[kellyhound]

The Avro Lancaster, initially manufactured by Avro for the Royal Air Force (RAF), was a British four-engine heavy bomber during the Second World War. It entered active service in 1942 and served as one of the primary heavy bombers for the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European nations operating under RAF Bomber Command.

Affectionately referred to as the "Lanc" or "Lankie," the Lancaster gained renown as the most famous and successful night bomber of the Second World War, delivering an astounding 608,612 tons of bombs across 156,000 sorties.

While the Lancaster's primary role was night bombing, it excelled in various other capacities, including precision daylight bombings.

Inside a standard wartime Lancaster, the crew was positioned as follows: beginning at the nose, the bomb aimer had dual responsibilities. His primary position was lying prone on the floor of the aircraft's nose. In this location, he had access to the controls for the bombsight head positioned in front of him, the bombsight computer on his left, and the bomb release selectors on the right. Additionally, he used his view from the large transparent perspex nose cupola to assist the navigator with map reading.

To operate the Frazer Nash FN5 nose turret, the bomb aimer simply needed to stand up, positioning himself behind the triggers of his twin .303 in (7.7 mm) guns. Notably, the bomb aimer's position included the nose parachute exit in the floor.

Moving towards the rear, atop the bomb bay, the pilot and flight engineer sat side by side beneath the expansive canopy. The pilot occupied the left seat, positioned on a raised portion of the floor. To the pilot's right, the flight engineer sat on a collapsible seat, often referred to as a "second dicky seat." The flight engineer had the fuel selectors and gauges on a panel behind and to his right.

Directly behind these crew members, and separated by a curtain designed to allow him to work with adequate lighting, sat the navigator. His position faced portside, with a substantial chart table before him. An instrument panel displaying airspeed, altitude, and other essential navigation details was mounted on the fuselage's side, above the chart table.

[Malekith]

Brilliant. Love this kind of stuff. My grandad was a pilot and bomb aimer in Wellingtons among other aircraft.

We have some amazing photos that he took through his bomb aiming site. Will get them scanned up and post them.

[Soar]

Great vid. Lovely to watch the oldies on their runs.

Originally Posted by Malekith ↗

Brilliant. Love this kind of stuff. My grandad was a pilot and bomb aimer in Wellingtons among other aircraft.

We have some amazing photos that he took through his bomb aiming site. Will get them scanned up and post them.

Awesome. Would love to see some of his pics.

[Frank_Furter]

The best heavy bomber of the war. Really great to see this footage.

[vnathan]

This reminds me of the old movie "the dambusters"

[güttsfükk]

very cool video