Lancaster bomber tour at IWM Duxford
Video from the channel Paul Jones about Avro Lancaster, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:43. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.
What the tour covers
A guided visit to an Avro Lancaster preserved at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, filmed by a visitor who joined a tour led by two museum volunteers. The video combines exterior shots of the bomber from unusual angles, such as the tail or the underside, with access to the inside of the fuselage.
Details on view
Outside, the four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the large bomb bay and the riveted skin can be seen. Inside, the guides point out the four red engine fire-extinguisher buttons, the pilot's raised seat, the crawlway over the wing spars that the crew had to cross, and the tail gunner's position. It is also explained that the Grand Slam bomb filled the entire bomb bay and required the bomb doors to be removed, and an original bouncing-bomb test decoy, recovered from the sand in Kent, is shown.
Context
The Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick, who later designed the Vulcan, also on display at Duxford. According to the video, this particular aircraft was delivered in 1944 to the Royal Canadian Air Force; in early 1945, during a storm, a crew member who parachuted out struck the tailplane, the aircraft had to be repaired and never flew in combat. The tour also includes the B-17 Sally B, painted as the Memphis Belle, and references to the heavy losses suffered by bomber crews.