Metropolitan Vickers: R5842-5868, R5888-R5917, W4761-W4800, W4815-W4864, W4879-W4905, W4918-W4967, W4980-4982, DV277-DV282, DV291-DV297, DV299-DV312, DV324-DV345, DV359-DV407, ME554-ME596, ME613-ME650, ME663-ME704, ME717-ME759, ME773-ME814,ME827-ME868, PD198-PD239, PD252-PD296, PD309-PD349, PD361-PD404, PD417-PD444, RA500-RA547, RA560-RA607, RA623-RA627, RA787-RA806, SW243-SW279, TW915-TW929
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Co.: LL740-LL758, LL771-LL813, LL826-LL867, LL880-LL923, LL935-LL977, LM100-LM142, LM156-LM192, LM205-LM243, LM257-LM296, NF906-NF939, NF952-NF999, NG113-NG149, NG162-NG206, NG218-NG259, NG263-NG308, NG321-NG367, NG379-NG421, NG434-NG469, NG482-NG503, RF120-RF161, RF175-RF197, SW296-SW316, TW858-TW873, TW878-TW911
Vickers-Armstrong: HK535-HK579, HK593-HK638, HK644-HK664, HK679-HK710, HK728-HK773, HK787-HK806, PP663-PP695, PP713-PP758, PP772-PP792, PA158-PA198, PA214-PA239, PA252-PA288, PA303-PA351, PA365-PA396, PA410-PA452, PA473-PA478, PA509
Austin Motors: NN694-NN726, NN739-NN786, NN798-NN816, NX548-NX589, NX603-NX610
Production:
A. V. Roe: 2,780
Metropolitan Vickers: 893
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Co.: 886
Vickers-Armstrong: 535
Austin Motors: 150
Total Mark I Production: 5,244
The first squadron to receive the Lancaster Mark I was No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron of No. 5 Group at RAF Waddington. As with all new aircraft, the Lancaster was not without teething troubles; a diving test led to the crash of R5539, which was found to have been caused by tail plane surface failure. The aircraft was found to have other minor issues that necessitated strengthening the wing tips to prevent them from fracturing, and a modification to the fuel system to prevent airlocks causing fuel pump blockages. The basic durability of the design meant these teething troubles did not affect operational
availability, unlike the Manchester, and few modifications were made due to technical reasons; most were made for operational reasons.
The ventral turret was quickly deleted from production airframes due to the perception that it was of little use. The turret was also hampered by poor 22
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visibility and the lack of a dedicated crew member to operate it. The Mark I therefore saw service both with and without the ventral turret. The mid-upper turret on early production aircraft was un-faired, but this left the gunner with unrestricted depression of his weapons, which resulted in a danger of him accidentally firing on his own aircraft. In late 1942 a contoured fairing was added around the turret. It incorporated a track in which wheeled stalks ran that were connected to the guns to ensure that the weapons could not train on any part of the aircraft. Thus Mark I airframes can be seen with a mixture of faired and un-faired turrets during their service lives.
The fuselage retained the rows of small rectangular windows inherited
from the Manchester, but these were often painted over, giving the impression that they did not exist. The forward pair of windows in the fuselage side was deleted from JB/LM production series onward.
Some production aircraft were fitted with an enlarged bomb aimer’s blister, which featured a shallower angled, optically flat aiming panel. In addition, during 1942, specially designed bulged bomb bay doors appeared on selected aircraft to accommodate the new 8,000lb bomb. The original turrets on Mark I aircraft were badly affected by rain and dirt, and so a sliding panel was fitted to some tail turrets. Later, the entire central Perspex panel was removed on some aircraft, giving much improved visibility for only marginal temperature drop for the gunner in an already cold environment.
Early aircraft had their leading edges smeared with de-icing paste, while later airframes were fitted with thermal de-icing equipment as standard.
Regardless of these ‘modifications’, all the aircraft equipped with these various combinations of equipment and fittings are classified as Lancaster Mark I.
Lancaster B. Mark II
Power:
4 1,735hp Bristol Hercules XVI engines with Rotol airscrews rotating counter clockwise (unlike the Merlin) Aircraft with serials DS601-DS627 were fitted with 4 1,735hp Bristol Hercules VI engines Dimensions:
As per B. Mark I
Weight:
Empty: 37,000lb
Normal take-off weight: 63,000lb
Performance: Max speed: 265mph at 14,000ft
Service ceiling: 18,500ft
Range: 2,370 miles at 15,000ft
Armament:
10 Browning .303 machine guns in power-operated turrets: 2 in FN5A nose, 2 in FN50 dorsal, 2 in FN64 ventral and 4 in either FN20 or FN120 rear turrets. (Some later aircraft were fitted with a single .50 Browning machine gun in the fuselage floor in place of the FN64 turret in early 1944)
Up to 14,000lb of bombs or with bulged and extended bomb bay doors on some aircraft a single 8,000lb bomb could be carried
Serials:
DT810, DS601-DS635, DS647-DS692, DS704-DS741, DS757-DS797, DS813-DS852, LL617-LL653, LL666-LL704, LL716-LL739
Production:
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Co.: 300
The Lancaster Mark II is probably the easiest of all the marks to identify by its four Bristol Hercules radial engines, which change the look of the aircraft considerably. The Mark II was a result of concerns that the demand placed upon Rolls-Royce for the Merlin engine could produce a bottleneck in
production of airframes. The Merlin engine was the RAF’s most common
power plant used to power the Spitfire, Hurricane, Whitley, Wellington, Battle, Beaufighter and other types. The Air Ministry and the RAF were also concerned 23
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Lancaster B. Mark II of No.
460 Squadron RAAF, 3 May
1944. This aircraft landed at
an Eighth Air Force base and
is being inspected by
American personnel. The
Mark II was fitted with Bristol
Hercules engines, the port
inner of which is visible. The
mission tally painted on the
nose of the aircraft indicates
that it has completed
12 missions.
about the vulnerability that came with having all their power eggs in one basket, should the Luftwaffe be able to disrupt Merlin production. This fear, despite ongoing discussions for American production of Merlin engines,
resulted in the need to find alternative power plants for the Lancaster. The concept of the four-engine Manchester had barely been proven when the Air Ministry officially acknowledged the need for an alternative option and the Hercules engine was selected.
The Air Ministry placed an order for a pair of prototypes (DT810 and
DT812) and a healthy production order for the Lancaster B. Mark II almost immediately. Only DT810 would be built as a prototype and sent to A&AEE
at Boscombe Down for tests before series production began. The prototype was ordered with the production order because both A. V. Roe and
Metropolitan Vickers were heavily engaged with Lancaster B. Mark I
production and neither would be able to accept a contract for construction of the Mark II. A. V. Roe’s experimental department was able to produce the prototype in very short order as a supply of components was readily available at the Chadderton plant, which would allow the engineers in the experimental department to hand build DT810 and overcome any issues with fitting the Bristol Hercules engines to a wing designed for the Merlin.
Production of the Mark II would be contracted to Sir W. G. Armstrong
Whitworth and Co. at their works in Newton Road, Nuneaton. Production
of the Lancaster Mark II could not begin immediately as Armstrong
Whitworth was still heavily engaged with the Whitley, production of which was unexpectedly extended in 1941 when orders were received from RAF
Coastal Command for the airborne search radar equipped Whitley Mark VII.
so that Lancaster Mark II production could begin under order 239/SAS/
C4(C) for 200 aircraft, which required the aircraft to be delivered between September 1942 and October 1943. The order was later extended to include another 100 to be delivered between October 1943 and March 1944. It took 24
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a full 12 months for production to switch from
Whitley to Lancaster, but Armstrong Whitworth
began systematically replacing production jigs
and tools as the last Whitleys moved down the
production line.
The first Mark II aircraft, DS601 and
DS602, were delivered to Boscombe Down for
service trials. The aircraft was found to be
faultless, although the Bristol Hercules engines
were found to be more powerful than early
Merlin engines, which offset the increased drag
caused by the radial engines over the sleeker
inline Merlins, but required more careful engine
management and used more fuel until the later
Mark IIs were fitted with the improved Hercules
XVI engines. The first Lancaster Mark II unit
was No. 61 Squadron at RAF Syerston.
The standard engine fitted to the Mark II
was the Bristol Hercules XVI, which changed
the lines of the aircraft considerably, although
the first few production aircraft were fitted with
the Bristol Hercules VI. Both engines were rated
at 1,735hp and are virtually indistinguishable.
The only way to identify aircraft fitted with the
different engines is by serial number, DS601 to
DS627 being fitted with the Hercules VI engine.
The Mark II was initially identical to the
Mark I other than its engine fit; however, the
Mark II was fitted with extended bomb doors
early in the production run as standard in order
to accommodate the 8,000lb bomb. The FN64
ventral turret was also re-introduced following Bomber Command’s Avro Lancaster Mark II bomb experience with German night fighters equipped with upward firing Schrage bay. The Lancaster inherited Musik cannon. The turret is clearly seen immediately aft of the bomb doors its bomb bay from the Manchester. The size of the
on aircraft fitted with extra armament. The defensive armament of the Mark bomb bay was a throwback to II was changed at the rear of the aircraft, where the FN20 turret was generally the requirement built into the replaced by a Nash and Thompson FN120 turret that was of lighter Manchester to allow it to construction and equipped with improved gun sights. The Mark II was also carry two torpedoes. The fitted with the shallow nose blister.
large drum-like bomb is a
4,000lb ‘cookie’ bomb, either
The aircraft was also refined with the fitting of bell-shaped spinner covers side of which are SBC
to the engines and Beaufighter pattern air intakes, which can be identified incendiary containers.
from the early production machine by the shorter intake feed pipe that begins Forward is a mix of 1,000lb just forward of the cooling gills on the cowling, as opposed to the early fit that and 250lb bombs.
extends to just aft of the cowling ring. The exhausts were also changed on later production Mark IIs, which were equipped with flame-damping exhausts.
Fears that production of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines would be insufficient to meet demand and that the entry of the United States into the war would result in them concentrating on their own urgent re-armament requirements, thus reducing production of Packard-built Merlin engines, never materialized.
The decision was taken to give priority for Bristol Hercules engines to the Handley Page Halifax Mark III, and so no further orders were placed for the Lancaster Mark II. As a result, only 300 Lancaster B. Mark IIs were completed 25
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before Armstrong Whitworth switched over to Merlin-powered Lancaster B.
Mark I/III production.
Lancaster B. Mark III
Power:
4 1,420hp Packard Merlin 28 engines
Dimensions:
As per B. Mark I
Weights:
As per B. Mark I
Performance: As per B. Mark I
Armament:
8 Browning .303 machine guns in power-operated turrets: 2 in FN50 nose, 2 in FN50 mid-upper and 4 in FN20 tail turrets 12,000lb bomb load
Serials:
A. V. Roe: ED362, ED371, ED378, ED383, ED387-ED388, ED390, D393, ED395-ED396, ED408, ED410, ED413, ED415-ED417, ED419, ED421, ED423-ED424, ED426-ED429, ED431-ED435, ED437-ED438, ED440-ED442, ED444-ED445, ED448-ED450, ED452-ED453, ED467-ED497, ED499-ED504, ED520, ED523-ED524, ED526-ED527, ED529-ED532, ED534-ED536, ED538-ED547, ED549, ED551, ED553, ED555-ED566, ED568, ED583-ED585, ED587-ED590, ED592-ED593, ED595-ED599, ED602-ED603, ED605-ED609, ED611-ED621, ED623-ED630, ED645-ED660, ED662-ED668, ED688-ED691, ED693-ED702, ED704-ED714, ED716-ED731, ED733-ED734, ED736-ED737, ED750, ED752-ED753, ED756, ED759-ED760, ED764-ED765, ED767-ED768, ED771-ED772, ED775-ED776, ED779, ED783-ED786, ED799-ED842, ED856-ED888, ED904-ED953, ED967-ED999, EE105-EE150, EE166-EE202, JA672-JA718, JA843-JA876, JA892-JA941, JA957-JA981, JB113-JB155,JB174-JB191, JB216-JB243, JB215-JB320, JB344-JB376, JB398-JB424, JB453-JB488, JB526-JB567, JB592-JB614, JB637-JB684, JB699-JB748, ND324-ND368, ND380-ND425, ND438-ND479, ND492-ND538, ND551-ND597, ND613-ND658, ND671-ND715, ND727-ND768, ND781-ND826, ND839-ND882, ND895-ND936, ND948-ND996, NE112-NE151, NE163-NE181,PA694-PA999, PB112-PB152, PB171-PB213, PB226-PB267, PB280-PB308, PB341-PB385, PB397-PB438, PB450-PB490, PB504-PB542, PB554-PB596, PB609-PB642, PB648-PB653, PB666-PB670, PB675-PB685, PB693-PB694, PB697-PB702, PB706-PB707, PB728-PB729, PB733, PB758, PB923, PB960, PB962-PB980, LM311-LM346, LM359-LM395, LM417-LM448, LM450-LM493, LM508-LM552, LM569-LM599, LM615-LM658, LM671-LM697, LM713-LM756, RE115-RE140, RE153-RE188, RE200-RE222, RE225-RE226, SW319-SW345, SW358-SW377, TW263-TW273, ME295-ME327, ME329, ME331-ME337, ME351, ME353-ME370, ME375-ME382, ME385-ME395, ME417-ME418, ME422-ME430, ME441-ME444, ME452-ME454, ME471-ME474, ME478, ME481, ME483-ME489, ME491-ME494, ME496-ME503, ME517-ME551
Metropolitan Vickers: W4983-W5012, DV155-DV202, DV217-DV247, DV263-DV276, DV283-DV290, DV298
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Co.: RF198-RF216, RF229-RF273, RF286-RF326, SW283-SW295
Production:
A. V. Roe: 2,780
Metropolitan Vickers: 132
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Co.: 118
Total Mark III Production: 3,030
The possibility of a supply shortage of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines had already led the Ministry of Aircraft Production to order the Bristol Hercules-powered Lancaster B. Mark II and switch power plants on other aircraft, such as the Handley Page Halifax and Bristol Beaufighter, to Bristol Hercules engines. The same concerns about possible disruption and capacity issues at Rolls-Royce 1: MID AND UPPER TURRETS
C
The early mid-upper turret without fairing, and the later mid-upper turret with fairing.
2: FN64 VENTRAL TURRET
The ventral turret was fitted to early production Mark I Lancasters, but was deleted early on as it was felt to be of little use and did not have a dedicated crew member. It was reintroduced on the Mark II and some later production aircraft.
3: H2S FAIRING
The rear part of the blister was normally left unpainted.
4: MANCHESTER AND LANCASTER TAIL ASSEMBLIES
The Manchester tail unit consisted of a triple-finned assembly. The central fin was deleted on the Mark Ia, and the outer fins were enlarged. The Lancaster tail assembly consisted of large oval twin
fins at the end of the tail plane.
5: UPKEEP MINE MOUNTING
The Type 464 ‘Provisioning’ Lancaster was modified to carry a single Upkeep mine in its bomb bay. The bomb was slung in a special cradle that allowed the bomb to be spun backwards to give it the ability to skip over water surfaces.
26
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2
4
3
5
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Lancaster B. Mark III RE172.
should the Luftwaffe intervene led to an agreement with the United States for This view of RE172 shows how
Merlin production to be undertaken under licence by Packard. Production of difficult it is to distinguish
Packard Merlins began relatively quickly since Rolls-Royce had been
between the Mark I and Mark
anticipating the need to source engines from the United States, where
III Lancaster, although it does
give a clear picture of the
production was less likely to be disrupted. Production had been discussed with standard Bomber Command
the Ford Motor Company for some time, and in fact full sets of engine
camouflage pattern used up
drawings had been shipped to Ford before the fall of France in 1940.
until the end of the war.
The first prototype Lancaster B. Mark III, W4114, fitted with Packard
Merlin 28 engines, was delivered to A&AEE for trials in October 1942.
Contract B.69274/40 was awarded to A. V. Roe for a fourth production batch of 620 Lancaster Mark I/IIIs for delivery between November 1942 and June 1943. Contract B.69275/40 awarded to Metropolitan Vickers was amended
to include a further 200 Mark Is and Mark IIIs for delivery between May and November 1943. A new contract (No. 1807) was also awarded to A. V. Roe, which would be the biggest contract for Lancaster production awarded. It specified that 900 Lancaster Mark I and Mark IIIs were to be constructed at Newton Heath for delivery commencing June 1943 after completion of
existing Lancaster production contracts, and a further 350 were to be built at A. V. Roe’s new plant at Yeadon for delivery commencing November 1942.
Avro Lancaster Page 4