A Brief History
On January 9, 1941, the premier British bomber of World War II, the Avro Lancaster, made its maiden flight. “The Lanc,” as it was known, was the main British bomber that carried the war to Germany.
Digging Deeper
With its enormous bomb bay, the Lancaster was capable of carrying the biggest bomb load and the largest single bomb. It was the only airplane of the war that could haul “blockbuster” giant bombs of 8,000, 12,000, and 22,000 pounds, while also carrying all the conventional bombs as well as anti-ship mines, incendiaries (fire bombs), and the “dam buster” specialty bomb for attacking dams. The versatile 4-engine heavy bomber was powered by the famous Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that also powered the Mustang and Spitfire fighters.
The Lancaster was defended by 4 electric-powered turrets containing 2 Browning .303 machine guns each, except for the tail turret that had 4 machine guns. The bomber had originally been designed with a “belly” turret, but when that proved impractical, it was quickly removed. Its normal armament of 8 x .303 caliber machine guns was far lighter, however, than the 12 or more .50 caliber guns that defended the American B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers. All 3 of those planes had similar speed and performance though.
Later, when the Germans exploited the lack of defensive firepower under the bombers, the resourceful British airmen often jury rigged a .50 caliber or 20mm machine gun to fire at fighters who attacked from below.
Although used mostly as a night bomber, the Lancaster was sometimes used for precision daylight targets as well, especially when it carried the Tall Boy and Grand Slam “earthquake” bombs. Over 7,300 of these rugged airplanes were built at a cost of around £ 50,000 each. The last Lancaster was retired from service by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1963.
British veterans claim the Lancaster was the greatest bomber of World War II, or even of all time, while American fans of B-17s and B-24s point out the heavier defensive firepower and greater numbers of the U.S. bombers. Either way, the Lancaster is certainly the greatest British bomber, and you can decide for yourself if it eclipsed the Flying Fortress and Liberator. Question for students (and subscribers): Please let us know what you think in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see...
Holmes, Harry. Avro Lancaster (Combat Legends). The Crowood Press, 2005.
The featured image in this article, three 44 Squadron Avro Lancaster B.Is in 1942, is photograph TR 197 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. Left to right: W4125,`KM-W’, being flown by Sergeant Colin Watt, Royal Australian Air Force; W4162,`KM-Y’, flown by Pilot Officer T.G. Hackney (later killed while serving with No. 83 Squadron); and W4187,`KM-S’, flown by Pilot Officer J.D.V.S. Stephens DFM, who was killed with his crew two nights later during a raid on Wismar. This work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain, because it is one of the following:
- It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
- It was published prior to 1969; or
- It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created prior to 1969.
HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide (ref: HMSO Email Reply). More information.
See also Copyright and Crown copyright artistic works.
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="7770 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=7770">29 Comments
While the modern war machines certainly provide the punch and power necessary to deliver devastation on today’s battlefield, there’s just something about World War II era warplanes that forces an appreciative smile.
While definitely a giver and taker in its own right, the Lancaster stands just slightly below the Flying Fortress in my book; blown out hulls, clipped wings, and whole sections of the fuselage peeled away, and still many of the heavily damaged B-17s managed to make it back to Britain.
Still, excellent plane, and great article.
It certainly seems that the Avro Lancaster was the greatest British bomber. It is incredible that an airplane could haul huge bombs of 8,000, 12,000, and 22,000 pounds, while also carrying all the other conventional bombs. I also found it neat that the engine was a Rolls-Royce engine.
The British Bomber relates to an earlier article that we read about of the Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce built plane engines the British had those engines in their best plane of WW2.
As I had mentioned with the Lightning plane, it amazes me how much plane design evolved in such a short amount of years between the two world wars. I think that it is cool that this plane had a Rolls Royce engine. It just goes to show how history has little ripple effects and certain achievements such as this plane spring out of other innovations.
Growing up I feel as if I only learned about American planes in the war. It is cool to see that while on our home front we did have so much advancement, our allies, and enemies as well, were keeping up in the engineering of new planes. WWII was a tragic time for many but it did allow so much technological advancement.
In recent articles we read about Rolls Royce and how they impacted the plane industry with their engines, its interesting to find out that the “greatest bomber” of WWII was made from a Rolls Royce engine also. Must have been a powerful engine to carry bombs that weighed up to 22,000 pounds.
It sounds like the Lancaster really came in handed during World War Two. Since the Germans had a strong air force with advanced planes the allied side of the war really needed an edge. It sounds like the Lancaster plane might have been just the edge the allied side needed.
The Lancaster bomber was crucial to the aerial forces of Britain. This bomber was able to fly both during the day and at night. The number of bombs that the Lancaster could carry was crucial to delivering an attack on Germany.
The Lancaster seems like the machine the British needed to begin to sway the war in their direction. They could now begin to attack German military areas. This article makes me wonder what the psychological toll bombing from the air has on a soldier. I wonder if it was easier to kill/bomb from the sky than the ground?
This is a good point Amanda! It seems to reflect the issues that many politicians are arguing today as to whether we should fight Isis on the ground or from the sky. I would say fighting from the sky is easier, more fast pace and does more damage. Fighting from the ground, I would think would be more physically vigorous and more personal for the soldiers to kill each other.
For as bad as the Germans were bombing Britain, it is good to know the Brits also had a bomber that could destroy enemy targets, both during the day and night. The Lancaster seemed to be a crucial piece in their war arsenal.
“The Lanc” seemed to set itself apart from other bombers because it could carry bombs of up to 22,000 pounds while still performing normal functions. It seems to be all about weight efficiency when it comes to air crafts in war.
Even though the Lancaster was defeated, its premier was a great moment for Britain. The Lancaster does indeed sound like one of the greatest bombers during that war. I can only imagine how many bombs were fired and how many people killed by it. What I think was the greatest thing about it, was the amount of huge heavy bombs it could carry.
The Lancaster sounds like it can really pack a punch. This plane was different and better in a way than other bombers because it was the only of its time to be able to carry bombs that were 8,000, 12,000, and 22,000 pounds.
Is the Lancaster something that is retired today or is it what future airplane bombers were modeled after?
This place gave the RAF new capabilities for attacking Germany, and helped deflect some attacks on British soil. It sounds like the bomber really was a game changer in the battle for air superiority in WWII.
It is interesting to see that one of the greatest bomber planes was powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. I remember reading in earlier articles about Rolls-Royce and the powerful engines they created. The number of bombs the Lancaster could carry was incredible for World War II.
That is incredible the amount of bombs the Lancaster was able to carry, and it amazes me that it was powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, I can never believe that a luxury car like that were using their engines for war crafts too.
It is crazy to think that one plane could hold that much destruction. It is also pretty cool that a Rolls- Royce engine was inside it, which I do remember reading that they were in a lot of planes.
You would think that no plane could hold so many bombs but the Lanc could do just that! I like that the British were creative and rewired the Lancs to also shoot below to cover their weak spot.
The British Bomber was great in battle because it could carry heavy artillery but also had the flexibility to defend itself if it started to take on fire.
Reading that a plane could carry 22,000 pounds of bombs is unreal. Also, I found it crazy that 7,300 of these particular planes were built!
Amazing how these planes would be the invention to drive the fight to the enemy. Amazing that the invention came at this time of need.
Amazing on how a plane can successfully carry 22,000 pounds of bombs.
If the “Lanc” had not “carried” the war to Germany, I wonder what would have happened.
The Lancaster was used from 1941 and retired in 1963. It is interesting that this bomber was mostly used during the nighttime and only a few times during the day.
Imagine the explosion if that crashed.
8000, 12000, and 22000 pound bombs seem enormous. For a plane to be able to carry artillery of that size and maneuver skillfully at war is impressive in itself.
Honestly, when I read these articles giving very detailed specifications of artillery, I cannot follow along. I have no idea what most of it means.