Avro Lancaster of 97 squadron Royal
Air Force at Conningsby Royal Air Force airfield in aviation art print by
Keith Woodcock. 97 squadron of bomber command equipped with Avro
Lancasters. Aviation art prints available from Cranston Fine Arts.
AVRO LANCASTER
The Lancaster had a crew of seven or eight, with a
maximum speed of 287 mph (Mks I,lll, and X). Maximum range of 2,500 miles and a ceiling of 22,000 feet.
ARMAMENT. two .303 browning machine guns in
nose turret, dorsal turret, and four tail turret. or two .50mm in
tail turret. payload of 18,000 lb of bombs, one 12,000 lb or 22,000 lb
bomb if modified.
DIMENSIONS. span 102 ft. length 69ft 4inches. and
height 20ft. 6inches.
The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and
the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four
engines, The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started
operations in march 1942, By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56
Squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being the
no. 44 squadron.
Night Mission Ahead by Keith Woodcock Lancaster BIII OF-J PB410 of 97
sqn. lifts off from Coningsby (Tattershall
Castle in the background) in 1944/45 en route for a night mission over
Germany. This squadron was the second to equip with Lancasters in Jan1942
after a year with its predecessor, the Manchester. It used Lancasters
until July 1946 when it converted to yet another Avro type, the Lincoln.
