Cultural Landmarks of Hamilton-Wentworth

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster was deemed to be one of the most successful bombers in World War II. It was a product of the failure of the Avro Manchester. The Manchester was a large bodied bomber that was powered by complex 24 cylinder Rolls Royce Vulture engines. Most of the 202 Manchesters built were lost due to engine failure rather than being shot down by enemy fire. Thus, a new bomber was desperately needed.

Ray Chadwick, the designer of the Manchester realised the engines were unstable. He replaced the 2 unreliable engines with the proven Rolls Royce Merlins V-12 engines. He also added 12 feet of wing span. After its maiden flight in 1941, the newly named Lancaster was deemed a success and production commenced.

The Lancaster was made up of 55,000 separate parts and it was estimated that a half a million different manufacturing operations were involved to build one aircraft. The four Rolls Royce Merlins were replaced and the Lancaster was modified to hold Bristol Hercules radial engines, due to the demand of the Rolls Royce engines. The Lancaster weighed 36,900 pounds empty and could hold 33,100 pounds in cargo. It was the only bomber that could drop the 22,000 pound "grand slam" bomb. The plane had three turrets that were used to defend against enemy aircraft attack. The turrets were located in the back, middle and rear of the plane. The bomb bay was a long and continuous space and stretched for 33 feet.

By the end of the war, 7,377 Lancasters had been built and 3,932 of them had been lost in action. The peak of construction was in August 1944, when 293 planes were built. The 7,377 planes flew 156,000 flights and dropped a total of 608,612 tonnes of bombs on enemy targets. The Lancaster was of the most popular planes in the 20th century. One of the two planes that are in flying condition in the world, is housed at the Canada Warplane Heritage Museum, located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canadian and is the centrepiece of the museum.

The Canadian Warplane Museum has dedicated their Lancaster to the memory of Andrew Charles Mynarski. On June 12, 1944, Pilot Officer Mynarski, the Lancaster middle-upper gunner, risked his life to try to save a rear gunner, when his hydraulic equipment seized after an enemy attack. Mynarski fought through flames trying to help his comrade escape to no avail. Finally, the rear gunner indicated to Mynarski to try to save his own life as nothing could be done to save his. Pilot Officer Mynarski stood at attention and saluted the trapped gunner before he jumped with his clothes and parachute on fire.

Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski was found by French forces, and later died of severe burns. The individual who was able to relay Mynarski's heroic act was the rear gunner, who miraculously survived the plane crash. Mynarski was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for his heroism and selflessness in attempting to save the rear gunner. Thus, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum appropriately dedicated their Lancaster, the "Mynarski Memorial Lancaster".

References:
Flight Comment. National Defence: Ottawa, Winter 1998.
The Hamilton Public Library would like to thank the Canadian Warplane Museum for graciously contributing information and pictures for this web page.