GIANT BOMBER’S VISIT

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23973, 14 June 1943, Page 6

GIANT BOMBER’S VISIT

FLIGHT OVER SOUTI ISLAND HUGE CROWDS WATCH ARRIVAL Thousands of people in Christchurc saw one of Britain’s new giant tour engined bombers for the first time o: Saturday afternoon, when the Avr Lancaster, flown from England by wa; of Canada and Australia, arrived a Wigram in the course of its tour o New Zealand. Many thousands mon watched the Lancaster earlier in tlr day as it passed over their towns oi a flight of more than 600 miles wind covered most of the North Island am half of the South Island, The arrival of the Lancaster ove: Christchurch was reminiscent of thi days of the first Tasman flights. Thi: time admittance to the aerodrome wa: restricted to relatives of airmen overseas. but long before the bomber wa! due to arrive there were crowdec trams and an almost continuous streerr of motor-cars on the Main South roac leading to Wigram. Many motor-can were parked in the surrounding streets and inside the aerodrome there was £ dense crowd lining the edge of the airfield. In the city people ran from houses and shops, games were suspended. and traffic stopped, when the Lancaster and its escort of two Kittyhawk fighters first came in sight. Reports of Progress The Lancaster arrived three-quarters of an hour later than expected, but the waiting crowd had plenty to hold its interest, A Harvard roared low across the aerodrome, three Tiger Moths flew in such close formation that they seemed tied together, and a fourth Tiger Moth looped and rolled lazily in the sunshine within easy view of everyone. At the same time reports on the Lancaster’s progress were given over an amplifying system, and the crowd was warned not to break the barriers when it landed. When the Lancaster was first sighted flying low through the haze over the city, its tremendous size made the escorting fighters seem like lively sparrows accompanying an eagle. The three aircraft spent several minutes circling over Christchurch and its suburbs before heading for Wigram. As the Lancaster approached the aerodrome there was no thunderous roar from its four engines, and it was almost silent in comparison with the noisy Kittyhawks. Even more surprising was the ease with which the pilot handled an aircraft weighing close on 20 tons without its bomb load. The Lancaster turned and climbed almost as effortlessly as the Tiger Moths, and when it came in low and then climbed steeply the crowd had a wonderful view of its huge bomb compartment, the landing wheels almost as tall as a man, and the big black wing stretching 102 ft from tip to tip. Rushed By Crowd The Lancaster circled the aerodrome several times, landed easily, and then turned and taxied towards a roped off enclosure. At the same time an announcement was made that the crowd would be allowed to inspect the aircraft from outside the ropes, and the members of the official party were almost swept off their feet as the crowd rushed forward the moment the bomber’s engines stopped. From then/ until tl e Lancaster was bedded down for the night it was the centre of an admirir; crowd, towering high above them, and making a jeep, a Tiger Moth, and even the Kittyhawks beside it look like toys. First to welcome the captain of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant P. Isaacson, D.F.C., D.F.M., and his crew of seven, all of whom were wearing the navy blue battle dress of the Royal Australian Air Force, was her Excellency Lady Newall. She was followed by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr E. H. Andrews), and other members of the official party, which included Air Commodore Sir Robert Clark Hall, Commander A. D. Boyle, Brigadier E. T. Rowllings, Archbishop West-Watson. and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland). After members of the official party had inspected the Lancaster both inside and out, it was placed in the hangar ready for the flight south on Sunday morning. Many of the crowd, lluctant to miss a single detail, folded the Lancaster as it taxied from \enclosure, and right up to the time the aerodrome was closed to visits the giant bomber had its admiring •uaience both large and small. The roar of the engines of the Lancaster bomber brought Lyttelton residents out of doors with a run at 9.30 yesterday morning. The big aeroplane circled once over the harbour at a low altitude and then disappeared over the hills again in the direction of Christchurch. WORLD’S BEST BOMBER LANCASTER AND HER CREW Moving in the air, Queen ie VL the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber which has flown the North Atlantic, the Paci- , fie, and the Tasman, and is now touring New Zealand, gives an impression , of power and_ grace, although she has . not the slim lines of the De Havilland i Mosquito. On the ground she looks i exactly what she is—a flying freight , truck designed to carry the heaviest load of bombs possible as far and as : fast as possible. The Avro Lancaster is the newest of ' the three heavy bombers—Halifax Stirling, and Lancaster—used by Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force in its offensive on Europe, and it is classed as the best all-round heavy bomber in the world to-day because of its unique combination of speed, load, range, defensive power, and high-flying qualities. Since the Lancasters made their first operational flight in March last year, they have played their part in almost every important air operation over Europe. They made the daring t daylight raid on the U-boat engine fac- P tory at Augsburg in the heart of Ger- t many, blasted the great arms factory f at Le Creusot in occupied France, and smashed the Ruhr dams. S Queenie VI has still to make Her first operational flight—she is an entirely new machine—but in almost every other respect she is the same as the Lancasters that are bombing Germany. Under the long, boxlike fuselage the huge bomb compartment, which has two great doors 33ft long, holds eight tons of bombs, and can accommodate even the biggest block busters used by the R.A.F Turrets at front and rear, and above) and below the fuselage mount f. total of 10 machine-guns, and iooa u Ur Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of 1280 horse-power each give a speed exceeding 300 miles an hour at a height of more than 20,000 ft with a full load. Although Queenie VI is new. her crew are all veterans, and have been together on 15 raids. They come from every State in Australia except Queensmnd. The contain Flight Lieutenant p - D.F.C.. D.F.M.. aged 22 and the navigator. Flight Lieutenant ft- O- Neilson D.P.M.. made their initial operational flight in the 1000bomber raid on Cologne earlv last and have made 45 raids to0n German and Italian targets Fliorhf er i • me / I)bers of the crew are flight Lieutenant A. Ritchie. DFM £2s* anner: Pil ot Officer D. M. DeP p; a fl . 1Eh I J.' e ? n £ er; Pilot Offico r A. wiiohfc' Sergeant J. Grose. PoraVc 1 " a " d C ° r * DiS? a fuselage just below the ri s , . cat ' s }he crew's unmistakable earn? Par" b&dRe T a red winged kanwas namoH k a bomb - Queenie VI thp firct med £ er ca Ptain. because waa fl n rS Woir Cra / t h t on °P era tions 7ol S cL,T el - lin ? t0 ” bear <ng the letter Q roc Queenie, in the R.A.F. alphabet othe* n, vi was a Halifax, and the others have been Stirlings.