1991 Marshall Islands Coin Legendary Aircraft WWII British Lancaster

Description

Solid Brass Commemorative Coin
1991
Issued by the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Lancaster
The
Avro Lancaster
is a
British
four-engined
Second World War
heavy bomber
. It was designed and manufactured by
Avro
as a contemporary of the
Handley Page Halifax
, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the
Short Stirling
, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the
Royal Air Force
(RAF) during the same wartime era.
The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine
Avro Manchester
which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the
Air Ministry
Specification P.13/36
for a capable
medium bomber
for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by
Roy Chadwick
and powered by four
Rolls-Royce Merlins
and in one version,
Bristol Hercules
engines. It first saw service with
RAF Bomber Command
in 1942 and as the
strategic bombing offensive
over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal
heavy bomber
used by the RAF, the
RCAF
and squadrons from other
Commonwealth
and
European
countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling.
[2]
A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg)
blockbusters
, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or
incendiaries
. The "Lanc", as it was known colloquially,
[3]
became one of the most heavily used of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612
long tons
of bombs in 156,000 sorties".
[4]
The versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip
617 Squadron
and was modified to carry the
Upkeep
"Bouncing bomb" designed by
Barnes Wallis
for
Operation Chastise
, the attack on German
Ruhr valley
dams. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were adapted to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg)
Tallboy
and then the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg)
Grand Slam
earthquake bombs
(also designed by Wallis).
[5]
This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war.
In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the
Metropolitan-Vickers F.2
turbojet
. Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the
Armstrong Siddeley Mamba
and
Rolls-Royce Dart
turboprops
and the
Avro Canada Orenda
and
STAL Dovern
turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the
Avro Lincoln
, a larger version of the Lancaster. The Lancaster took on the role of long range
anti-submarine
patrol aircraft (later supplanted by the
Avro Shackleton
) and air-sea rescue. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping, as a flying tanker for
aerial refuelling
and as the
Avro Lancastrian
, a long-range, high-speed, transatlantic passenger and postal delivery
airliner
. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of
BSAA
flew the first scheduled flight from the new
London Heathrow Airport
.
[6]