Aeroplane Magazine Icons - Lancaster Special Issue

I believe the Lancaster was the greatest single factor in winning the war.” The words of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command, as stated in December 1945. Thus the Avro Lancaster became such an iconic British aircraft type. Over the years I have edited numerous books and specials on the Lancaster, and the difficulty is always what to include to make the latest publication different from what has been done before on such a famous and popular aircraft. However, with this publication I believe I have been somewhat spoilt! To have access to the incredible Aeroplane archives, with the magazine going back to the very birth of the Lancaster, and original 5in x 4in glass plate negatives of Lancasters taken during the Second World War, was an incredibly encouraging start. For example, beginning on page 30 is an article written in 1942
detailing the production of Lancasters, written just after a visit to a factory producing the type. Then there are numerous photographs taken by staff photographers during the war, and detailed cutaway
drawings. While a few of the photographs may have been published at the time, other negatives in the box may have never seen the light of day, so are superb for a publication such as this. This publication is further made up of some of the most popular Lancaster-related articles published in Aeroplane over the past few years, plus some new material. Included is the story of the development of the Mks I and III, a detailed story on how the type was introduced into service, the rare first-hand account of a D-Day “spoof” operation by Les Munro (the last living pilot from the Dams raid), the story of a typical Bomber Command aircrew member, pictorial presentations of the aircrew and ground crew who worked on Lancasters and more.