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luke481

Official Information of British Bombers by the Site Owner

British Bombers

Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster was a four-engine World War II bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force (RAF). First used in 1942, together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was the main heavy bomber of the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving with RAF Bomber Command. The Lancaster was primarily a night bomber.An important feature of the Lancaster was its extensive bomb bay, at 33 feet (10.05 m) long. Initially the heaviest bombs carried were 4,000 lb (1,818 kg) "Cookies". Towards the end of the war, attacking special and hardened targets, the B1 Specials could carry the 21 foot (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,448 kg) 'Tallboy' or 25.5 foot (7.77 m) long 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) 'Grand Slam' "earthquake" bombs. This required modification of the bomb-bay doors.It was armed with 8× 0.303 in (7.70 mm) Browning machine guns in three turrets

Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a twin-engine, medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R.K. Pierson. It was widely used in the first two years of World War II, before being replaced as a bomber by much larger four-engine designs like the Avro Lancaster. The Wellington was popularly known as 'the Wimpy' by service personnel, after J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons.Users of this great bomber were
Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, New Zealand, Poland, United Kingdom, South Africa.It was also armed with
8x .303 Browning machine guns:
2 in nose turret
4 in tail turret
2 in waist positions
4,500 lb (2,041 kg) bombs

Avro Lincoln
These were a modification of Lancasters.The Avro Type 694 Lincoln was a British 4-engined heavy bomber of World War II, first flying on June 9, 1944 and entering service in August 1945, too late to be used in action. The last piston-powered bomber built for the RAF, a total of 604 were built.
It was armed with
2 .50 in (12.7 mm) MGs in nose, dorsal and tail turrets, alternatively twin 20 mm Hispano cannon in dorsal turret

Handly Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the front-line, four-engine heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during World War II. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and Polish Air Force.It also performed raids on the german battleship turpitz.It was armed with
8 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (4 in dorsal turret, 4 in tail turret), 1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in nose
13,000 lb (5,897 kg) of bombs


Shorts Sterling

The Stirling was a World War II heavy bomber built by Short Brothers. It was the first British design to use four engines and turned out to be inferior to its rivals. In the end it would be relegated to second-line duties, while four-engine conversions of earlier twin-engine designs took over its role.

Through the 1930's the Royal Air Force was interested primarily in twin engine bombers. These designs put limited demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were already stretched with the introduction of so many new types into service. However, the limitations in terms of power were so serious that they invested heavily in development of huge engines in the 2,000 horsepower (1500 kW) class in order to improve performance. Meanwhile the US and USSR were developing bombers with four smaller engines, which proved to have excellent range and fair lifting capacity. So in 1936 the RAF decided to try their hand at the four engine bomber as well.
In addition to a 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) bombload carried to a range of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) (incredibly demanding for the era), the aircraft should also be able to be used as a troop transport for 24 soldiers. The idea was that it would fly troops to far corners of the British Empire, and then support them with bombing.
It was armored with
8 x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns: 2 in the nose, 4 in the tail, 2 dorsal
Up to 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) of bombs

Sunderland
The S.25 Sunderland was a flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers, first flown on 16 October 1937. Based in part upon the successful S.23 Empire flying boat, the flagship of Imperial Airways, it was extensively re-engineered for military service. Active throughout World War II, it was one of the most powerful and widely-used flying boats of the war, terrorizing the German U-boat fleet.
Type military flying boat
Manufacturer Short Brothers
Maiden flight 16 October 1937
Introduced 1938
Retired 1967
Primary users RAF
RAAF
RNZAF
Variants Short Sandringham

8× .303 calibre machine guns
various munitions, including bombs and depth charges, carried internally and winched out beneath the wings

Hampden

The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force. With the Whitley and Wellington the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden, known as the "Flying Suitcase," was still unsuited to the modern air war and, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942.


4 to 6 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine guns. one flexible and one fixed in the nose, one or two each in dorsal and ventral positions
4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bombs or 1 x 18 in torpedo or mines


D.H Mosquito
The de Havilland Mosquito ("The Wooden Wonder", also known as "The Timber Terror") was a military aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during World War II. It was a twin-engine aircraft with the pilot and navigator sitting side by side. Unorthodox in design, it used a plywood structure of spruce and balsa in a time when wooden construction was considered outdated. It was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.

The Mosquito was conceived as a fast day bomber that could outrun fighter defences and hence dispensed with defensive armament; however, owing to its speed, agility and its exceptional durability due to its wooden design, it was also used as a fighter. The fighter versions used a flat windshield to aid sighting. Its various roles included tactical bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike or photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It served with the RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, USAAF and Israeli Air Force, plus the air forces of Belgium, Burma, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Sweden, Turkey, Yugoslavia and the Dominican Republic.

,000 lb (1 800 kg) of bombs
Other variants:
4× 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon (F and NF)
4× .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (F and NF)
1×57 mm cannon in nose (FB XVIII only)
8x 60 lb (27 kg) rockets (Mk VI)
it also had a 6pdr gun on its belly


Please post if you think i have missed anything out!!!" Laughing

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