Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Wednesday, August 10
    Trending
    • History Short: Why is this Guy NOT in the Hall of Fame?
    • This Day in History on August 10th
    • History Short: The Only Country Given Independence Unwillingly!
    • History Short: What is the Greatest Anti-War Song?
    • History Short: Does Barry Bonds Belong in the Hall of Fame?
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through August 7th)
    • History Short: NASA Declares Life in Space is Real!
    • History Short: Mine Accident with Happy Ending
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»January»January 9»January 9, 1941: The Avro Lancaster, the “Greatest Bomber” of World War II Makes its First Flight
    January 9

    January 9, 1941: The Avro Lancaster, the “Greatest Bomber” of World War II Makes its First Flight

    Major DanBy Major DanJanuary 9, 2015Updated:January 6, 202029 Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Avro Lancaster

    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.  

    A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster B Mark I (Special) (PB996 ‘YZ-C’) of No. 617 Squadron RAF, flown by Flying Officer P. Martin and crew, releasing a 22,000-lb (10,000 kg) MC deep-penetration bomb (Bomber Command executive codeword ‘Grand Slam’) over the viaduct at Arnsberg, Germany.  The viaduct was attacked on 15 March with one bomb in poor weather, with no hits. It was destroyed four days later, using 6 “Grand Slam” and 13 “Tallboy” bombs.

    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.

    Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster B I PA474 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.  Photograph by Kogo.

    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.

    B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 398th Bombardment Group flying a bombing mission to Neumünster, Germany, on 13 April 1945.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    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:

    1. It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
    2. It was published prior to 1969; or
    3. 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.

    You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous Article10 Wars the United States Lost or is Losing
    Next Article The Funniest News Bloopers of 2014
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: What is the Greatest Anti-War Song?

    August 8, 2022

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through August 7th)

    August 7, 2022

    Headlines: Taiwan vs. China, What Should US Do?

    August 2, 2022
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    History Short: Why is this Guy NOT in the Hall of Fame?

    August 10, 2022

    This Day in History on August 10th

    August 10, 2022

    History Short: The Only Country Given Independence Unwillingly!

    August 9, 2022

    History Short: What is the Greatest Anti-War Song?

    August 8, 2022

    History Short: Does Barry Bonds Belong in the Hall of Fame?

    August 7, 2022
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.