"Noli me tangere" ("Touch me not")
- Motto of No.103 Squadron

Entering service at the beginning of 1942, the Lancaster's design grew out of a failed predecessor, the Avro Manchester. While its' airframe offered a stable platform for heavy bombing assignments, the Manchester's twin engine design was inadequate to the task. By upgrading to four Merlins, the resulting aircraft met the nation's needs and 7,366 Avro Lancasters were built during the war, the most of any British bomber. Armament included eight to ten Browning machine guns for fighter defense (depending on model variant) mounted in the nose, upper dorsal turret and the tail. Experience with a variety of bomb loads eventually led to adoption of the 'Grand Slam' 22,000-pound bomb, the largest carried by any aircraft in the war.

The majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured by Avro at their factory at Chadderton near Manchester and test flown from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire. Other Lancasters were built by Metropolitan-Vickers (1080, also tested at Woodford) and Armstrong Whitworth. The aircraft was also produced at the Austin Motor Company works in Longbridge, Birmingham later in the Second World War and postwar by Vickers-Armstrongs at Chester. Only 300 of the Lancaster B II fitted with Bristol Hercules engines were constructed; this was a stopgap modification caused by a shortage of Merlin engines as fighter production was of higher priority. Many BII's were lost after running out of fuel.

The Lancaster B III had Packard Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to contemporary B Is, with 3,030 B IIIs built, almost all at A.V. Roe's Newton Heath factory. The B I and B III were built concurrently, and minor modifications were made to both marks as new batches were ordered. Examples of these modifications were the relocation of the pitot head from the nose to the side of the cockpit, and the change from de Havilland "needle blade" propellers to Hamilton Standard or Nash Kelvinator made "paddle blade" propellers.

Of later variants, only the Canadian-built Lancaster B X, manufactured by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, was produced in significant numbers. A total of 430 of this type were built, earlier examples differing little from their British-built predecessors, except for using Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instrumentation and electrics. Late-series models replaced the Frazer Nash mid-upper turret with a differently configured Martin turret, mounted slightly further forward for weight balance. A total of 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built throughout the duration of the war, each at a 1943 cost of 45-50,000 (approximately equivalent to 1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency).

For the dam-busting strike in May 1943, the Lancaster dropped British designer Barnes Wallis's 'bouncing bombs' which skipped on the surface before impact. Wartime Lancaster sorties totaled about 156,000 during which roughly 608,000 tons of ordnance were dropped on the enemy.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RAF Avro Lancaster B Mk. III heavy bomber that was nicknamed "Mike Squared", and attached to No.103 Squadron, then deployed to RAF Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire, during late 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 17-inches
Length: 11-3/4-inches

Release Date: May 2016

Historical Account: "The Mother of Them All" - The aircrew of Bomber Command made a significant contribution to the war effort in WWII and were to pay a heavy price for their devotion to duty. Arguably the aircraft that best illustrates their contribution and the men who sadly paid the ultimate price is Avro Lancaster ED888 PM-M2 "Mike Squared". This magnificent aircraft completed an astonishing 140 bombing missions - the most flown by any Lancaster in WWII. Known as "The Mother of Them All", this Lancaster managed to survive the war, shooting down two Luftwaffe fighters in the process. Avro Lancaster ED888 was the most prolific of the 'Ton-up' Lancasters and is a fitting way to mark the 75th anniversary of the first flight of Avro's most famous bomber.

The famous Avro Lancaster four engine heavy bomber was Britain's most successful bomber of WWII, but it had to endure something of a troubled start. Its twin-engined predecessor, the Manchester, was ultimately classed as a failure, but included many of the design features that went on to make the Lancaster such a resounding success. With a huge, unobstructed bomb bay, the Lancaster could carry a massive bomb load and was capable of delivering the largest individual bombs used by the RAF in WWII. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the first Lancasters were delivered to RAF No.44 (Rhodesia) Squadron at Waddington, on Christmas Eve, 1941.