Monday, September 22, 2014

Random Aircraft Photoblogging: Avro Lancasters


Is there anything better than the sound of Rolls-Royce Merlin engine at full chat? Well, yes, actually: try listening to eight of them simultaneously!  The Avro Lancaster was an advanced British heavy bomber that saw extensive service in WW2 and took part in the famous dam buster raids. Over 7300 were built yet only two air worthy examples remain,  a BI of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight  and a B X belonging to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. I snapped the two of them over RAF Duxford last week: not only did they look great but they sounded fabulous. I didn't capture any video footage but hopefully these pics will convey some of the deadly menace projected by these charismatic old warbirds.

I'm sure that observers on the Mohne dam must have been terrified by the sight of these monsters making a low level attack.
The profile of these iconic aircraft is quite unmistakable: the sight of these two together was awesome and I can't imagine the spectacle of a few squadrons massed for a strategic bombing mission.
Bomber command suffered very high losses during WW2: 44% of Lancasters  were lost in combat and 22743 aircrew left the UK on missions and did not return.
The sound of eight Rolls Royce Merlin engines (that's a total of 96 cylinders producing 8-10,000hp) is an aural delight without equal.


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