2/18/2023 0 Comments Lancaster bomber crew numbersThe bomb bay doors were removed and Vickers-built struts to carry the bomb were fitted in their place at Woodford Aerodrome. Known at the time of modification as the Type 464 ‘Provisioning’ Avro Lancaster, 23 aircraft of this type were built. A chain-driven hydraulic motor gave the bomb its ‘backspin’. The Packard Merlin used Bendix-Stromberg pressure-injection carburettors requiring the addition of slow-running cut-off switches in the cockpit.ĭeveloped for the ‘Upkeep’ bouncing bomb as used for dam-busting Operation Chastise. This variant, which was built concurrently with the B.I and was indistinguishable externally apart from being fitted with Packard-built Merlin engines. Three types of bulged bomb bay were used on the B.II, the prototype having a narrow bulge running from just aft of the cockpit to the end of the bomb bay, while early production examples had a full width bulge that ran the same length and on late production examples the bomb bay doors were prominently bulged throughout their length. These were rarely installed on other variants as the ‘H2S radar’ that was normally mounted there. 303 inch machine gun although it was authorised on all aircraft. 50 inch machine gun in the open hole where the FN.64 had been installed, before an official modification called for it to be fitted with a. These included fitting of 20 mm cannon or a. Due to the Luftwaffe Schräge Musik attacks, a variety of unofficial field modifications were made. Very early examples were fitted with an FN.64 ventral turret although these were quickly removed due to problems with aiming the turret through its periscope (which prevented the gunner from seeing a target he was not already aiming at) and inadequate traverse speed. One difference between the two engine versions was that the VI had manual mixture control, requiring an extra lever on the throttle pedestal. Most were painted with white upper-surfaces to reduce internal temperatures in the tropical sun and black undersides with a low demarcation between the colours, completely omitting any red colours on the national insignia in all cases to avoid confusion with the hinomaru insignia of the Japanese.īristol Hercules radial engines (Hercules VI or XVI engines) powered variant of which 300 were produced by Armstrong Whitworth. The B I (FE) had modified radio, radar, navigational aids and a 400 gallon (1,818 Litre) tank installed in the bomb bay. In anticipation of the needs of the Tiger Force operations against the Japanese in the Far East, a ‘tropicalised’ variant was based on late production aircraft. The type was also operated by 683 Squadron from around 1950 for photographic reconnaissance missions whilst based at Aden and subsequently, Habbaniya in Iraq until disbanded 30 November 1953. All armament and turrets were removed with a reconfigured nose and a camera carried in the bomb bay. Modified for photographic reconnaissance and operated by RAF No. 1577 SD Flight tested the aircraft in India and Australia in 1945 for possible use in the Pacific but the tank adversely affected handling characteristics when full and an early type of in-flight refuelling (designed in the late 1930’s for commercial flying boats) was later used instead. Two airframes (HK541 and SW244) were modified to carry a dorsal ‘saddle tank’ with 1,200 gallons (5,455 Litres) mounted aft of a modified canopy for increasing range. This modification was retained for the Grand Slam aircraft and the nose turret was also later removed. For some Tallboy raids the mid-upper turret was also removed. For the Tallboy, the bomb bay doors were bulged slightly whilst for the Grand Slam, they were removed completely and the area faired over. Production aircraft had Merlin 22 and 24 engines.ģ2 Aircraft were adapted to take first the super-heavy ‘Tallboy’ and then ‘Grand Slam’ bombs and included up-rated engines (with paddle-bladed propellers to give more power) and the removal of gun turrets to reduced weight and give smoother lines. Minor details were changed throughout the production series such as the pitot head design which was changed from being on a long mast at the front of the nose to a short fairing-mounted probe on the side of the fuselage under the cockpit. The original aircraft were produced with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and SU carburettors. Prototypes developed from Avro 679 Manchester
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