.be/f4E6CzHK4p4Qantas Link Dash 8 Q400 Sydney to Port Mac: https://youtu.be/kuywEdAcWxcI have two Youtube channels: Paul Stewart (aviation travel vlogs): https://www.youtube.com/c/paulstewartaviationPaul Stewart EXTRA (unedited inflight aviation footage): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnnXfUeUOKYUs5K_Ve1icg Check out my Instagram account: @paulstewartaviation ( https://www.instagram.com/paulstewartaviation/ ) and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulstewartaviation/ If you enjoy this videos and want to see more, you can send me a donation via Paypal :) https://paypal.me/paulstewartaviation0:00 Intro0:37 overview1:06 Rolls Royce V12 Merlins1:28 landing gear1:53 bombay and bombs3:50 wings4:16 twin tail design5:14 Upkeep bouncing bomb6:16 head inside6:35 inflight toilet6:45 rear gunner's position8:28 heating system8:56 chute + window 9:42 magnetic compas9:52 ammunition tracks10:20 mid-upper gunner's turret11:05 sick bay12:02 radio operator's position12:54 navigator's position13:56 flight engineer14:01 pilot16:10 bomb aimer17:07 survival statistics18:52 H2S ground radar19:20 forward turret 19:44 nose art Crew inside a Lancaster Bomber left-hand end of the Lancaster was also produced.... 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