115 Squadron (Despite The Elements), Witchford, England. Target - Siegen, Germany. Lancaster aircraft LL 944 was shot down twenty miles north-west of Coblenz at Uckerath, Germany. Sergeants D.W. Roberts (RAF) and R.D. Roberts (RAF) were also killed. Four crew members, not Canadians, were taken Prisoners of War.
Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.
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 capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia
No. 115 Sqn was originally formed on Dec 1, 1917 as a heavy bomber squadron and joined the Independent Air Force of the RAF in August 1918. It was disbanded in 1919, then re-formed in June 1937. It formed part of RAF Bomber Command No. 3 Group in WWII. Starting with Handley Page Harrow aircraft, it transferred to Vickers Wellingtons in 1939, which it flew until March 1943, when it transferred to Avro Lancaster B. Mk. II and later B. Mks I and III. Between April 1940 and September 1942 the squadron was seconded to Coastal Command and based at Kinloss, Scotland. It rejoined Bomber Command and flew from Mildenhall, East Wretham and Little Snoring in 1942 and 1943 before settling at Witchford, Cambridgeshire from November 1943 until the end of hostilities.
In April 1940 the squadron made the RAF's first bombing attack on the mainland of Europe, at Stavanger in Norway. In August of 1941 it participated in the service trials of the new navigational aid, GEE, and as a result of its report the device was put into mass production. Overall, in WWII the squadron flew 5392 sorties and dropped about 23,000 tons of bombs. This was the second-highest tonnage of bombs in Bomber Command. The squadron was 3rd in the number of raids in the course of the war. Since it was active over the whole span of WWI, it lost the greatest number of aircraft of any squadron in Bomber Command: it was the only squadron to lose more than 200 aircraft.
Specifications
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Avro Type 683 Lancaster
General Characteristics
Crew:
7 (typical)
Length:
69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)
Wingspan:
102 ft 0 in (31.09 m)
Height:
20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Wing area:
1,300 sq ft (120 m2)
Aerofoil:
Root: NACA 23018. Tip: NACA 23012
Empty weight:
36,900 lb (16,738 kg)
Max takeoff weight:
72,000 lb (32,657 kg)
Fuel capacity:
2,154 imp gal (9,792 L)
Powerplants:
Lancaster Mk.I, III, VI, VII & X:
4 x Rolls-Royce, Packard or Ford UK built Merlin XX, 22, 24, 28, 85 or 224 liquid-cooled V-12 piston engines with power output between 1,280 hp (954 kW) and 1,635 hp (1,219 kW) each
Lancaster Mk.II:
4 x Bristol Hercules Mk.VI or XVI air-cooled 14-cylinder radial piston engines with power output of 1,615 hp (1,204 kW) each
Propellers:
Lancaster Mk.I, III, VI, VII & X:
3-bladed de Havilland, Hamilton Standard or Nash Kelvinator Hydromatic constant-speed fully feathering metal bladed propellers, 13 ft (3.96 m) diameter
Lancaster Mk.II:
Rotol electric constant-speed fully feathering wooden bladed propellers, 13 ft (3.96 m) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed:
Lancaster Mk.I, II, III, VII & X: 287 mph (461 km/h)
Lancaster Mk.VI: 315 mph (507 km/h)
Cruising speed: 207 mph (333 km/h)
Range: 2,530 mi (4,073 km)
Service ceiling: 23,500 ft (7,162 m)
Armament:
Standard:
Two 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning Mark II machine guns in:
Nash and Thompson FN5 nose and
FN50/150 mid-upper turrets,
four 0.303-inch Browning Mark II machine guns in Nash and Thompson FN20/120/121 rear turret
Alternative/additional:
Nash and Thompson FN64 ventral turret with two 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning Mark II machine guns
Glenn Martin 250CE electrically operated mid-upper turret with two 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine guns (Lancaster Mk.VII and late production Lancaster Mk. X only)
Nash and Thompson FN82 rear turret with two 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine guns (Lancaster Mk.VII &late production Lancaster Mk.I only)
Rose Brothers Type R rear turret with two 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine guns (late production Lancaster Mk.I & III only)
Ventral 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning Mk.II machine gun in a free mount (Lancaster Type 464 only)
Ventral 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine gun in a free mount
ARI 5559 A.G.L.T. 'Village Inn' Mk.I: Radar guided gun laying system (incorporating Infrared IFF recognition system) fitted to FN121 rear turret with four 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning Mark II machine guns
Bomb loads:
Typical:
14,000 lb (6,350 kg) consisting of varying combinations of 2,000 lb AP, 2,000 lb HC, 4,000 lb HC, 8,000 lb HC, 250 lb, 500 lb, 1,000 lb bombs, or various sizes of incendiary bombs installed in Small Bomb Containers or Cluster Projectiles
1 x 12,000lb (5,443 kg) HC bomb
6 x 1,850 lb (839 kg) Parachute Anti-Shipping Mines
Specialized:
1 x 5,500 lb (2,494 kg) Capital Ship Bomb
12 x 500 lb (226 kg) JW 'Johnny Walker' Oscillating Mine
1 x 9,250 lb (4,195 kg) Vickers-Armstrongs Type 464 'Upkeep' revolving depth charge
1 x 12,000lb (5,443 kg) MC Vickers-Armstrongs 'Tallboy' deep penetration bomb
1 x 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) MC Vickers-Armstrongs 'Grand Slam' deep penetration bomb
Communication and navigation equipment:
TR9F: HF R/T radio transceiver
TR1196: HF R/T radio transceiver
TR1143/SCR522: VHF R/T radio transceiver
T1154: Medium and High frequency W/T transmitter
R1155: Medium and High frequency W/T & direction finding receiver
ARI 5033/5083 GEE Mk.I/II: Radio navigation system
ARI 5560/5564 H2S Mk.II/III: Radar navigation/target finding system
TR3190/3160 Lucero Mk.I & II: H2S adapter to permit interrogation of radar navigation beacons, Eureka beacons & IFF
ARI 5525/5597 GEE-H Mk.I/II: Radio navigation/target finding system
AN/APN-4 LORAN: Long range radio navigation system
ARI 5148/5514/5582 Oboe Mk.I & II: Radar bomb aiming system
AN/AP1 (AYD): Low range radar altimeter
SCR-718-C: High range radar altimeter
Lorenz Standard Beam Approach: Runway blind approach system
Radio Countermeasures:
ARI 5000/5025/5640 IFF Mk.II & III: Friend or Foe radar identification system
ARI 5171/5625/5672/5769 Mandrel: Freya and Wurzburg radar jamming system
ARI 5538/5557 Boozer Mk.I & II: Passive radar warning receiver
ARI 5122/5281 Monica Mk.I, III & V ('Lulu'): Active tail warning radar
Tinsel/Special Tinsel: Night fighter radio control jamming system
TR3549 Airborne Cigar (ABC): Night fighter radio control jamming system
ARI 5549 Carpet II: Wurzburg radar jamming system
Coming Soon!
Ventral Turrets
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As originally designed the Lancaster was provided with ventral defence in the form of a Nash and Thompson FN64 turret, which was fitted to some early production aircraft. However, in common with all other periscope sighted ventral turrets, the narrow viewing angle made it almost impossible for gunners to acquire and track targets, and the few turrets which were installed were soon removed from service.
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The ventral .50 inch (50 calib) was approved as Lanc Mod.925 during February 1944, and was one of a number of unsuccessful measures taken to counter night fighter attacks from below.
The growth of the Luftwaffe night fighter force was followed by an increase in the in the number of attacks from below, exacerbated from August 1943 onward by the introduction of aircraft equipped with Schrage Musik upward firing 20mm cannon. A number of responses were considered by Bomber Command including a free mounted ventral .50 calibre Browning machine gun, which was approved on the Lancaster as Modification 925 during February 1944.
The modification was very basic, consisting of little more than an enlarged bicycle seat for the gunner and a simple free mounted gun with open sights which fired through the ventral turret/H2S aperture. On aircraft with bulged bomb doors the mounting (often unpainted) was incorporated into the fairing at the rear of the doors.
Non-H2S fitted aircraft were sporadically equipped with the gun from February 1944 onward, although a clear plan for installation appears to have been lacking. The quantity of aircraft which actually had the gun installed is unknown and photos of the mounting with a Browning actually installed are very rare.
Serious problems quickly became apparent, as noted in the following V Group monthly newsletter for April 1944:- "With the gunner strapped in his seat it is difficult to follow the gun round on the beam; it is difficult for the gunner to get his head down behind the sight as it tends to push the oxygen mask upwards on the gunners face; and also considerable vibration is experienced on the sight when the gun is fired."
These problems, plus the gradually more widespread introduction of H2S saw the gun fall out of use quite quickly, although it does appear to have been retained on some aircraft until war's end (most notably in 3 Group).
The quantity of aircraft which actually had the gun installed is unknown and photos of the mounting with a Browning actually installed are very rare.
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Notice on these aircraft the extra position in the eight person crew of Mid-Under-Gunner.
Ottawa, Ontario
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