Fly Past

50 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS

LANCASTRIAN

1945 TO 1960

AVRO

1918 2018

I

t was Canadian company Victory

Aircraft that first realised the

potential in converting the

highly successful Avro Lancaster

bomber into a transport.

The firm, which was producing

bombers for the war effort, set

about creating a high-speed mail-

plane version for Trans-Canada

Airlines (TCA) in 1943. The basic

Lancaster Mk.X airframe had its gun

turrets removed and a lengthened

and streamlined nose cone fitted.

The tail was also made more

aerodynamic and a pair of 400 Imp

gal (1,818 lit) Lancaster long-range

fuel tanks permanently fitted inside

the sealed bomb bay.

Trans-Canada was impressed

with the aircraft and duly ordered

eight other airframe conversions,

specifically to be used on the

Montreal to Prestwick route.

Meanwhile, back in the UK

the Lancaster was needed as a

bomber, so transformation to cargo

configuration would have to wait

until the outbreak of peace in 1945.

Despite the Brabazon Committee

predicting a desperate post-war need

for airliners and cargo aircraft as early

as 1943, the manufacturers were still

unable to produce new machinery

in a timely fashion, so temporary

measures were introduced. Handley

Page converted war surplus Halifax

bombers into Halton transports, and

Avro turned its attention towards the

Canadian modification, to form the

basis of what would become known

as the Lancastrian.

Deliveries of British-built

Lancastrians began in 1945 when

the first of 30 were delivered to

BOAC. On a demonstration flight

during April 1945, G-AGLF flew

the 13,500 miles (21,725km)

from London to Auckland, New

Zealand in three days and 14 hours,

at an average speed of 220mph

(354km/h).

LIMITED SPACE

While the Lancastrian was fast,

had long range and could move a

useable load of more than 30,000lb

(13,608kg), space aboard the

aircraft was limited. The main spar

went through the fuselage, meaning

the passenger compartment was

restricted in size. As such, the

Lancastrian was considered best

suited to carrying mail or VIPs – or

combinations thereof.

Although the aircraft was

delivered to the RAF as well as

airlines such as BOAC, Qantas and

British South American Airlines,

the military initially found it to be

of restricted use.

The RAF originally ordered 33

examples of the Lancastrian C.1,

82 examples of the C.2 and eight

C.4 versions, but of these many

were cancelled or delivered directly

to the airlines. As such the RAF

only operated two of the Mk.1s, 33

Mk.2s and all eight Mk.4s.

The bulk of Lancastrian service

was in airline hands and even during

the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, most

of the 17 Lancastrians used were

from commercial operators such as

Skyways Ltd.

FLYING TESTBEDS

Nevertheless, the Lancastrian did

find a very distinct niche within

the RAF. The advent of the gas

turbine engine in the mid-1940s

resulted in a need for flying test

beds and the Lancastrian emerged

as the ideal candidate. The aircraft

could easily accommodate all test

instrumentation within its fuselage,

and various jet turbines could be

Right

Compared to the

Lancaster, the

Lancastrian had a

longer and more

streamlined nose. It

also had its turrets

removed and its fuel

capacity increased.

This example, PD328,

was an RAF Empire

Air Navigation School

aircraft used in 1945 to

fi nd the true Magnetic

North Pole. ALL KEY

UNLESS STATED