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Aircraft of Bomber Command







The Handley-Page Halifax, Short Stirling, and Avro Manchester were all in the planning stages as the war began in 1939. The prototype twin-engined Manchester first flew in 1940 but the aircraft was plagued by instability and insufficient power from its unreliable Rolls-Royce Vulture 24-cylinder engines. However, it entered service with No. 207 Squadron during November 1940 and flew its first operation on 24/25 February the following year. Eventually 209 Manchesters entered service before production was stopped in November 1941. The Manchester served with ten bomber squadrons and was also used by Coastal Command.

Roy Chadwick had designed the Manchester and he had faith in the aircraft's basic design. He determined that the solution was simply to use four of the proven Rolls-Royce Merlin engines rather than the two Vultures. The result was the Avro Lancaster.


Avro Manchester Photo Essay






Bomber Command Museum of Canada