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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1746.PDF
FLIGHT Tenth of the New Recognition Series AIRCRAFT TYPES AND Lancaster and Flying Fortress II CAPABLE of carrying a bomb-load of approximately eight tons, the Avro Lancaster ranks with the Short Stirling as one of the two most powerful vehicles of aerial destruction in the war against Axis aggression. Having the same well-balanced lines as its smaller two- engined sister, the Manchester, the Lancaster is the out come of more than 30 years of Avro experience, and is now being produced in large numbers in a variety of British factories and also in Canada. Incidentally, all records were broken by the speed with which the prototype LanT caster was evolved and the type launched into quantity production. Despite its all-up operating weight of some 27 tons, this four-engined mid-wing bomber is remarkably manoeuvrable and fully maintains the Avro reputation for nicety of control ; its pilots describe it as particularly easy to handle. Structurally, the Lancaster has been designed for ease of production, transport and of maintenance and repair. It lends itself to rapid and relatively cheap manufacture, being built up largely of self-contained units manufac tured separately and easy to transport and assemble. The fuselage is built up of transverse formers with con tinuous longitudinal stringers, and the wings are of two- spar construction, each spar consisting of top and bottom extruded booms bolted to a single, thick gauge web pla-te Wing ribs are aluminium alloy pressings, and the tail plane is built up in similar fashion to the wings and has twin " end-plate "fins and rudders. The entire airframe is skinned with flush-riveted aluminium alloy sheets. Defensive armament comprises four gun-turrets—hose, dorsal, ventral and tail—which together mount ten .303 Browning machine guns ; the bomb-cell, with its hydraulic- ally-operated doors, is 33ft. long, and an interesting point is that the electrical circuit of the bomb-release gear is so arranged that it cannot be operated until the doors art- open. Both bomb-doors and undercarriage retraction gear can be operated by an emergency air system in case the normal hydraulic system should fail. The Lancaster can carry a crew of seven, at each of whose stations there is an oxygen point, and de-icine equipment is also fitted. W Four Rolls-Royce Merlin XX 12-cyl. V-type liquid- cooled engines normally provide the power, but other engines, notably Bristol Hercules 14-cyl. double-row, sleeve-valve, air-cooled radial engines are also being fitted. Top speed is about 300 m.p.h., and maximum range approximately 3,000 miles, but these, and the maximum bomb load, cannot all be obtained at the same time.
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