- Yes
- No
Hello, continuing the Canadian Lancaster suggestion, I have here the MR/MP variants or a maritime one that was used post-war, for sub-hunting, among other things.
History:
Due to the success of 4-engine bombers in US and Soviet projects during the 1930s, the RAF would begin looking into the feasibility of one. However, due to the RAF’s interest in twin-engine bomber designs at the time, the Lancaster would have its origins in one, one known as Manchester.
The Lancaster would start out as a modified Manchester to take four 4-engines. These would use the Power-egg installation method that had been developed for the Beaufighter II. The first Lancaster prototype would have its first flight on the 9th of January in 1941. The subsequent prototype would receive a handful of changes, including a twin-finned tail that was also used on the last Manchester product and would be fitted with the Merlin XX engines. It was decided that the Manchesters on the production line would be converted into Lancasters, as the decision was made to re-equip the twin-engine bomber squadrons with Lancasters as fast as possible. The first production Lancaster would have its first flight in October of 1941.
Canada would be picked to help produce the Lancaster in late 1941. The drawing of the plane would arrive in January of 1942, and in August of 1942, a British-built Lancaster would be sent overseas as a pattern aircraft, with it being the first of its type to perform a transatlantic crossing. Well, the first Canadian Lancaster, which was named “Ruhr Express,” was completed a year later on the 1st of August in 1943. Although due to the lack of skilled labour at the time, the first batch of Canadian Lancasters delivered to England would have faulty ailerons. By the end of the war, there would be more than 10,000 Canadians working on building Lancasters, with a quarter of them being women, who were able to build one Lancaster per day.
Within the RAF Bomber Command, the RCAF formed 6 Group at the start, which would grow to 14 squadrons by the end of the war, and by 1944, all but one of them would be equipped with various Lancaster marks. Two Canadian Lancaster crewmen would be awarded Victoria Crosses.
The Canadian-built Lancasters would have a number of differences that got more extreme with later modifications. These would use Packard-built Merlin engines and North American instruments and radio equipment. Later production would have the Nash & Thomson dorsal turret replaced by a Martin 250CE, and would receive the modifications required to support the altered weight, the turret was mounted further forward. Post-war, the variants got even more extreme, converted into a number of Reconnaissance variants, tested beds for the Orenda engines, a drone controller and a Maritime Patrol variant.
The making of the Maritime version would happen due to the increased tensions of the start of the Cold War. These would be aircraft that were planned to be scrapped but were kept for use until 1964 when their replacements in the Neptune had come.
More photos
Specs:
Unless otherwise noted, the data will reflect 10MR and 10MP variants.
Length: 69 feet, 6 in.
Wingspan: 102 feet
Height to tip of tail: 20 feet, 6 in.
Tailplane span: 33 feet
Maximum all-up weight: 65,000 pounds maximum
Speed: 184 mph (160 knots) while patrolling ; 317 mph (275 knots) max.
Engines: Four Packard-Merlin 224-5, 12 cylinder, vee-type, liquid cooled engines with two stage supercharger. Rated at 1640 hp.
Fuel: 100/130 octane avgas.
Fuel capacity: 2,154 Imp gallons in six fuel tanks - three tanks in each wing; Optional 400 Imp gallon auxiliary tank for the 10MP/MR variants; 300 additional gallons in each of two tanks in 10N and a 400 Imp gallon tank in the 10P.
Oil capacity: One tank for each engine; 37.5 Imp gallons per tank.
Coolant capacity: 47 Imp gals for all four engines.
Armament: One hydraulically operated gun turret in the nose and tail positions. Two .303 Browning machine guns in the front turret and four in the rear turret.
Weapons: Torpedoes, bombs, depth charges, mines.
Bomb housings: 15 housings standard (10S), reduced to nine usable housings on the 10MR after the installation of the long range auxiliary fuel tank.
Total built by Victory Aircraft, Toronto: 430
Crew: Normal crew of 7 consisting of 2 pilots, 1 flight engineer, 2 navigators and 2 radio officers. East Coast squadrons carried 3 radio operators.
Endurance: 8 hours normal patrol; 12 hours maximum
Year taken on strength: 1945
Sources
Avro Lancaster - Wikipedia
Avro Lancaster | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Aircraft Details | Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
Canadian Warplanes 3: Avro Lancaster, RCAF, 1942-1945
AVRO LANCASTER MK X | The Hangar Flight Museum
Canadian Built Avro Lancasters
Avro 683 Lancaster X - Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Radio Research Paper - Lancaster
Lanc Post War- Canada