Airfix Avro Lancaster B.III 11

Of the RAF bombers involved in operations over Germany during the Second World War, the Avro Lancaster must rank as the most famous of them all. Designed by Roy Chadwick, the Lancaster actually stemmed from the twin engine Avro Manchester, which had a short service career, plagued by unreliable Rolls Royce Vulture engines. However, with the change to four Rolls Royce Merlin engines and enlargement of the airframe, the legend of the Lancaster was born.

As the strategic bomber offensive gathered momentum, it was the Lancaster that came to the fore after entering service with the RAF in 1942, overshadowing its other four engine contemporaries, the Handley Page Halifax and the Short Stirling. Due to its cavernous unobstructed bomb-bay, the Lancaster was able to heavier and heavier bomb loads as the war progressed, culminating in the 22,000lb 'Grand Slam' earthquake bomb, that was carried by special versions, for attacks on heavily fortified U-boat pens late in the war. The Lancaster boasted a defensive armament of eight .303 in machine guns in three power operated turrets. Some versions also had a ventral turret with an additional machine guns, but this was omitted from later aircraft, leaving the underside of the airframe undefended against German night fighters.

The Lancaster is also famous for its role in breaching the Ruhr Dams on the Dambusters raid. While the strategic value of these raids may have been in question, the positive effect on the nation's morale could not be denied.

Lancasters flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 608,000 tons of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Just 35 completed more than 100 successful operations, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, but this historically important airframe was sadly scrapped in 1947.

Post-war, the Lancaster found service as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, replaced in the bombing role by the Avro Lincoln. Some had been earmarked to go to the Far East to continue as part of the RAF's 'Tiger Force' against Japan, but the war ended before this occurred.

It was the Lancaster that spearheaded the battles for Berlin and Hamburg, as well as playing a vital role in the devastating raids upon Dresden. The Lancaster has become the symbol for Bomber Command and as such, a symbol of British airpower during the Second World War. Today, two Lancasters remain airworthy - one in Canada, where so many of its crews came from - and one with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Specifications:
Maximum Speed: 282mph
Range: 2,530 miles
Wingspan: 102ft
Length: 64ft 4in
Armament: 8 x .303in machine guns, up to 22,000lbs of bombs.