Lancaster article

[Ken The Kanuck]

Those who enjoy aviation history may enjoy this article.

KTK

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5273105/The-Lancaster-turned-Bomber-Commands-dream-reality.html

[Dolt]

Wow! What a great article. I have always admired the Brits in WW2. Seemed like nothing fazed them.

[Jiminvirginia]

When you get a chance google the audio of a lancaster on a bombing run in WW2. "There go the cookies!"

[Vern Humphrey]

The Lancaster's great shortcoming was that it lacked the American Secret Weapon -- the .50 Cal Browning Machinegun. The B17, armed with .50s actually shot down more German planes than any other American plane, including the P51 Mustang.

[Ken The Kanuck]

The Lancaster's great shortcoming was that it lacked the American Secret Weapon -- the .50 Cal Browning Machinegun. The B17, armed with .50s actually shot down more German planes than any other American plane, including the P51 Mustang.

From the article. And yes the .303 round was not good enough.

KTK

"It also had a stronger armament than any previous British bomber, provided by eight Browning guns across three powered turrets. Yet its heaviness did not inhibit its speed. Its four reliable Rolls-Royce Merlin engines meant it could travel at 275mph, far faster than most pre-war fighters, as well as reach a ceiling of 24,000ft."

[Sunray]

The .50 BMG was far too big to fit in a Lanc. The advantage of the Lanc was its 33'(10 m) long bomb bay. Carried way more than a B-17. Averaged 14 1,000 lb. bombs vs the 8 for a B17.
"...provided by eight Browning guns..." Those were the same .303 British chambered MGs used in both the Spitfire and Hurricane during the Battle of Britain. The .303 worked just fine then. Mind you, it was a rifle calibre MG that was replaced with a 20mm Hispano cannon that made a .50 BMG look like a pop gun. U.S.A.F didn't opt for cannon until much later.

[Jiminvirginia]

Seriously you all need to listen to the audio of the Lancaster on a bombing run. Google "Lancaster bomber audio".

[barretcreek]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSXiny5mEpg

That audio was good.

[Griff Murphey]

Remember the Brits were bombing at night. The Luftwaffe did have some very good radar equipped nightfighters in the Bf-110 and Ju-88 nightfighters, as well as the later He-219 nightfighters and even radar equipped ME-262s. But the Lancs and Halifaxes never faced the swarms of aircraft that came up in the daytime against our 17s and 24s. Most of the British bombers were gut shot from under their unarmed bellies by radar guided "jazz Musik" cannon equipped nachtjaegers. They did not even carry belly turrets.

[Allen]

More specs on the Lancaster.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/avro_lancaster.php

[Clark Howard]

It seems that our efforts with the B-17 and the B-24 were quite extraneous to the war effort. The Brits could have finished off the Jerries with the Lancaster. Regards, Clark

[Bill E]

Good one Clark!

[RED]

It seems that our efforts with the B-17 and the B-24 were quite extraneous to the war effort. The Brits could have finished off the Jerries with the Lancaster. Regards, Clark

Why do you say that? The B-17 liberator Was no match for the Lancaster that could carry 3X the bomb load of the B-17. The B-24 came later and could carry a heavy load but was nowhere nearly as robust as the Lancaster or the B-17 Sure, the U.S. could produce more, better, and bigger aircraft but we weren't getting bombed every day.

It took a combined effort to defeat to beat the Axis. Why are we now dissing the Brits and their great airplane?

[Ken The Kanuck]

Gentlemen,

This picky crap is very fooked up.

My Uncle who flew in the Lancasters in WWII lives in Arizona. Whe I last visited him we took a trip to the big aircraft museum in Tuscon. There my Uncle ran into some of the volunteers who help folks around. They too were WWII aviation veterans and they flew in the American bombers. My Uncle and the American vets had a great visit and never once did I hear a word of disconcord. No our planes were better than yours, etc.

Just respect for one another. And that's how we should act and post. Respect for the brave men and women in service to our country and our allies.

God Bless Them All !!!

KTK

[Griff Murphey]

Arguing the points of which aircraft was better is irrelevant. They flew different missions. The pressure of hammering the Third Reich by day with the 8th Air Force and at night by the RAF's Bomber Command placed remendous pressure on the Germans. Every 88 deployed as a flak gun was one less 88 shooting at T-34s or Shermans. Every Bf-109 that rose against the 17s and 24s was one less covering the Wehrmacht ground forces. And every JU-88 that was a nightfighter was one less medium bomber. The actual effectiveness of strategic bombing may be debated at leisure today but back then it was a cornerstone of victory, achieved jointly by both air forces, American and British.

[Sunray]

"...The B-24 came later..." Than what? The 24 first flew in 1939 and was in service in 1941. It also carried 8 1,000 lb. bombs. The 17 first flew in 1935 and was in service in 1938. The Lanc first flew in 1941 and was in service in 1942. What the 24 did was close the Atlantic Gap.
"...extraneous to the war effort..." More like the entire bombing campaign, except for the oil plant raids, was extraneous to the war effort. The Germans were turning out more stuff at the end of the war than any time before. Bomber Harris was just killing civilians. 8th Air Force didn't do much to slow or stop industrial out put. 9th Air Force did a lot more to reduce German ability to carry on the war at Ploesti.

[Griff Murphey]

It is true that German aircraft production rose under the late war bombing. The Germans swapped a bunch of 109s with the Swiss for something they wanted - cannot remember what the motive was, but they received some very late production 109s. The planes were virtually unusable because of defects. Also the Germans were running out of effective air crew. Such tactics as ramming and flying risky crazy planes such as the Bachem Natter, ME-163, and Fi-106 Reichenurg Manned V-1 were futilely proposed and sometimes tried to no effect. Pilots were often perfunctorily trained youths. To dismiss strategic bombing ignores the reality of the collapsing 3rd Reich of 1945.

After the bombings of Rotterdam, the Blitz of London and Coventry and many other cities, the Brits were eager for payback.