LANCASTER BOMBERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 37, 12 August 1942, Page 5

LANCASTER BOMBERS

SUCCESSFUL FROM THE FIRST

(Rec. 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Aug. 11. The latest British heavy bomber, the Avro Lancaster, with a maximum range of about 3000 miles, can carry thej heaviest-bombs to the furthermost parts of enemy territory. Its maximum bomb-load is about eight tons. Lancasters have been used in the Essen, Dusseldorf, Augsburg, Danzig, Flensburg, and other raids. The flight to Danzig, involving a round journey of over 1700 miles, is the longest trip yet made by the Bomber Command. The Lancaster is a development of the two-engined Manchester, and was built in record time. Its success was assured from the first trial flights, and the staff of the two large factories where the Lancasters are made are justly proud. Its design lends itself to relatively cheap production. The entire aeroplane is built up on component parts, which are manufactured largely as separate self-contained units, easily moved and assembled. There is used in its production, for instance, a 6000-ton hydraulic press which was purchased four years ago from a wallpaper firm. This is now responsible for producing 40,000 components week- ! iyI The Lancaster's wing-span is 102 feet, the length of the plane is 69 feet 4 inches, and its height is 20 feet. The bomb-load is carried inside the fuselage, in a compartment operated with two large doors, worked hydraulically. A special electric circuit ensures that the bombs cannot be released until the bomb doors are open. In case of failure of the hydraulic system the bomb doors can be operated by an emergency air system, as can also the undercarriage. The armament is ten Browning guns of .303 calibre, installed in four turrets, one in the nose, one above, and one below the middle of the fuselage, and the fourth in the tail. A crew of seven can be carried.—B.O.W.