Nov 28, 2013
lump in my throat
by matt
The Avro Lancaster was undoubtedly the most important RAF heavy bomber of World War II and it’s now legendary status lives on in BBMF’s PA474. This is one of only two airworthy examples of the Lancaster in the world today, out of a total of 7,377 built. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the Lancaster was capable of carrying the “Grand Slam”, a 22,000lb (9,979kg) bomb – the heaviest carried by any aircraft in World war II. Lancaster crews had to endure many dangerous missions, returning night after night to targets deep into enemy territory. Many lost their lives. Famously, the Lancaster was modified to carry Barnes Wallis’s invention – the Bouncing Bomb, as flown by 617 squadron, The Dambusters. The squadron was formed in 1943 for the specific task of attacking three major German dams located on the Ruhr, namely the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe. This year, to commerate the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters’ raids, PA474 wears the colours of 617 squadron.
It was quite a sight seeing this beauty taking off, landing and doing the commemorative flypast with another two icons of that age – the Hurricane and Spitfire.
Nov 28, 2013
Escorted
by matt
Travelling back in time here to earlier this this Summer…
A Sentry AEWI (aka Boing E-3D in civi terms) escorted by two Eurofighter Typhoons at RAF Leuchars. This aircraft is an airborne surveillance and command-and-control platform, and forms part of the UK’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) fleet. The rotating black radome sitting atop it’s fuselage houses a Northrop Grumman AN/APY-2 high-performance, multi-mode, look-down radar.