Canadian Lancaster "Pattern" ...

[Mark Allen M]

Great lineup!!
Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (Serial No. R5727), built in the UK and flown to Victory Aircraft in Malton, Canada in August 1942 to serve as a pattern for the other Lancaster's to be built in Canada. Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, USAAF (Serial No. 41-9203), being delivered to the RAF as Fortress Mk. IIA, RAF (Serial No. FK209), during a stop at Dorval Airport, Quebec. Note the ASV radar antennae under the wings and on the nose. This aircraft served with RAF Coastal Command, until it was shot down in March 1943 by a German Junkers Ju 88 over Bay of Biscay. Behind them is an RAF Martin B-26 Marauder Mk. I, a Canadian Vickers Canso A, a Lockheed Ventura, several Lockheed Hudson's, an Airspeed Oxford, and a North American B-25 Mitchell. Source: CFJIC-DND Photo, PL-1172

[DH82EH]

Very cool picture.
Thanks for posting it.

[Mark Allen M]

More of: Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (Serial No. R5727), built in the UK and flown to Victory Aircraft in Malton, Canada in August 1942 to serve as a pattern for the other Lancasters to be built in Canada.

[Mark Allen M]

On September 18, 1941 a decision was made to build Lancasters in Canada and the first drawings arrived in January 1942. For a country still largely agrarian and just recovering from a decade of depression, the challenge was immense. 500,000 manufacturing operations were involved in building a Lancaster which was made up of some 55,000 separate parts even when engines and turrets were only considered as one and small items such as rivets, nuts, and bolts were not included. A Lancaster from England was flown across the Atlantic in August, 1942 to act as a “pattern” and a Crown Corporation named Victory Aircraft was formed to do the work in Malton, Ontario.

Below: Lancaster R-5727 over Montreal 24 Aug. 1942
Source: https://clarencesimonsen.wordpress.com/ ... -montreal/

[Mark Allen M]

Source: https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/c ... -1942-1945

[Michel Lemieux]

Being native to Montreal, those are FANTASTIC pictures Mark!!!!!

The Lanc over the city ones are amazing.

Many landmarks still exist today.

Thank you for sharing.

[k5083]

When I was a kid in Canada in the 70s there were prints of WWII airplanes issued on orange cards, I think by a food or detergent company. They must have come in boxes of whatever the product was.

One of them was a crop of "PL 11077" above. So I looked at that image A LOT.

August

[Chris Brame]

So what was done with it when it arrived at Victory Aircraft? As a pattern was it dismantled completely?

[Paul Stroud]

I've just noticed that the Lanc is fitted with a ventral turret. This was rarely seen on RAF aircraft, so did the Canadians fit them to their licence built aircraft?

The Avro Heritage Centre in the UK is restoring what is believed to be the only surviving turret

https://www.lancasterraf.co.uk/fn64-turret/

[JohnB]

Great photos!
The Airspeed Oxford must have been rare in North America.

In photo #7, there is a light plane between the Harvard and Havoc.
It doesn't look like a Canadian Noury, and to me at this angle, it doesn't look quite like a Stinson 105, though it probably is.
Especially since the RCAF used 20 diverted ships from a French order.
Any other possible contenders?

[Mark Allen M]

[M-62A]

Great photos!
The Airspeed Oxford must have been rare in North America.

In photo #7, there is a light plane between the Harvard and Havoc.
It doesn't look like a Canadian Noury, and to me at this angle, it doesn't look quite like a Stinson 105, though it probably is.
Especially since the RCAF used 20 diverted ships from a French order.
Any other possible contenders?

I have seen photos like these before and I understand they were taken at Dorval, Quebec which was an important staging post for Lease-Lend aircraft from the U.S. and anything arriving from the UK..
On blowing up the image of the lightplane I sure it from the Stinson 105/HW75 series.
Appears to have an "NC" registration on the rudder.

Airspeed Oxfords were used at various Service Flying Training Schools in Canada, though most were a lot further west than Dorval
The Central Flying School at Trenton, ON or the Instrument Flying School, Deseronto, ON were probably the nearest schools with Oxfords in their inventory.
M-62A

[JohnB]

M-62A
Thanks.
I have heard of training Ansons and of course Cessna Cranes, but not much about Oxfords..

[martin_sam_2000]

I've just noticed that the Lanc is fitted with a ventral turret. This was rarely seen on RAF aircraft, so did the Canadians fit them to their licence built aircraft?

The Avro Heritage Centre in the UK is restoring what is believed to be the only surviving turret

https://www.lancasterraf.co.uk/fn64-turret/

none of the Canadian built units had the ventral turret. it was phased out before the MkX's were built. It was not very effective in combat and many gunners got motion sickness/vertigo while using it.

Sean

[Paul Stroud]

Thanks, Sean, that's what I thought. Pity they couldn't make it work though, it would have been useful against the night-fighters fitted with the Schrage Musik upward firing cannons.