They had really long, intensive training and were very well prepared for battle. One thing that struck me during my research was how well trained Lancaster crews were. there were occasions when Lancaster crews did still manage to shoot down German fighters. But through lethargy and the length of time needed to get cannon turrets onto the plane, the Lancaster never had proper or effective weaponry during the war. ‘Bomber’ Harris was always arguing that the Lancaster needed to have much more powerful cannons that could shoot down German fighters. The third crucial failing was that the armament was so feeble. The rear gunner had to sit in a huge, almost science fiction, protection suit to try to get warm. The wireless operator who sat just below this duct got a permanent blast of hot air and had to sit in shirtsleeves, even when flying at 25,000 feet on a December night.Įveryone else was freezing. There was a bit of heat taken from a duct from one of the engines but the distribution of heat was terribly inconsistent. Because the Lancaster was faster it was less vulnerable to fighters and anti-aircraft guns.Ī second defect that all British bombers had was that it was incredibly cold. That is only after a plane had been shot down however. If a plane was shot down you would rather be in a Halifax than a Lancaster, as survival rates for Lancaster crews were lower than Halifax crews. By comparison, the Halifax was roomier, had more space for its crews and was much easier to escape from because the escape doors were wider. One of the main problems was that the escape hatches on the Lancaster were too narrow. Q: Did the Lancaster have any major defects?Ī: There were a number of failings. They continued producing the Halifax much to his anger. This argument raged for three years in the Air Ministry and ‘Bomber’ Harris lost. Its argument was that although the Lancaster was much better, it would take two years to switch production over to the Lancaster and over that time there would be a severe lack of heavy bombers. One of the things I bring out very strongly in my book is that Harris argued passionately for many years that Halifax production should be ended and everything should be switched to the Lancaster. ‘Bomber’ Harris who led RAF Bomber Command was tremendously in favour of the Lancaster. By the middle of the war it had to be withdrawn from frontline duties. The Stirling was a hopeless failure, partly because its wingspan was too short which meant it couldn’t achieve the height of the Lancaster and was far more vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. The Halifax couldn’t carry anything like the loads of the Lancaster and was not nearly as manoeuvrable. There were two other four-engine British bombers in the war, the Halifax and the Stirling. Q: Was this the most effective British bomber of the Second World War?Ī: Yes, by a long way. There are so many stories of a Lancaster coming back in with just one engine and still being able to land. Partly because of its four Rolls-Royce engines and partly because it was so well designed it could take tremendous punishment. Pilots often talked about it being almost like a Spitfire.įinally there was its resilience. It could turn so easily, do barrel rolls and was very fast. The second attribute that made the Lancaster great was its fantastic manoeuvrability for something that could carry so many bombs. It’s a flying bomb-bay!” That’s basically what it was. The bomb door opened and when he looked up he said, “Goddamn it. There’s a lovely quote from an American who was intrigued to see this famous plane land on a US air base. It was the heaviest conventional weapon of the war. The Grand Slam bomb used at the end of the conflict and carried by the Lancaster weighed 22,000lb. It could carry up to 10 tonnes, which was far more than any other Allied bomber in the European theatre. Firstly it had an amazing carrying capacity. Q : What attributes did the Lancaster have that made it such an effective weapon?Ī: It was a phenomenal plane. This was particularly true in the last year and a half of the war when there was endless smashing of German war industry. Bomber raids also did tremendous damage to the German economy.
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