Warbird Information Exchange

Just Jane. I know this should go in base theater.

Just a cool in plane taxi video of a Lanc!

Let me know if I annoy with these. I just like them enough to share.

Wished I was the old guy with no hair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iueOymFubv8&feature=youtu.be

Just another cool vid flight of the BBMF Lanc.

I really like the way the distant haze shows on the video.

Gives it this time period feel for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpS42dw-TM8

Or this one when VRA was in the UK.....

Wish I could have been ther....

https://youtu.be/F8Si04smQOw?list=TLPQMjIwMzIwMjD6dgQLFrv9NQ

Just an observation - the crew station and protection has a very different approach compared to the U.S. bombers (B-17 / B-24) - this feels very exposed to me.

Tom P.

That's because it was very exposed. There was very little armour plate in an RAF heavy bomber, the plate behind the pilot's head was about the only bit of standard crew protection in a Lancaster. I've been told that there were other areas of armour planned, but it was decided not to include them in production aircraft to save weight and strategic material. There were some mods in the field, including an armour plate "roller blind" in the rear turret between the guns but there really wasn't much else on any of the main types of heavy. No USAAF style flak jackets or steel helmets either.

But the all around visibility!!!! In this regards at least they could see.

Theoretical question....

On the Lanc and just for the cockpit section.

How much weight would have been added with a full armor plating transparent windows settings and the metal armor plating around the cockpit crew?

As much as the bomb load? Half?

Just dumb curious question.

I don't think the weight gain would have been as substantial as that, but for range/performance/payload reasons every little counts. At least, that seems to have been the reasoning.