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Avro 683 Lancaster facts for kids

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Lancaster
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Members' day 2018 MOD 45164718.jpg
Lancaster B I PA474 of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 460 Squadron (RAAF) colours, escorted by Hurricane Mk.IIc LF363.
Role Heavy bomber
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Avro
Designer Roy Chadwick
First flight 9 January 1941
Introduction February 1942
Status Retired
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Number built 7,377
Unit cost £45–50,000
Developed from Avro Manchester
Variants Avro Lancastrian
Developed into Avro York
Avro Lincoln

Avro 683 Lancaster was developed out of Avro 679 Manchester. It was the most used RAF bomber in the Second World War. The changes made on Avro 679, like four Rolls-Royce Merlin X instead of two powerplants and longer wings, have led to the new name Avro 683. Royal Air Force ordered 1070 pieces of this airplane. After the success on the war places, Avro sold the production licence to other companies. One of those was Packard, who bought the licence for powerplant production and improved them. The variant with the most produced pieces was Avro 683 B I, a plane which was the base of RAF Bomber Command at that time.

Avro Lancaster
Drawing of Avro 683

Technical data (Lancaster B I)

Data Units
Years of production 1941-1946
Manufacturer Avro
Wingspan 31 m
Length 21,10 m
Hight 6,10 m
Wing area 120,50 m²
Weight (empty) 16.740 kg
Max takeoff weight 31.750 kg
Passengers -
Crew 7
Speed 462 km/h
Service ceiling 7.470 m
Range 4.070 km
Powerplant 4*Rolls-Royce Merlin X

Notes

Images for kids

  • Avro Lancaster bombers nearing completion at the A V Roe & Co Ltd factory at Woodford in Cheshire, 1943

    Lancasters on Avro's Woodford assembly line at Cheshire, 1943

  • Avro Lancaster aircraft under construction at the A V Roe & Co Ltd factory at Woodford in Cheshire, 1943. TR1384

    Lancasters under construction at Avro's factory at Woodford, Cheshire, 1943

  • Avro Lancaster B I PA474

    PA474, Lancaster B.I of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

  • Lancaster B MkI 44 Sqn RAF in flight 1942

    Three 44 Squadron Avro Lancaster B.Is in 1942

  • Lancaster Mk I gun positions

    Battle of Britain Flight Lancaster Mk I PA474 in flight showing nose, dorsal and tail .303 Browning gun positions

  • A No. 57 Squadron Lancaster mid-upper gunner in his turret, February 1943. CH8795

    Gunner in Fraser Nash FN50 mid-upper turret with twin .303 Brownings, February 1943

  • Lancaster tail gunner IWM CH 12776

    Gunner in the Nash & Thompson FN20 tail turret

  • Rose Gun Turret RAF Museum London

    The Rose turret

  • Lancaster I NG128 Dropping Load - Duisburg - Oct 14 - 1944

    Lancaster B.I of No. 101 Squadron RAF dropping bundles of 'Window' followed by 30 lb (14 kg) incendiaries and a 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) "cookie"

  • Lancaster Bomber At The Main Gate, RAF Scampton - geograph.org.uk - 198631

    Tallboy bombs displayed with a standard R5868 Lancaster at RAF Scampton.

  • Lancaster 617 Sqn RAF dropping Grand Slam bomb on Arnsberg viaduct 1945

    A 617 Squadron Lancaster dropping a Grand Slam bomb on the Arnsberg viaduct, March 1945.

  • Bremen-Farge, Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945 CL2607

    An RAF officer inspects the hole left by a Grand Slam in the reinforced concrete roof of a German submarine pen

  • Avro Lancasters flying in loose formation

    Lancasters of No. 50 Squadron fitted with exhaust shrouds intended to conceal exhaust flames from night fighters

  • Avro Lancaster pigeons WWII IWM TR 193

    Crewman with homing pigeons, 1942. Pigeons were customarily carried aboard Lancasters as a means of communications in the event of a crash, ditching or radio failure.

  • Lancaster over Hamburg

    A Lancaster over Hamburg, circa 1943

  • The Royal Air Force during the Second World War CH13151

    A Lancaster being fuelled from an AEC 854 Matador truck, 1944

  • Lancaster10MP 405Sqn RCAF NAS Jax Feb1953

    RCAF 405 Squadron Lancaster 10MP Maritime Patrol aircraft in February 1953

  • Avro Lancaster B Mk I (Special) of No. 617 Squadron, loaded with a 'Grand Slam' 22,000-lb deep-penetration bomb, running up its engines at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, 1944. MH4263

    B.I Special loaded with a Grand Slam

  • Lancasters

    PR1. 683(PR) Squadron, RAF Fayid, Egypt, undertaking photographic reconnaissance and mapping activities

  • Lancaster B Mark II of 115 Squadron RAF 1943 IWM CH 19792

    B.II with Bristol Hercules radial engines

  • Upkeep in Lancaster

    "Upkeep" bouncing bomb used for dam busting bomb mounted under Lancaster B.III (Special). The chain was driven by a hydraulic motor and gave the bomb its backspin.

  • Avro Lincoln ExCC

    Sole Canadian Lancaster B.XV/Lincoln B.XV

  • Lancaster VR-A

    Canadian Warplane Heritage "Mynarski Memorial" Lancaster Mk X FM213 painted as "VR-A".

  • British WW2 bombers comparison

    Diagram comparing the Lancaster (blue) with its RAF contemporaries; the Short Stirling (yellow) and the Handley Page Halifax (pink).

  • Avro 683 Lancaster B.VII NX671 Baginton 19.06.54

    When the 1955 film The Dam Busters was made, the bomb remained classified so the producers created a convincing alternative.

See also

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