Would you like to see this Australian-made Lincoln in War Thunder?
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Introduction
In 1943 the designers at Avro were looking at ways to improve the Lancaster bomber. The resulting aircraft had such radical changes, such as more powerful engines, upgraded defensive armament, and altered fuselage and wing span dimensions among many other things, that it was decided to give the new aircraft an entirely new designation, the Type 694 Lincoln. It flew its first flight in June 1944 however due to ongoing wartime production efforts did not enter production until 1945, or enter service until after WW2 ended.
Post-WW2, Australia was looking at replacements for their B-24 Liberator fleet, and local production by way of Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) of the Lincoln bomber was chosen. The first Australian-assembled model made its first test flight in March 1946. A total of 73 Lincolns would be produced in Australia with production ending n 1953.
Throughout the production run many modifications were made, which lead to different Marks of the series. A73-1 through 10 were original Mk.30 models with a max takeoff weight of 70 000lb. A73-11 through 25 had structural strengthening to increase MTOW to 75 000lb. A73-26 on had further structural strengthening to increase MTOW to 82 000lb as well as the introduction of a more reliable Australian built model of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines, the Mk.102, and these models were designated the Mk.30A.
In 1949 the RAAF realized a need for a Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft, and by 1951 a new variant of the Lincoln was born, the Mk.31 GR, which had its nose lengthened by 6’6" to accommodate three sonobuoy operators and their equipment, as well as modifications to the bomb bay to allow carriage of Mk.34 homing torpedoes, a life boat, and in the rear fuselage for carriage and launching of pyrotechnics.
In 1955 further changes were made to produce a more dedicated maritime recon variant, this involved changes such as a low level bomb sight, an updated radar capable of detecting a snorkeling submarine, and rocket launchers mounted on the wings. This resulted in the Mk.31 MR being suggested here (sometimes written as MR.31). The following serials are reported to have received the MR upgrade.
A73-28
A73-55
A73-57
A73-60
A73-61
A73-62
A73-65
A73-66
A73-67
A73-68
A73-70
Australian Lincolns flew over 3000 sorties against communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency, by the early 1960s they were all retired.
Specifications
Speed: 491km/hr @ 5791m
Climb: 4m/s
Length: 25.85m
Wingspan: 36.5m
Height: 8.3m
Crew: 10
Engines: 4x Rolls Royce Merlin 102, 1780hp each
Max Takeoff Weight: 82 000lb
Systems: FPE, AN/APS-20 Radar, Sonobuoy system ARI 5487, Magnetic Anomaly Detector, E.C.M., Mk.III low level bomb sight, Autolycus
Armament
2x 20mm Hispano Mk V in the dorsal turret (640 rounds) (up until 1957)
2x 0.50 M2 Browning machine guns in the tail turret (2000 rounds)
2x 0.50 M2 Browning machine guns in the nose turret (600 rounds) (up until 1959)
16x RP-3 rockets, 8 under each outer wing
15 stations in bomb bay, capable of loading:
Depth charges, 1 station each (stations 2 and 13 can mount two charges)
Standard bombs in 250lb/500lb G.P. and S.A.P. and A.S., 1000lb M.C. Mk 2, 1900lb G.P., 2000lb H.C. and S.A.P. and 4000lb H.C.
See page 30 for detailed standard bomb loads (later model adaptors may have increased capacity at some stations): https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=199112
Mk 34 homing torpedoes, 2 stations each
6x 1000lb or 1500lb or 1850lb Type “A” aircraft laid naval mines
180 Gallon fuel tank, 3 stations each
T1946 Sonobuoys (3 per station)
Other Photos
In War Thunder
Submarines are coming to War Thunder sooner or later, and the Mk.31 MR is well equipped for countering them. With both the regular Lincoln and the Shackleton already in the UK tech tree, this could be well suited as something like a battle pass reward for some Australian flavor, being something of a middle ground between the two, having the performance of the Lincoln with the added maritime weaponry similar to the Shackleton.
Sources/Links
Spoiler
ADF Serials - Lincoln
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=164778
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=164706
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=164720
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=199112
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