Avro Lancastrian – Jet Powered Lancaster Story

Here we shall look at the Avro Lancastrian, Engine Test Bed, troop transport, and airliner.

As always, we shall be referring to wartime Air Ministry Manuals.

Textual extracts from Air Ministry Air Publications are Crown Copyright and transcribed with the kind permission of the National Archives, London. All colour diagrams are based on original Air Ministry Air Publications mono illustrations and transcribed into colour by Bryan Atkinson with the permission of the National Archives, London.

Thanks must also be given to the following superb organisations for their kind support when Bryan Atkinson originally developed The Lancaster Explored PC CD-ROM back in 2004, all are listed below and are included once again in this series of videos.

Lancaster B.Mk.I, PA474. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Lancaster B.Mk.I, R5868. Royal Air Force Museum, London.
Lancaster B. Mk.III, DV372. Imperial War Museum.
Lancaster B.Mk.X, KB889. Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
Lancaster B.Mk.VII, NX611. Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.
The Norman Groom & Jeremy Hall Lancaster Nose Sections.

The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
The National Archives, London.


The material contained in this video is intended for historical, reference and entertainment value only, and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use.



Photographs Used:

Star Dust
San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Test Bed

Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Aries
Canadian government employee, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

RAF
Clark N S (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons


BOAC
British official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Aitallia
Jennifer Gradidge, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Map

The Earth
NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

North Pole
NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Milk Churn

Nene Engine
USN, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Avro Tudor

Avro York
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

BOAC Captain O P Jones
Clark N S (Flt Lt), Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Berlin Airlift
USAF, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Berlin Airlift, Avro York
Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons


The below photographs are included with the kind permission of Harold A Skaarup:-

Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (Serial No. R5727), built in the UK and flown to Victory Aircraft in Malton, Canada in August 1942 to serve as a pattern for the other Lancasters to be built in Canada. (CFJIC-DND Photos, PL-1182, PL-1174, PL-1175 and PL-1180 via Don Smith)

#lancasterbomber #avrolancaster #ukaircraftexplored

00:00 Introduction
00:43 What is the Lancastrian?
01:07 The Lancastrian Story
02:01 Trans Canadian Airlines
02:06 First Test
02:18 Flight to the UK
03:15 At A V Roes Ltd
03:24 Converted Lancaster B Mk.X
03:35 XPP
04:05 The Lancastrian C 1
04:39 Record-Breaking Flights
05:01 The Kangaroo Service
05:43 Captain O P Opie Jones
06:11 BSAA
06:28 Lancastrian in RAF Service
07:40 The Aries Story
09:06 Why Aries one?
09:12 Argentinian Service
09:56 BEA 1947
10:03 Italian Service
10:40 Silver City
10:46 Skyways
11:03 BOAC
11:14 Qantas
11:51 The Berlin Airlift
11:58 Flight Refuelling Ltd
12:21 The 1947 Milk Shortage
12:44 Lancastrian Engine Test Aircraft
14:50 SBAC Show at Radlett
14:58 First Jet Passenger Airliner
15:53 What they said
17:11 Lancaster & Lancastrian Differences
18:09 The Control Yoke
18:47 The Instrument Panel
19:11 The Flight Engineer's Panel
19:35 Inside the Lancastrian
21:53 The Avro York
22:01 In Memory of Stardust
22:29 Thanks for Watching

[melvillewilby]

I am so pleased I found this channel as my father worked for British South American Airways as Superintendent of Aircraft Development and I have many memories of some of the flights he took with the founder Don Bennett. I have the cuttings from when he was on the 2nd aircraft to leave Heathrow which is quite something to be proud of when you see Heathrow today. Following the absorbsion of BSAA into BOAC which makes interesting history when read he went into the Ministry of Aviation and was involved as an RTO in such aircraft as Hawker Hunter, Fairey Rotodyne and TSR2 and like most was furious at the Wilson Government cancellation of a supersonic P1154 Jump Jet which was ready to go into production and the TSR2 which was already flying. My own experience was being a Hawker Apprentice at that time 63-69 at Kingston. The book Empire of the Clouds says it all.

[assessor]

My Dad worked for Can. Gen’l Electric (CGE) in the 1950s and he sometimes flew on business on the Canadair North Star which was a DC-4 that was powered by surplus RR Merlins. He used to tell me that Canadair had developed a remarkably effective noise abatement strategy: they made the outside of the aircraft quiet by keeping all of the noise on the inside of the aircraft.

[rogerdale]

In 1947 i was awakened by a converted lancaster every morning at 6 am taking off from Heath-row airport, it would rattle my windows of my bedroom during the warm up of the motors and take off at 6 am sharp, this was the only flight for the day back then.later in 49-50 I saw the Brabazon fly twice overhead while at an ice cream van with my mother, that was a big plane and noisy.I am 78 now and i recall that as clear as day, what a sight.

[garydargan]

I worked with a museum volunteer who before the war was a chemical engineer. He joined the RAAF but was stationed in Britain during the war where he flew spitfires. When Japan entered the war he returned to Australia flying medium bombers. Towards the end of the war he was asked if he would be interested in flying Lancastrians on flights to the UK. He had never flown a Lancaster. The only Lancaster available in Australia was G for George, a famous veteran of raids over Europe. It was in Australia for a promotional tour but eventually stayed and is on display at the war memorial in Canberra. His certification to fly consisted of an instructor taking him on a circuit to show him the controls followed by a take-off and landing. That was the start of an eventual post-war career as a QANTAS pilot.

[sabrekai]

Very informative. I learned more in 23 minutes about this aircraft than I had learned in some 50 years of being an aviation enthusiast. Well done.

[kennedysingh]

Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica. One of my neighbors served at Lyneham RAF base and Pembroke Dock as a leading aircraft man. Dembroke Dock did a tribute to him after his 100th birth day. Born Oct 25, 1916 and died March 11, 2017 just days after his tribute was published 3/3/2017 .His name was George Chung.

[ronjones]

The first passenger aircraft with jet power. I never knew about it until now. Thank you, I just subscribed. Take care from Alaska

[peterszar]

I watch a lot of aviation themed videos, but this video producer gave one heck of an indepth description, with top grade illustrations. Well done sir.

[royfearn]

I never realised the Lancastrian was so widely used. I was aware of BOAC/Qantas and BSAA but the other operators were a revelation. Thank you for this information.

[robertbate]

Thank you for this. I fell in love with the Lancaster after seeing that wonderful film "The Dambusters" aged 10. Revelle brought out a kit that year and I drove my parents bats for one. I got it!! I lasted well I to my thirties, but sadly long lost to the mists of time. I knew of the Lancastrian having read a few articles and books, but I hadn't realised how many there had actually been, or how far afield they had wandered. I have read about the one lost in the Andes, and it's recent discovery in an icefield. It's strange how, even now, no one understood it's last radio messages . . . 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[Taketimeout]

What a well researched, well presented and detailed upload. Very impressive.
Thank you for all the time and effort it must have taken.

[NathanEllisBodi]

This is a wonderful video. I only found this because I was looking through a model kit website and came across a model of this (with 4 prop engines) and I think I'll never read about all the aircraft produced before I snuff it. Thank you.

[jeremyfdavies]

Fascinating. And even more so because my uncle was a pilot for BSAA and flew Lancastrians.

[David_Walker--]

I live a mile or so from RAF Hucknall, Royce’s flight test base. The airfield has been closed for several years now and they are building houses on it, sacrilege! I still get a lot of pleasure from my own memories and from knowing the history that was created there. I don’t really miss the outdoor test rig where the RR Trent achieved certification. Even with the large earth bank they built, it was a noisy beast.

[stuartmorris-crcz]

My Uncle was a navigator in R for Roger. I believe it was shot down after he completed his tours. Mentioned to me how he saw a jet powered Lancaster. His impression was that it "Took off like a fighter". Very impressive and informative documentary. Keep it up.

[pennycarvalho]

Very cool and interesting video, never actually heard of this project and models before.

[simonjones]

Lovely. Went to bed dreaming about being a passenger on one of these!

[silverstreettalks]

My life only overlapped a little with the life of the Lancastrian, but it was very familiar to me, as both my younger brother and I had cast metal model Lancastrians when we were quite young. I remember their being around the house for many years though with broken propellors by that time.

[garyhooper]

Interesting video on an aspect of this great aircraft, I had no idea existed .

[kevinallsop]

I live at the end of the runway at Rolls Royce's Flight Test Facility - which now has houses built on it.
I've lived here for 47 years and can remember all sorts of "oddball" test aircraft going over.
The best was a Vulcan that came in on engine test. It didn't land but did a few fly pasts before going to do a full throttle spiraling vertical climb up to maximum altitude.