Fly Past

FROM THE PAST’

CANADA’S MAGNIFICENT AVRO LANCASTER FM213

IS WEARING A DAMBUSTERS-THEMED LIVERY

THIS YEAR. ERIC DUMIGAN REFLECTS ON THE

HISTORY OF THE ONTARIO-BASED BOMBER.

“That she’s still fl ying is mainly due to the skilled volunteers who dedicate an

incredible amount of time to her every year to ensure she stays airworthy...”

It’s been almost 30 years since

RAF Battle of Britain Memorial

Flight (BBMF) pilot Sqn Ldr Tony

Banfield took FM213 aloft from

Mount Hope, Ontario, for its first

post-restoration flight, on

September 11, 1988. That she’s

still flying is mainly due to the

skilled volunteers who dedicate

an incredible amount of time to

her every year to ensure she

stays airworthy and meets

current Canadian Department of

Transport regulations.

Ultimately, ‘VeRA’ is a flying

tribute to the thousands of

Canadians who served in RCAF

and RAF bomber squadrons during

World War Two.

SAVING AN ICON

Lancaster FM213 was built in

1945 as a Mk.X by Victory Aircraft

at Malton, Ontario – one of the last

of 430 Lancasters made in Canada

between 1943 to 1945 – leaving

the plant in August 1945.

Flown straight to storage,

it sat unused until taken on

strength by the RCAF on June

21, 1946. Conversion to 10MR/

MP (Maritime Reconnaissance/

Maritime Patrol) configuration

was completed by 1951. Guns

were removed along with the mid-

upper turret, while sonar and radar

stations were added – together with

windows and a 400 gal (1,514 lit)

fuel tank in the bomb bay.

Celebrated Canadian test pilot

George Neal was among those who

flew FM213, on December 16,

1951. Sadly, on the ferry flight to
      405 Squadron at Greenwood, Nova
      Scotia, the Lancaster suffered heavy
      damage when an inexperienced
      crew made a hard landing,
      collapsing one main gear and
      causing a ground loop into a snow
      bank. The centre section took

Far left

Avro Lancaster FM213

in its search and rescue

confi guration shortly

after being acquired by

the Canadian Warplane

Heritage group.

Below

Lancaster B.X FM213

fl ying over Ontario in its

temporary Dambusters-

themed livery.

MIKE REYNO-CWHM

MAP - ISTOCK.COM

September 2018 FLYPAST 61