Lancaster

My tribute to the Lancaster. I have used a mixture of old and new footage and of course I could not do a video about Lancaster's without showing 617 squadron the dam busters. The Lancaster originated from the twin-engined Manchester it was plagued by instability and problems with its complex, 24 cylinder Rolls Royce Vulture engines. Of the 202 Manchester's built more were lost to engine failure than enemy action. The aircraft's designer, Roy Chadwick, realized that the aircraft had serious shortcomings and made plans for its modification. He added twelve feet to the wingspan and replaced the two troublesome Vulture engines with four of the proven Rolls Royce Merlin's V-12's and the result was the Lancaster which made its maiden flight in January, 1941 and it first flew operationally in March 1942 and was well liked by its crews.
The Rolls Royce Merlin engines were much in demand for many types of aircraft. For this reason a version of the aircraft was produced which made use of Bristol Hercules radial engines. During World War II the Lancaster was the most successful bomber used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.The Lanc had speed, ceiling, and lifting power that no other aircraft of the day could match. Weighing 36,900 pounds empty, the Lancaster was capable of taking off with an additional 33,100 pounds of fuel and bombs; in other words it could almost carry its own weight again.The Lanc's massive bomb bay stretched for 33 feet and, unlike other bombers, was one continuous uninterrupted space. Partly for this reason, the Lanc had the versatility to undertake raids with large, specialized weapons. The "Grand Slam", a 22,000 pound special purpose bomb designed to penetrate concrete and explode below the surface to create an earthquake effect, could only be delivered by the Lancaster and the Lancaster was thus chosen for special operations such as the "Dambusters" raid and the attack which sunk the German Battleship Tirpitz. Of the total of 7377 Lancaster's built (430 of them in Canada), 3932 were lost in action. During the war Lancaster's flew a total of 156 308 sorties and dropped 608,612 tons of bombs, and placed over 12,000 mines in enemy waters. The RAF continued to use the aircraft in various roles including photographic and maritime duties until October 1956. The Royal Canadian Air Force, continued to use the aircraft in photographic and maritime reconnaissance roles until the early 1960's. The last three RCAF Lancaster's were retired at a ceremony on April 1, 1964.

Marshall of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur T. Harris,wartime chief of Bomber Command wrote his own tribute to the aircraft.

"The finest bomber of the war! Its efficiency was almost incredible, both in performance
And in the way it could be saddled with ever-increasing loads without breaking the camel's back.
The Lancaster far surpassed all the other types of heavy bombers.
Not only could it take heavier bomb loads, not only was it easier to handle,
And not only were there fewer accidents than with other types,
The casualty rate was also consistently below those of other types."

"The Lancaster took the major part in winning the war with its attacks on Germany.
On land it forced the Germans to retrieve from their armies half their sorely needed
Anti-tank guns for use by over a million soldiers who would otherwise have been serving in the field.
The Lancaster won the naval war by destroying over one-third of the German submarines in their ports,
Together with hundreds of small naval craft and six of their largest warships.
Above all, the Lancaster won the air war by taking the major part in forcing Germany to concentrate
On building and using fighters to defend the Fatherland, thereby depriving their armies of
Essential air and particularly bomber support."
It excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams.

For anybody that's interested in 20th century military and home front collecting have a look at my web site to see my collection.There are also more videos plus speeches and news broadcasts of the 20th century. Plus veteran recording. And don't miss the veterans section look for the poppy.
http://josephs-militaria-and-homefront-collection.co.uk/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ww2
• ww11.
• history
• war
• bomber
• command
• british
• Lancaster
• planes
• dam
• busters
• 617squadron

[ssmusic214]

It's totally ridiculous to call invading Joseph Stalin's army trying to conquer Finland "Innocent".....

[ssmusic214]

"Compensation" is the nice term for Ransom that Joseph Stalin extorted from Finland after unsuccessful

attempt to conquer Finland in 1940.

[buidseach]

only prob with the Lanc is that it had no underbelly defences which the Luftwaffe nightfighters took advantage of.

[blockthehood]

Black Death for the Germans

[mariodebontridder]

nice plane!!!!

[edyken77]

saw a black one of these at EAA last year, so awesome!

[Ho11aBackMatt]

I've been in one of these planes... There is only 2 left (Working) in the world The queen of England owns one and the Air plane museum 15 minutes away from my house they let you go in the one that is not functional but they are still amazing aircrafts to see in flight! Amazing sight to see! :]

[mrrmancunian]

617 Squadron operate GR4's now; a major difference I suspect.

[helstontvx]

the lanc in this ha v12 merlins

[ssmusic214]

Halooooo! Ever hears of thing called "logic"?

You can not "research" something that doesn't exist or disprove negative. If you claim they exist, you need to provide evidence.

[LordGodofMercy]

The Finnish concentration err ....sorry 'relocation' camps are well documented. Enjoy your research!

[ssmusic214]

Sure! According to Stalin's propaganda sources.

Can you be more specific? Where and when did it happened? How many Soviet POWs did Finns take?