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This is an actual Lancaster bomber. It used to sit on this pedestal down by Toronto's lakeshore, not far from me. Unfortunately the combination of lake weather and vandalism reduced it to more of a wreck than German flak had. (I painted out the broken glass in the nose dome.) I took this photo not long before the plane was finally removed. I wondered where it went, fearing it had left the city entirely. However, its new home seems to be a new air museum in north Toronto. I saw it there last year, in pieces like a model kit. The metal part are being repaired and the whole thing will be repainted once assembled again.
There are only three flying Lancasters left in the world. I've seen one up close, and watched it fly. It's home is another museum in Hamilton Ontario, about an hour's drive from here. This Lancaster, unfortunately, will never fly again.
It was built by Avro Canada, here in Toronto, where many of the RAF's finest bomber were born.
There are only three flying Lancasters left in the world. I've seen one up close, and watched it fly. It's home is another museum in Hamilton Ontario, about an hour's drive from here. This Lancaster, unfortunately, will never fly again.
It was built by Avro Canada, here in Toronto, where many of the RAF's finest bomber were born.
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Lonely guy, your grandfather. You enter the tail gun position from a hatch on the starboard side, near the tail, and can't go forward. There's no way past the bomb bay! So there you sit, in a glass bird cage, breathing oxygen in the freezing cold, waiting for some Focke-wulf to shoot directly at *you* with four 20mm explosive canon shells. No wonder all those old veterans hate it when you tell them strategic bombing was pretty much a waste of lives and resources.
The B17 certainly bristles with .50 cal guns, but carried (what was it?) only 8 tons of HE, and the Lancaster 10 or 12. On the other hand, I think the Fort had a longer range and might have been a tad faster. As for the MG's, they weren't all that helpful against fighters -- it took the P51 to really protect a bomber formation.
Ah yes, quite a few were still flying many years after WW2, but similar 'sister designs' were made from the Lancaster, such as the Avro Lincon and the Avro Shakleton ^^
I remember seeing a few pictures of a Lanc in RCAF Rescue colors (yellow and red ^^) Perhaps amybe the RCAF has one mothballed somewhere, just like the Arrow legend? XD
I remember seeing a few pictures of a Lanc in RCAF Rescue colors (yellow and red ^^) Perhaps amybe the RCAF has one mothballed somewhere, just like the Arrow legend? XD
Not all of them of course, but Canada built 430 of the Lancaster Mk.X, that was different from the British build model by installing American made Packard-Merlin engine instead of the British Rolls Royce-Merlin. The Mk.X also had an improved aerilon that was later incorporated into all marks. Some said it was a better product than th e bomber that rolled off the assembly line in England.
The history of Avro Canada is a curious one you should look up on Google. After the war the company built the first production prototype of a commercial jet airliner in history. But some last minute bugs prevented its first flight until after the British designe Comet took to the air. Later Avro built and test a "flying saucer" for the USAF.
The history of Avro Canada is a curious one you should look up on Google. After the war the company built the first production prototype of a commercial jet airliner in history. But some last minute bugs prevented its first flight until after the British designe Comet took to the air. Later Avro built and test a "flying saucer" for the USAF.
Ahh, yes, the Lancaster. One of Avro's many works in those days.
My grandfather spent more time with the Avro Anson, acting as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. He spent those years teaching navigation and aerial reconnaissance photography out at the Vulcan Aerodrome in Alberta.
My grandfather spent more time with the Avro Anson, acting as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. He spent those years teaching navigation and aerial reconnaissance photography out at the Vulcan Aerodrome in Alberta.
The Anson was one of those less romanticized details of the war, but an omnipresent reality to anyone who was in the RAF at the time. ...like those "other" British bombers that are largely forgotten now. The Blenheim, the Short Stirling, the Manchester, the Wellington, the Lincoln, the Beaufort, etc.
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