Avro Lancaster B Mk X
Avro Lancaster B Mk X KB772 VR-R 'Ropey'
419 Squadron RCAF, Middleton St George, April 1945.
The Avro Lancaster became an icon of the offensive war, but its development
was, to use A J Jackson’s word, fortuitous. The Avro
Manchester had been designed to Specification P.13.36 to take advantage
of two of the very powerful engines under development in the late 1930s,
the Rolls-Royce Vulture, but this proved a disappointment, and R-R were
unwilling to commit further resources to sorting out its problems. Although
the Manchester was to serve with seven front-line squadrons of Bomber
Command, Avro’s chief designer Roy Chadwick had already planned
an alternative installation of four Merlins, and this variant was ordered
in to production before the Manchester entered service, with the prototype
flying in January 1941 (as the Manchester B Mk III). The Lancaster joined
44 Squadron of Bomber Command on Christmas Eve 1941, carrying out its
first operation in March 1942, and Sir Arthur Harris recorded in 1945
that from then until the end of the conflict the Lancaster dropped two-thirds
of the tonnage of the Command’s bombs.
A second source of Lancasters was established in Canada, and 430 were
built with the designation Lancaster B Mk X; they were powered by Packard
Merlins 75 or 224 (British-built Packard-powered aircraft were Lancaster
B.Mk.III). 419 Squadron RCAF was flying Halifaxes from Middleton St.George
(now Teeside airport) as part of the all-Canadian 6 Group when they
were changed for Lancaster B Mk Xs in March 1944, keeping these until
it returned to Canada in June 1945; 101 of these aircraft were issued
to 419. KB772 joined the squadron in November 1944, flying 64 operations
by April 1945, and was flown back to Pearce, Alberta in September. RCAF
Lancaster squadrons were noted for decorating their aircraft, and the
“sharkmouths” were worn on operations, but the name “Ropey”
was only applied to the nose shortly before the aircraft’s return
to Canada. It served with the RCAF’s Eastern Air Command until
May 1947, with others of the type continuing, particularly in the maritime
reconnaissance and search and rescue roles, until 1964.
Scale 1:144 Wingspan 8.5" (216 mm) Base
size 7.71" (196 mm) square (No. 5)
Weight not including base 15.5 ozs (440 grams)
Price £107.50 plus delivery
