British WWII's bombers

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Avro 683 Lancaster

Lancaster, also known as "Lanc" - the most used British heavy bomber of WWII. Lancasters flew 156,000 missions. The Lancaster was a development of the unsatisfactory twin-engine Manchester. It had a rectangular fuselage, mid-set wing and twin tail fins and rudders. It was able to carry very heavy bombs and bulky 'special' weapons; with modifications to the bomb-bay even 10.000kg bombs were carried.

Lancaster has a Martin upper turret with two 50-calibre guns. Maritime patrol versions had no top turret, andJirka Wagner only the front turret was armed with two .303-calibre machine guns. Drafty, noisy, and uncomfortable on long flights, the Lancaster was nevertheless strong, reliable, and a delight to fly.

General characteristics Lancaster Mk. I
Primary function	Heavy bomber
Power plant	Four Rolls-Royce Merlin XX (or XXII) engines
Thrust	4x 1,460 HP		4x 1,090 kW
Wingspan	102 ft		31.1 m
Length	69.25 ft		21.1 m
Height	19.6 ft		5.97 m
Wingarea	1,292 sq ft		120 sq m
Weight	empty	36,828 lb	16,705 kg
	max.	70,000 lb	31,750 kg
Speed	max.	287 mph	462 km/h
	cruising	210 mph	338 km/h
Ceiling	24,500 ft		7,470 m
Range	1,662 mi		2,675 km
Armament	10x 7.7mm machine gun; up to 9,980 kg bombs
Crew	Seven (pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, radio operator and two gunners)
First flight	9.1.1941
Date deployed	1942
Number built	7,378 (incl. 430 in Canada)

Jirka Wagner