Airfix #A08001 1/72 Avro Lancaster B.II

Airfix #A08001 1/72 Avro Lancaster B.II

The Avro Lancaster Mk.II is the strange cousin of the family. Of the 7377 aircraft  built, just 301 were the Mk.II version. It was significantly different, in that the familiar liquid-cooled Rolls Royce Merlin engines of the main Lancaster variants was replaced with Bristol Hercules air cooled radial engines. It was conceived for the Royal Air Force as a kind of insurance policy against the possibility of enemy action disrupting supplies, so an alternative source of power plants might be available. The decision was taken early on in the Lancaster production programme and the first prototype flew in November 1941. Production of this variant was entrusted solely to the Armstrong Whitworth factory in Coventry. It was to be March 1943 before the Mk.II reached squadron service and operational trials proved disappointing for the type could not comfortably achieve the 20,000- 22,000 foot altitude of a Merlin 

Lancaster bomber stream and frequently struggled to achieve 15,000 feet, the sort of operational altitude expected for less capable types in the RAF’s bomber inventory. Capable types in the RAF’s bomber inventory. After a few months service, the Mk.II  was downgraded from an 18,000lb bomb load to 14,000lb in an attempt to improve performance. The type had two other characteristics that set it apart, for many   were fitted with an FN64 remotely operated ventral turret with two .303in machine guns and with characteristic bulged bomb bay doors that permitted the carriage of an 8,000lb bomb. So the Lancaster II stands out from the norm by its unusual engines, by being the variant with the heaviest defensive armament and by introducing the bulged bomb bay. The type gained a reputation for being reliable and some crews preferred the air cooled engines that were less vulnerable to flak damage. However they would disappear from the order of battle by September 1944 since the shortage of Merlin engines had never Due to shortage of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, some 300 Lancasters were built with Bristol Hercules radial engines, becoming the BII Variant. Some were also fitted with enlarged bomb-bay doors to enable large 8000lb bombs to be carried, as well as a ventral defensive turret.