Border Models BF-010 1/32 Avro Lancaster B Mk III w/Full Interior

Border Models BF-010 1/32 Avro Lancaster B Mk III w/Full Interior

Product Type: Plastic Kitset

Brand: Border Models

Scale: 1/32

Requires assembly. Glue and paint sold separately.

NOTE: Clear canopies are packed in a cardboard box to protect them.

DESCRIPTION
This is a highly anticipated kit with a relatively limited quantity available and we expect demand to be very high.

The Avro Lancaster was a heavy bomber used by the British during WWII. It was planned and built by Avro alongside the Handley Page Halifax and the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers employed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster is based on the twin-engine Avro Manchester, which was designed in response to Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a powerful medium bomber for "world-wide service" in the late 1930s.

The Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and, in one form, Bristol Hercules engines.

It was originally intended as an upgrade of the Manchester (which had proven difficult in service and was decommissioned in 1942).

It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942, and as the strategic bombing effort over Europe gained traction, it became the primary aircraft for night-time bombing campaigns.

As more of the type was developed, it surpassed the Halifax and Stirling as the primary heavy bomber employed by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries operating within the RAF. 

The Lancaster's long, unobstructed bomb bay allowed it to carry the RAF's heaviest bombs, such as the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg), and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) blockbusters, which were typically complemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries.

The "Lanc," as it was affectionately known, became one of the most widely employed night bombers of WWII, "delivering 608,612 long tonnes of bombs in 156,000 flights." 

The Lancaster's adaptability made it the aircraft of choice for 617 Squadron, and it was modified to carry Barnes Wallis' Upkeep "bouncing bomb" for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams.

Although the Lancaster was designed primarily as a night bomber, it excelled in a variety of duties, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were modified to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) Tallboy and eventually the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam earthquake bombs (also designed by Wallis). This was the war's largest payload for any bomber.