Revell 1/72 Lancaster B.III " Dambusters "

300px-Avro_Lancaster_B_I_PA474 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster B I PA474 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Role Heavy bomber
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Avro
Designer Roy Chadwick
First flight 9 January 1941
Introduction February 1942
Retired 1963 (Canada)
Status Retired
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Number built 7,377
Unit cost £45–50,000[
Developed from Avro Manchester
Variants Avro Lancastrian
Developed into Avro York
Avro Lincoln

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.
The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Commandin 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing contemporaries such as the Halifax and Stirling.
A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) blockbusters, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries. The "Lanc", as it was affectionately known, became one of the more famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 long tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties". The versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip 617 Squadron and was modified to carry the Upkeep "Bouncing bomb" designed by Barnes Wallis for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were adapted to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) Tallboy and then the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam earthquake bombs (also designed by Wallis).[5] This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war.
In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and the Avro Canada Orenda and STAL Dovern turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the Avro Lincoln, a larger version of the Lancaster. The Lancaster took on the role of long range anti-submarine patrol aircraft (later supplanted by the Avro Shackleton) and air-sea rescue. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping, as a flying tanker for aerial refuelling and as the Avro Lancastrian, a long-range, high-speed, transatlantic passenger and postal delivery airliner. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport. In 1963, the last remaining Lancasters were retired by the RCAF.

Origins
In the 1930s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was primarily interested in twin-engine bombers. These designs put limited demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were already stretched with the introduction of so many new types into service. Power limitations were so serious that the British invested heavily in the development of huge engines in the 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW) class in order to improve performance. During the late 1930s, none of these were ready for production. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were pursuing the development of bombers powered by arrangements of four smaller engines, the results of these projects proved to possess favourable characteristics such as excellent range and fair lifting capacity. Accordingly, in 1936, the RAF also decided to investigate the feasibility of the four-engined bomber.
The origins of the Lancaster stem from a twin-engined bomber design that had been submitted in response to Specification P.13/36, which had been formulated and released by the British Air Ministry during the mid 1930s. This specification had sought a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers suitable for "worldwide use". Further requirements of the specification included the use of a mid-mounted cantilever monoplane wing, all-metal construction; the adoption of the in-development Rolls-Royce Vulture engine was also encouraged". Various candidates were submitted for the specification by such manufacturers as Fairey, Boulton Paul, Handley Page and Shorts; all submissions were designed around two-engine configurations, using the Rolls-Royce Vulture, Napier Sabre, Fairey P.24 or Bristol Hercules engines. The majority of these engines were under development at this point; while four-engined bomber designs were considered for specification B.12/36 for a heavy bomber, wings which mounted two pairs of engines were still in the experimental stage and required testing at the Royal Aircraft Establishment(RAE), the resulting increase in overall weight of adopting a stronger wing also necessitated further strengthening of the overall aircraft structure.
In response, British aviation company Avro decided to submit their own design, designated the Avro 679, to meet Specification P.13/36. In February 1937, following consideration of the designs by the Air Ministry, Avro's design submission was selected along with Handley Page's bid being chosen as "second string". Accordingly, during April 1937, a pair of prototypes of both designs were ordered. The resulting aircraft, named the Manchester, entered RAF service in November 1940. Although considered to be a capable aircraft in most areas, the Manchester proved to be underpowered and troubled by the unreliability of the Vulture engine. As a result, only 200 Manchesters were constructed and the type was quickly withdrawn from service in 1942.

Flight testing
As early as mid-1940, Avro's chief design engineer, Roy Chadwick, had been working on an improved Manchester design. This redesign was powered by four of the more reliable but less powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, specifically adopted the form of the Merlin "Power Plant" installations which had been developed by Rolls-Royce for the earlier Beaufighter II, installed on a larger wing. Initially, the improved aircraft was designated as the Type 683 Manchester III, it was subsequently renamed as the Lancaster. The prototype aircraft BT308 was assembled by the Avro experimental flight department at Ringway Airport, Manchester; the prototype was constructed from a production Manchester airframe, which was combined with a new centre section designed to accommodate the additional engines. On 9 January 1941, test pilot H. A. "Sam" Brown performed the prototype's maiden flight at RAF Ringway, Cheshire.

220px-Avro_Lancaster_bombers_nearing_completion_at_the_A_V_Roe_&_Co_Ltd_factory_at_Woodford_in_Cheshire,_1943 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Flight testing of the new aircraft quickly proved it to be a substantial improvement on its predecessor, aviation author Jim Winchester referred to the Lancaster as being "one of the few warplanes in history to be 'right' from the start." The first prototype was initially outfitted with a three-finned tail layout, a result of the design having been adapted from the Manchester I; this was quickly revised on the second prototype, DG595, and subsequent production Lancasters to the familiar larger elliptical twin-finned tail unit that had also been adopted for the later-built Manchesters, discarding the stubby central third tail fin. The adoption of the enlarged twin fins not only increased stability but also provided for a greater field of fire from the dorsal gun turret position. The second prototype was also outfitted with more powerful Merlin XX engine.
Some of the later orders for Manchesters were converted in favour of the Lancaster; both bombers shared various similarities and featured identical design features, such as the same distinctive greenhouse cockpit, turret nose and twin tail. The designs were so similar that an entire batch of partially constructed Manchesters could be completed as Lancaster B I aircraft instead. Based upon its performance, a decision was taken early on to reequip twin-engine bomber squadrons with the Lancaster as quickly as possible. In October 1941, the first production Lancaster, L7527, powered by Merlin XX engines, conducted its first flight.

220px-Avro_Lancaster_aircraft_under_construction_at_the_A_V_Roe_&_Co_Ltd_factory_at_Woodford_in_Cheshire,_1943._TR1384 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Avro received an initial contract for 1,070 Lancasters. The majority of Lancasters that were manufactured during the war years were constructed by Avro at their factory at Chadderton near Oldham, Greater Manchester and were test flown from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire. As it was quickly recognised that Avro's capacity was exceeded by the wartime demand for the type, it was decided to form the Lancaster Aircraft Group, which comprised a number of companies that undertook the type's manufacture, either performing primary assembly themselves or producing various subsections and components for the other participating manufacturers.
In addition to Avro, further Lancasters were constructed by Metropolitan-Vickers (1,080, also tested at Woodford) and Armstrong Whitworth. It was also produced at the Austin Motor Companyworks in Longbridge, Birmingham, later in the Second World War and postwar by Vickers-Armstrongs at Chester as well as at the Vickers Armstrong factory, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. Belfast-based aircraft firm Short Brothers had also received an order for 200 Lancaster B Is, but this was cancelled prior to any aircraft have been completed. Only 300 of the Lancaster B II, which was outfitted with Bristol Hercules engines, were constructed; this had been produced as a stopgap modification as a result of a shortage of Merlin engines due to fighter production have had a higher priority placed upon it at that time.
The Lancaster was also produced overseas. During early 1942, it was decided that the bomber should be produced in Canada, where it was manufactured by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario. Of later variants, only the Canadian-built Lancaster B X 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 instruments and electrics.[ In August 1942, a British-built Lancaster B I, R5727, was dispatched to Canada as a pattern aircraft, becoming the first of the type to conduct a transatlantic crossing. The first Lancaster produced in Canada was named the "Ruhr Express". The first batch of Canadian Lancasters delivered to England suffered from faulty ailerons; this error was subsequently traced to the use of unskilled labourers.

Further development

The Lancaster B I was never fully superseded in production by a successor model, remaining in production until February 1946. According to aviation authors Brian Goulding and M. Garbett, the Lancaster B I altered little during its production life, partially as a result of the sound basic structure and design; of the visible changes, the fuselage side-windows were deleted, the Perspex chin of the bomb-aimer was enlarged, and a larger astrodome was provisioned. Various additional bumps and blisters were also added, which would typically house radar equipment and radio navigational aids. Some Lancaster B I bombers were outfitted with bulged bomb bay doors in order to accommodate increased armament payloads.
Early production Lancaster B Is were outfitted with a ventral gun turret position. In response to feedback on the lack of application for the ventral turret, the ventral turret was often eliminated during the course of each aircraft's career. While some groups chose to discard the position entirely, various trials and experiments were performed at RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire and by individual squadrons. A total of 50 Austin-built Lancaster B Is were constructed to a non-standard configuration, having a Frazer Nash turret installed directly above the bomb bay; this modification was largely unpopular due to its obstruction of the internal walkway, hindering crew movements. Various other turret configurations were adopted by individual squadrons, which included the removal of various combinations of turrets.
The Lancaster B III was powered by Packard Merlin engines, which had been built overseas in the United States, but was otherwise identical to contemporary B Is. In total, 3,030 B IIIs were constructed, almost all of them at Avro's Newton Heath factory. The Lancaster B I and B III were manufactured concurrently and minor modifications were made to both marks as further batches were ordered. The B I and B III designated was effective interchangeable simply by exchanging the engines used, which was occasionally done in practice. Examples of modifications made include 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.

Design
Overview

220px-Lancaster_B_MkI_44_Sqn_RAF_in_flight_1942 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engined strategic bomber that was used as the RAF's principal heavy bomber during the latter half of the Second World War. The typical aircraft was powered by an arrangement of four wing-mounted Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engines, each of which drove a set of 13 ft diameter de Havilland Hydromatic three-bladed airscrews. While not optimal, the Lancaster was capable of flying the return journey home on only two operational engines, along with very limited distances on a single running engine. Goulding and Garbett have claimed that experienced Lancaster pilots were often able to out-manoeuver Luftwaffe fighters. It possessed largely favourable flying characteristics, having been described by aviation authors Brian Goulding and M. Garbett as being: "a near-perfect flying machine, fast for its size and very smooth...such a delightfully easy aeroplane to fly...there are instances of Lancasters having been looped and barrel-rolled, both intentionally and otherwise".
The Lancaster benefited from a structure that possessed considerable strength and durability, which had been intentionally designed to maximise structural strength-per-weight; this resulted in the Lancaster being capable of withstanding some levels of damage resulting from attacks by hostile interceptor aircraft and ground-based anti-aircraft batteries. However, during the first year of the type's career, some instances of structural failures were encountered on Lancaster B Is and a number of aircraft were lost in accidents as a result of the design limitations having been greatly exceeded. Compared with other contemporary aircraft, the Lancaster was not an easy aircraft to escape from; in a Halifax, 25 per cent of downed aircrew bailed out successfully, and in American bombers (albeit in daylight raids) it was as high as a 50 per cent success rate while only 15 per cent of the Lancaster crew were able to bail out.
The Lancaster uses a mid-wing cantilever monoplane configuration. The wing is constructed from five separate main sections while the fuselage is likewise composed of five sections. Aside from a few elements, such as the fabric-covered ailerons, the Lancaster's oval-shaped fuselage had an all-metal covering. All of the wing and fuselage sections were manufactured separately, during which they were outfitted with all of the required equipment in advance of final assembly being performed, as a measure intended to accelerate the rate of production. The Lancaster was equipped with a retractable main undercarriage and fixed tailwheel; the hydraulically-actuated main landing gear raised rearwards into recesses within the inner engine nacelles. The distinctive tail unit of the aircraft was outfitted with a large twin elliptical fins and rudder arrangement.

Crew accommodation

203px-G_for_George_pilot_1944_AWM_UK2055 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

161px-Lancaster_flight_engineer_WWII_IWM_CH_12289 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The standard crew for a Lancaster consisted of seven men, stationed in various positions in the fuselage. Starting at the nose, the bomb aimer had two positions to man. His primary location was lying prone on the floor of the nose of the aircraft, with access to the bombsight controls facing forward, with the bombsight computer on his left and bomb release selectors on the right. He also used his view out of the large transparent perspex nose cupola to assist the navigator with map reading. To man the Frazer Nash FN5 nose turret, he stood up placing himself in position behind the triggers of the twin .303 in (7.7 mm) guns. Ammunition for the turret was 1,000 rounds per gun (rpg). The bomb aimer's position contained the nose emergency hatch in the floor; at 22 by 26.5 inches (560 by 670 mm) (two inches narrower than the Halifax escape hatch) it was difficult to exit through while wearing a parachute. Operational research experts, including British scientist Freeman Dyson, amongst others, attempted unsuccessfully to have the escape hatch enlarged.
On the roof of the bomb bay the pilot and flight engineer sat side by side under the expansive canopy, with the pilot sitting on the left on a raised portion of the floor (almost all British bombers, and most German bombers, had only a single pilot seat as opposed to American practice of carrying two pilots, or at least having controls for two pilots installed). The flight engineer sat on a collapsible seat (known as a "second dicky seat") to the pilot's right, with the fuel selectors and gauges on a panel behind him and to his right. The pilot and other crew members could use the panel above the cockpit as an auxiliary emergency exit while the mid-upper gunner was expected to use the rear entrance door to leave the aircraft. The tail gunner escaped by rotating his turret to the rear, opening the door in the back of the turret, passing into the fuselage, and clipping on a parachute that was hung on the side wall. He could then exit through the rear entrance door.

151px-Lancaster_bomb_aimer_1943_CH_8789 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

213px-G_for_George_wireless_operator_and_navigator_AWM_UK2052 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Behind the pilot and flight engineer, and behind a curtain fitted to allow him to use light to work, sat the navigator. His position faced to port with a chart table in front of him. An instrument panel showing the airspeed, altitude, and other information required for navigation was mounted on the side of the fuselage above the chart table. The wireless operator's radios were mounted on the left-hand end of the chart table, facing the rear of the aircraft. Behind these and facing forwards the wireless operator sat on a seat at the front of the main spar. On his left was a window, and above him was the astrodome, used for visual signalling and by the navigator for celestial navigation.
Behind the wireless operator were the two spars for the wing, which created a major obstacle for crew members moving down the fuselage even on the ground. On reaching the end of the bomb bay the floor dropped down to the bottom of the fuselage, and the mid-upper gunner's turret was reached. His position allowed a 360° view over the top of the aircraft, with two Browning .303 Mark IIs to protect the aircraft from above and to the side. The mid-upper gunner sat on a rectangle of canvas that was slung beneath the turret and would stay in position throughout the flight. Ammunition for the turret was 1,000 rounds per gun.
To the rear of the turret was the side crew door, on the starboard side of the fuselage. This was the main entrance to the aircraft, and also could be used as an emergency exit. The Elsan chemical toilet, a type of aircraft lavatory, was located near the spars for the tailplane. At the extreme tail-end of the fuselage, the rear gunner sat in his exposed position in the tail turret, which was entered through a small hatch in the rear of the fuselage. Depending on the size of the rear gunner, the area was so cramped that the gunner would often hang his parachute on a hook inside the fuselage, near the turret doors. Neither the mid-upper nor the rear gunner's position was heated, and the gunners had to wear electrically heated suits to prevent hypothermia and frostbite.

Armament

Defensive armament

Lancaster_Mk_I_gun_positions by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

220px-A_gun_turret_on_a_restored_WW2_Lancaster_bomber_-b by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The Avro Lancaster was initially equipped with four Nash & Thomson Frazer Nash hydraulically operated turrets mounted in the nose, tail, mid-upper and underside. The original tail turret was equipped with four Browning .303 Mark II machine guns and all other turrets with two such machine guns.
Late on in the war, as a result of statistical analysis, Freeman Dyson, put forward a case for the removal of the majority of the Lancaster's defensive armament. He argued that this would reduce the overall loss rate as it would have the benefit of increasing the Lancaster's cruise speed by up to 50 mph (80 km/h) (assuming the bomb load was not increased at the same time), and thus make the bomber harder to shoot down. He also considered that the modification would be justified regardless of the envisioned decreased loss rate as, by requiring fewer crew to serve as defensive air gunners, that would be a lower number of human losses incurred with each aircraft lost.
Nose turret
Only the FN-5A nose turret which was similar to the FN-5 used on the preceding Avro Manchester, the Vickers Wellington and the Short Stirling remained unchanged during the life of the design, except in instances where it was removed entirely.
Ventral turret
The ventral (underside) FN-64 turret quickly proved to be dead weight, being both difficult to sight because it relied on a periscope which limited the gunner's view to a 20 degree arc, and too slow to keep a target within its sights. Aside from early B Is and the prototype B IIs, the FN-64 was almost never used. When the Luftwaffe began using Schräge Musik to make attacks from below in the winter of 1943/1944, modifications were made, including downward observation blisters mounted behind the bomb aimer's blister and official and unofficial mounts for .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns or even 20 mm cannon, firing through the ventral holes of the removed FN-64. The fitting of these guns was hampered as the same ventral position was used for mounting the H2S blister, which limited installations to those aircraft fitted with bulged bomb bays which interfered with the H2S.

Mid-upper turret

220px-A_No._57_Squadron_Lancaster_mid-upper_gunner_in_his_turret,_February_1943._CH8795 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The mid-upper (dorsal or top) turret was an FN-50 on early examples and the very similar FN-150 with improved sights and controls on later examples. On all but the earliest examples this turret was surrounded by a coaming which provided a track for a cam operated interruptor device which prevented the gunner from shooting the tail of his own aircraft. The Mk. VII and late Mk. X Lancasters used the heavier, electrically-controlled Martin 250 CE 23A turret equipped with two .50 inch machine guns which was mounted further forward to preserve the aircraft's longitudinal balance, and because it had an internal mechanism to prevent firing on the aircraft itself, it did not require a coaming. Other experimental turrets were tried out, including the FN-79 and the Boulton-Paul Type H barbette system.

Tail turret

170px-Lancaster_tail_gunner_IWM_CH_12776 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The tail turret was the most important defensive position and carried the heaviest armament. Despite this, the turrets used, starting with the FN-20, were never entirely satisfactory and numerous designs were tried. The FN-20 was replaced by the very similar FN-120 which used an improved gyroscopic gun sight(GGS). Many rear gunners insisted on having the centre section of perspex removed from the turret to improve visibility. The transparencies were difficult to see through at night, particularly when trying to keep watch for enemy night fighters that appeared without notice astern and below the aircraft when getting into position to open fire. This removal of perspex from the turret was called the "Gransden Lodge" modification. Ammunition for the tail turret was 2,500 rounds-per-gun. Due to the weight, the ammunition was stored in tanks situated near the mid-upper turret's position and fed rearward in runways down the back of the fuselage to the turret.
Gunners using both the FN-20 and 120 removed perspex and armour from the turret to improve visibility, but trials by the RAF showed that a Mosquito night fighter was still able to get within a very short distance of the tail gunner without being spotted, confirming what the Luftwaffe had already realised. The Rose turret attempted to improve on the FN turrets by being completely open to the rear (improving visibility and allowing easier emergency egress) and by being fitted with two .50 inch machine guns and was installed in a small number of Lancasters but never became common.
Ultimately radar, rather than improved visibility, made the turret more effective. The FN-121 was the Automatic Gun Laying Turret (AGLT), an FN-120 fitted with Village Inn gun-laying radar. Aircraft fitted with Village Inn were used as bait, flying behind the main formations to confront the night fighters that followed the formations and shot down stragglers. This significantly reduced operational losses; and gun-laying radar was added to the last versions of the turret. Before the end of the war Lancasters built in the UK standardised on the FN-82 fitted with two .50 inch machine guns and fitted with gun-laying radar as production allowed, which was also used on early models of the Avro Lincoln. The disadvantage of all radar and radio transmitting systems is that attacking forces can locate aircraft by picking up transmissions.

Bombs

141px-Lancaster_bomb_bay_Jan_1944_IWM_CH_18554 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

223px-Lancaster_area_bombing_load_IWM_CH_18371 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

An important feature of the Lancaster was its unobstructed 33 ft (10 m) long bomb bay. At first, the heaviest bomb carried was the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) high capacity HC "Cookie". Bulged doors were added to 30 per cent of B Is to allow the aircraft to carry 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and later 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) "Cookies". The Lancaster also carried a variety of smaller weapons, including the Small Bomb Container (SBC) which held 236 4 lb (1.8 kg) or 24 30 lb (14 kg) incendiary and explosive incendiary bomblets; 500 lb (230 kg) and 1,000 lb (450 kg) General Purpose High Explosive (GP/HE) bombs (these came in a variety of designs); 1,850 lb (840 kg) parachute deployed magnetic or acoustic mines, or 2,000 lb (910 kg) armour-piercing (AP) bombs; 250 lb (110 kg) Semi-Armour-Piercing (SAP) bombs, used up to 1942 against submarines; post 1942: 250 lb (110 kg) or 500 lb (230 kg) anti-submarine depth charges.
In 1943, 617 Squadron was created to carry out Operation Chastise, the raid against the Ruhr dams. This unit was equipped with B.III (Specials), officially designated the "Type 464 (Provisioning)", modified to carry the 9,250 lb (4,200 kg) "Upkeep" bouncing bomb. The bomb bay doors were removed and the ends of the bomb bay were covered with fairings. "Upkeep" was suspended on laterally pivoted, vee-shaped struts which sprang apart beamwise when the bomb-release button was pressed. A drive belt and pulley to rotate the bomb at 500 rpm was mounted on the starboard strut and driven by a hydraulic motor housed in the forward fairing. The mid-upper turret was removed and a more bulbous bomb aimer's blister was fitted; this, as "Mod. 780", later becoming standard on all Lancasters, while the bombsight was replaced by a simple aiming device. Two Aldis lights were fitted in the rear bomb bay fairing; the optimum height for dropping "Upkeep" was 60 ft and, when shone on the relatively smooth waters of the dam's reservoirs, the light beams converged into a single spot when the Lancaster was flying at the correct height.
Towards the end of the war, attacking special and hardened targets, other variants of B I Specials were modified to carry the 21 ft (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) "Tallboy" or 25.5 ft (7.8 m) long 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) "Grand Slam""earthquake" bombs. Aircraft intended to carry the "Grand Slam" required extensive modifications. These included the removal of the dorsal turret and of two guns from the rear turret, removal of the cockpit armour plating (the pilot's seatback), and installation of Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk 24 engines for better take-off performance. The bomb bay doors were removed and the rear end of the bomb bay cut away to clear the tail of the bomb. Later the nose turret was also removed to further improve performance. A strengthened undercarriage and stronger mainwheels, later used by the Avro Lincoln, were fitted.
Specific bomb loads were standardised and given code names by Bomber Command:

Post by **Mylightweight** » Tue May 01, 2018 6:40 pm

Nice looking Lanc, very informative post

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue May 01, 2018 9:52 pm

Superb intro info write up mate

Very impressed

Post by **digger303** » Wed May 02, 2018 1:40 pm

I'm glad this is in the SIG a truly iconic bomber. Great info in the intro.

Post by **Les0012** » Wed May 02, 2018 1:47 pm

To be honest I was expecting there to be more Lancs in this.

Great choice of subject love the Lanc.

Good Luck

Les

Post by **Garion77** » Wed May 02, 2018 8:55 pm

An iconic bomber that I would love to build in the future
Good luck

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Wed May 02, 2018 10:59 pm

Awesome aircraft, fabulous War time colour pictures

I'll be following this build for sure good luck mate

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat May 05, 2018 9:28 am

Another Dambuster in the SIG. Great historical detail too

Post by **gaz45** » Fri May 11, 2018 11:05 am

Thanks guys

Post by **gaz45** » Fri May 11, 2018 12:59 pm

Time to make a start on this, first up the cockpit and to start with there is a choice of pilot seats.

20180502_185743 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

These parts will be painted seperatly before fitting to make it easier with this scale.

Has the parts are cast in black plastic i have decided to prime them in grey with Ultimate grey primer

20180504_122101 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180504_144103 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Before i put any colour down I have most of the revell paints for this and some need to be mixed so i have pre mixed these to keep the colours constant

20180504_143712 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The cockpit parts have now been painted using Revell mix matt black 95% + light grey 371 5%, Sea green 48 70% + light grey 76 30% and modelair ral 7013 olive drab.

There are some decals for the belts and has they are moulded with the seat i have decided to just paint them using Tamiya XF-59 desert sand.
Once the paint is dry i will apply the decals and assemble the cockpit.

20180504_124231 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180509_095053 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180509_095156 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The cockpit has now been assembled and while that is setting up i'll decide if i will do some dry brushing and a wash.

20180509_104546 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180509_104558 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180509_104611 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Now to prepare the fuselage halves to recieve the cockpit, there is also a decal to go on and some clear parts which will be fitted after the halves have been painted and before the halves are put together.

20180509_111742 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

These have now been primed in the Ultimate grey primer

20180509_113531 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

They have now been painted using the sea green/light grey mix and the black/ light grey mix the decal has also been added alonf with the clear parts which were glued in place using TET.

20180509_183209 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

That is where it stands for now
Thanks for taking the time to view and to comment.

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 13, 2018 2:06 am

thought I would chuck this in. Really amazing they killed that dam with a bouncing bomb and a piece of wood with 2 nails.

Obviously the “bouncing” bomb would skip across the water in a particular way, but there were still a lot of variables. Wallis needed to ensure the bomb would hit the water and bounce rather than sink, yet still ricochet high enough to clear the German anti-torpedo netting. He also had to make sure the bounce of the arc wouldn’t fall short of the dam, or alternatively clear it entirely and promptly blow up the low-flying plane that had dropped it. After quite a bit of math, Barnes Wallis calculated that the bomb needed to be dropped exactly 425 yards away from the dam, exactly 60 feet from sea level, while the plane was travelling at 222 miles per hour.
This would be a hell of a feat even with modern technology. The Lancaster had a wingspan of 31 metres, which was actually greater than the distance from the underside of the plane to the water at the required altitude. This meant there was hardly any room to turn, even with the Lancaster’s impressive maneuverability. Ensuring this altitude was not a simple task in a Second World War-era plane. The standard altimeter on a Lancaster was useless below 150 feet, so the altitude was determined essentially by eye. Even Guy Gibson, the leader of the raid, almost flew into the lake during a practice run at dusk, when unable to see the difference between the horizon and the surface of the water.

To combat this, the Lancasters were outfitted with two lamps, one just below the nose and another behind the bomb’s casing. These lamps were affixed at an angle such that the beams of the light would line up into a dot when the airplane was at the correct altitude--too high, and the beams wouldn’t touch; too low, and the beams would cross one another and keep going.

This seems like a pretty genius idea until you remember that you have just put two enormous spotlights onto your aircraft while flying in a raid on enemy territory, which you’re doing at night on the premise that maybe they won’t see you coming. The craziness of this is magnified when you remember you are flying so close to the water that if you turned too quickly to avoid gunfire that you are helpfully providing a well-lit target for, you’ve just given the Möhne river one of your plane’s wings as a midnight snack.

Even assuming the pilots could correctly determine their altitude, and that the German gunners failed to shoot a well-lit target flying in a straight line, flying at this low height was incredibly dangerous. While on training for Operation Chastise, two pilots actually damaged their planes by dropping their test-bombs too low and being caught in a huge column of water thrown up after the bomb hit the lake. By the time the attack came five days later, one of these aircraft could not be repaired, and the attacking force was down to 19 aircraft from the originally planned 20. In addition, the Lancaster was never meant to be flown at such a low altitude during an attack, so the aircraft experienced significant turbulence. Nothing like having the individual pieces of your plane vibrate so hard its bolts shear.

Some of the crew needed to sit at an angle to the line of flight which, between that and turbulence from flying 9,940 ft lower than you’re accustomed to, made a number of the men airsick. The airsickness was so bad that some of the men were prescribed sedatives, as though the mission weren’t already complicated enough without the addition of drugs to the mixture.

Having dealt with the issue of altitude, the team now needed a way to quickly calculate distance. This had a surprisingly low-tech solution: using the dam’s twin towers as markers, a sight was constructed using two nails on a triangular frame at an angle that, when held to the eye, would obscure the dam’s towers when the plane reached the correct distance from the dam. Since the bomb had to be dropped 425 ft away from the dam, with the plane travelling at 222 miles per hour, that gave the pilot approximately twelve seconds to get an airplane that was longer than two and a half school buses
clear of the dam they had just launched a 7,500lb bomb at.
So you’ve got one guy watching the distance, one guy checking the altitude, one guy guiding the plane, and one guy minding the speed. Guess you need some way to keep these people in contact--maybe like those Star Wars radio helmets, right?

Wrong! Because while the 1940s are famous for a lot of things--Casablanca, elastic-waisted pants, the Slinky--it turns out that sophisticated radio technology wasn’t one of them. Instead, the crews of each of the planes involved in Operation Chastise (or Dambusters, as it’s now called) were literally shouting at each other confirmation of their positions. If all three of these guys didn’t agree, the approach was a wash and the crew would have to circle back and try again.

So, to recap: the Chastise teams had to drop a bomb within a fifty yard radius while flying an airplane half that radius in length at 33 yards per second in speed, dangerously close to the water, lit up like a jack-o-lantern for the Germans to shoot at, in the dark.
I'm liking the build...

Post by **Les0012** » Sun May 13, 2018 9:20 am

Were these airmen incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, I think they had to be a bit of both, there again on the other hand if they said they were not doing it what would the result be, they would be branded LMF stripped of their rank and booted out. In other words they had to do it.

Great write up on the raid.

Les

Post by **sheppsea** » Sun May 13, 2018 11:46 am

digger303 wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 2:06 am thought I would chuck this in. Really amazing they killed that dam with a bouncing bomb and a piece of wood with 2 nails.

Obviously the “bouncing” bomb would skip across the water in a particular way, but there were still a lot of variables. Wallis needed to ensure the bomb would hit the water and bounce rather than sink, yet still ricochet high enough to clear the German anti-torpedo netting. He also had to make sure the bounce of the arc wouldn’t fall short of the dam, or alternatively clear it entirely and promptly blow up the low-flying plane that had dropped it. After quite a bit of math, Barnes Wallis calculated that the bomb needed to be dropped exactly 425 yards away from the dam, exactly 60 feet from sea level, while the plane was travelling at 222 miles per hour.
This would be a hell of a feat even with modern technology. The Lancaster had a wingspan of 31 metres, which was actually greater than the distance from the underside of the plane to the water at the required altitude. This meant there was hardly any room to turn, even with the Lancaster’s impressive maneuverability. Ensuring this altitude was not a simple task in a Second World War-era plane. The standard altimeter on a Lancaster was useless below 150 feet, so the altitude was determined essentially by eye. Even Guy Gibson, the leader of the raid, almost flew into the lake during a practice run at dusk, when unable to see the difference between the horizon and the surface of the water.

To combat this, the Lancasters were outfitted with two lamps, one just below the nose and another behind the bomb’s casing. These lamps were affixed at an angle such that the beams of the light would line up into a dot when the airplane was at the correct altitude--too high, and the beams wouldn’t touch; too low, and the beams would cross one another and keep going.

This seems like a pretty genius idea until you remember that you have just put two enormous spotlights onto your aircraft while flying in a raid on enemy territory, which you’re doing at night on the premise that maybe they won’t see you coming. The craziness of this is magnified when you remember you are flying so close to the water that if you turned too quickly to avoid gunfire that you are helpfully providing a well-lit target for, you’ve just given the Möhne river one of your plane’s wings as a midnight snack.

Even assuming the pilots could correctly determine their altitude, and that the German gunners failed to shoot a well-lit target flying in a straight line, flying at this low height was incredibly dangerous. While on training for Operation Chastise, two pilots actually damaged their planes by dropping their test-bombs too low and being caught in a huge column of water thrown up after the bomb hit the lake. By the time the attack came five days later, one of these aircraft could not be repaired, and the attacking force was down to 19 aircraft from the originally planned 20. In addition, the Lancaster was never meant to be flown at such a low altitude during an attack, so the aircraft experienced significant turbulence. Nothing like having the individual pieces of your plane vibrate so hard its bolts shear.

Some of the crew needed to sit at an angle to the line of flight which, between that and turbulence from flying 9,940 ft lower than you’re accustomed to, made a number of the men airsick. The airsickness was so bad that some of the men were prescribed sedatives, as though the mission weren’t already complicated enough without the addition of drugs to the mixture.

Having dealt with the issue of altitude, the team now needed a way to quickly calculate distance. This had a surprisingly low-tech solution: using the dam’s twin towers as markers, a sight was constructed using two nails on a triangular frame at an angle that, when held to the eye, would obscure the dam’s towers when the plane reached the correct distance from the dam. Since the bomb had to be dropped 425 ft away from the dam, with the plane travelling at 222 miles per hour, that gave the pilot approximately twelve seconds to get an airplane that was longer than two and a half school buses
clear of the dam they had just launched a 7,500lb bomb at.
So you’ve got one guy watching the distance, one guy checking the altitude, one guy guiding the plane, and one guy minding the speed. Guess you need some way to keep these people in contact--maybe like those Star Wars radio helmets, right?

Wrong! Because while the 1940s are famous for a lot of things--Casablanca, elastic-waisted pants, the Slinky--it turns out that sophisticated radio technology wasn’t one of them. Instead, the crews of each of the planes involved in Operation Chastise (or Dambusters, as it’s now called) were literally shouting at each other confirmation of their positions. If all three of these guys didn’t agree, the approach was a wash and the crew would have to circle back and try again.

So, to recap: the Chastise teams had to drop a bomb within a fifty yard radius while flying an airplane half that radius in length at 33 yards per second in speed, dangerously close to the water, lit up like a jack-o-lantern for the Germans to shoot at, in the dark.
I'm liking the build...

Genuinely interesting read

, thank you. I know there is a romance of Lancasters and Bomber Command, but boy did those men go through a lot!

Post by **pourquoi61** » Sun May 13, 2018 8:13 pm

I think the guys flying the aircraft would be very scared each time they went out.
Maybe they learned to shut it out?
Good build so far.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon May 14, 2018 5:20 pm

Looking great so far

Keep up the good work
Door prize draw coming up this weekend

Post by **gaz45** » Tue May 15, 2018 12:22 pm

Thanks guys and thanks Digger for the extra info mate

Post by **gaz45** » Wed May 16, 2018 11:46 am

Just a short progress report
I have decided to do a little detail painting to go along with the decal using Tamiya X-2 white, X-7 red and X-8 lemon yellow with a cocktail stick.
Then once dry i gave it all a dry brushing with mr hobby H-334 barley grey along with the cockpit.

20180511_140245 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_140304 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_140151 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_140212 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_140221 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Time to button up the two halves they went together really well and once the seams were sanded the will just be a little rescribing to do in a few places.

20180514_140358 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180514_140406 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

The wings and the stabilizers have been cleaned and glued together again a good fit with a little sanding on the leading edges.

20180511_203704 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_193435 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180511_203517 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

So that's where it stands for now thanks for taking a look and for your comments.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu May 17, 2018 10:09 am

Very nice work Gaz - and a very appropriate build as yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the dams raid.

Post by **Les0012** » Fri May 18, 2018 9:24 am

Wow,the standard of builds in this SIG is so impressive, glad I don't have to judge it.

Another outstanding model coming together

Les

Post by **gaz45** » Sat May 19, 2018 8:12 am

Cheers guys

Post by **alextheblue** » Sat May 19, 2018 2:40 pm

Tantalisingly close to having its wings on

Great work gas.

Post by **pourquoi61** » Sun May 20, 2018 5:26 pm

Very nice indeed.

It was to windy for the lanc to fly so the RAF sent a Eurofighter over Lady Bower dam. Nice.

Post by **demarcation** » Sun May 20, 2018 7:48 pm

Beautiful interior work mate!!

Post by **gaz45** » Fri May 25, 2018 9:37 am

Thanks guys

Post by **gaz45** » Fri May 25, 2018 11:25 am

Just a short progress report.

Just a quick dry fit and the wing roots look really good.

20180516_165402 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

to work on the engines and frames along with the wheel bay detail even though they will be covered has this will be in flight.

20180516_174335 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180516_180459 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180516_222618 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180523_162742 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180523_211414 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Time to do the rescribing

20180523_161804 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Now the wings are glued in place.

20180523_203111 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

To finish off the earlier parts have all been primed in Ultimate grey primer

20180524_215923 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

That is all for now thanks for taking the time to look and to comment.

Post by **RossiM1** » Sat May 26, 2018 3:11 pm

Hey your catching me up now mate looking good we will have to do a fly past with all the Lancs being built

Post by **pourquoi61** » Wed May 30, 2018 10:25 pm

Lovely work so far and a Lanc fly past or montage would be great.

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Jun 01, 2018 10:25 am

Thanks guys. the fly by sounds good

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Jun 01, 2018 1:35 pm

Great work mate - that is looking really tidy.

Post by **gaz45** » Thu Jun 07, 2018 11:19 pm

Thanks mate

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:29 pm

So right back to it as these parts have been painted up it is time to fit them together alnong with fitting these to the wings.
Has the engine covers are not a very good fit to the wings then a little work is needed to make them fit.

20180530_201509_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180530_201514_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180604_145737 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

While fitting these disaster struck and a wing came off.

20180605_110526 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

I will rework these parts while i make up the second set of engines and fit those.

20180523_211414 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180605_131333 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180605_133101 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

These are now fitted along with the reworked parts so now i'm back on track with the build.

20180608_132043_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180608_132050_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180608_132126_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

So there we are for now thanks for looking and taking the time to comment.

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:22 pm

You got a beautiful finish on that black Gary. Really nice work!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jun 10, 2018 4:50 pm

alextheblue wrote: Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:22 pm You got a beautiful finish on that black Gary. Really nice work!

And he mixed the paint colours himself!!!
I like the black too and was like ‘well there is a good colour to copy for the Sterling’...the bugger mixed his own paint

I like the black/great pint mix combo you did

I am thinking some Ultimate black/great primers mixed for mine

Post by **gaz45** » Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:10 pm

Cheers guys

Post by **gaz45** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:02 am

Just another short progress report.

The next few steps call for the wheels, landing gear along with the bomb and the release mechanisim, but i'm building this in flight and i plan to do something else with the bomb.

So now i'll move on with the covers, hatches and the bomb bay.

20180612_111153 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Right having had to re-work the engine covers/wheel bays these covers do not fit has well and it wouldn't be too much of a problem if i was doing gear down but in flight i have chosen so i'll need to do some work on these to get them looking close to a better fit.

20180612_102402 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180612_102408_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180612_102426_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

So to start with i filled what i could with some sprue goo.

20180613_181845 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180613_181850 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180613_181901 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180613_181911_HDR by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Whwn this was set it was sanded and then some vajello plastic putty was used and when cured this was sanded back.

20180614_120429 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180614_120436 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180614_215414 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

20180614_215420 by Gary Wilcox, on Flickr

Another coat of the putty will be needed then hopefully this will look reasonablly

Thats all for now thanks for looking and for all your comments.

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:08 am

Some great fettling with the covers gaz, they look a ton better already!

Interesting to see what you're going to do with the bomb - looking forward to seeing that!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:22 am

Nice recovery on the poor fit around the engines mate, and great work in getting the landing gear doors knocked into shape as well

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 12:13 pm

Revell quality strikes again, well recovered mate

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:02 am

Thanks Guys

Post by **Les0012** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 9:23 pm

Doing a great job with the poor fit of the undercarriage doors.

Great job on the whole Lanc as well

Les

Post by **mick** » Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:48 am

good work

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:42 pm

Thanks guys
At this point it's a mojo zapper

Post by **gaz45** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:28 pm

So a little more progress
A second filling with the vajello plastic putty and when dry another sanding

To finish this off has it has been a mojo zapper i have used some mr surfacer 500 which has been left to dry and a final sanding was done.
I have also fitted the rudders.

I have decided to make up the bomb but i'll leave the release gear until i'm ready for the main priming and painting.
The bomb done along with the tail landing gear

Next up some of the clear parts for the nose section, the front gunners bay and the canopy

There is a section on the top of the fuselage that will need painting before the canopy is fitted.

I have just realised that i have put the bomb bay plate on the wrong way round so i will have to reactivate the glue with some more TET to remove it then clean up the part and fit it the correct way round.

Now it is the right way round

The parts for the rear gunner are ready for some primer and paint

The props have also been cleaned up and these have all been primed using Ultimate grey primer

The prop tips have now been painted in akah pale gold along with the other parts which have been painted with the black/grey mix with the machine guns in Tamiya X-10 gun metal

To finish off this section the clear parts have been masked off using tamiya 6mm masking tape and umbrol maskol

There are a few small parts left to add to the fuselage then the painting can be done and then the dio started.

Thanks for taking a look and for all your comments.

This new system of uploading photo's is the best and so easy to use

Post by **Les0012** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:18 pm

Great work loving this build

Les

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:06 pm

Cheers Les

Post by **digger303** » Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:18 am

thought I'd just drop this in here as I had no where else to put it

Post by **gaz45** » Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:50 pm

Here we go the last part of the build then on with the painting

Last few parts added

Primed in Ultimate grey primer

Once that was dry i painted the underside in the black/light grey mix

Now to start on the base this is the board i will be using

Now to attempt a somewhat crude dam with some foam board from scenarama kit

I will cut out 3 pieces of two different heights

Using a pencil, ruler and a craft knife i have etched out some block walling for the dam face.
It may not be to the correct scale has this is my first time scratch building anything

I will repeat this on the other pieces

I'm not sure how i will paint these yet.
I have glued some strips of the foam board to the base to help when gluing the faces on to keep them upright

The wall faces are then glued in place

Now this is all dry i am going to give it all a prime with Ultimate grey primer.
Has this is too large to fit in my spray booth i have knocked up this with some card to protect my workspace.

Primed

The primer is now dry so i have given the water area a basecoat of a mix with model air 71.004 blue fs35056 and 71.008 blue fs35414 about 50/50 mix hoping to simulate water again this is something i have not tried before.

That's where it stands for now.
Thanks for taking the time to look and for your comments

Post by **digger303** » Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:56 pm

interesting.... dam attack ?