The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a British and Canadian passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

. The Lancastrian was basically a modified Lancaster bomber without armour or armament and with the gun turrets replaced by streamlined metal fairings, including a new nose section. The initial batch was converted directly from Lancasters; later batches were new builds.

Design and development

In 1943, Canada's

Victory Aircraft Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under licence. It acted as a shadow factory, safe from the reach of German bombers. Initially the major w ...

converted a

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

X bomber for civilian transport duties with

Trans-Canada Airlines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon McGregor (busin ...

(TCA). (After the war Victory Aircraft was purchased by what became

Avro Canada Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50 ...

). This conversion was a success, resulting in eight additional Lancaster Xs being converted. The "specials" were powered by

Packard Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958. One ...

-built Merlin 38 engines and featured a lengthened, streamlined nose and tail cone. Range was increased by two 400 gal (1,818 L) Lancaster long-range fuel tanks fitted as standard in the bomb bay. These Lancastrians were used by TCA on its

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

–

Prestwick Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small vi ...

route. The modification of abundant military aircraft into desperately needed civilian transports was common in the United Kingdom in the immediate postwar period; the

Handley Page Halton The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its ori ...

was a similar conversion of the Halifax heavy bomber.

Operational history

Avro Sapphire Lancastrian VM733 Coventry 06

In 1945, deliveries commenced of 30 British-built Lancastrians for

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the ...

. On a demonstration flight on 23 April 1945, '' G-AGLF'' flew 13,500 mi (21,700 km) from England to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in three days, 14 hours at an average speed of 220 mph (354 km/h). The Lancastrian was fast, had a long range, and was capable of carrying a heavy load, but space inside was very limited as the Lancaster had been designed with space for its seven crew dispersed throughout the fuselage, and with the majority of the load being carried in the 33 ft (10.05 m) long

bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the ...

. Consequently, as passengers are bulky but low in weight, it was not suited to carry large numbers of passengers, but was suitable for mail and a small number of

VIP A very important person (VIP or V.I.P.) or personage is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social rank, status, influence, or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War II when it was populari ...

passengers. BOAC used it for flights between England and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

from 31 May 1945. It also served with the RAF; RAF Lancaster I

serial number A serial number (SN) is a unique identifier used to ''uniquely'' identify an item, and is usually assigned incrementally or sequentially. Despite being called serial "numbers", they do not need to be strictly numerical and may contain letters ...

''PD328'', was converted to a Lancastrian and renamed ''Aries'', as well as serving with

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

and Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina. 15 Lancastrians made over 5,000 trips during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

to transport

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

. In 1946 a Lancastrian operated by BSAA was the first aircraft to make a scheduled flight from the then-newly opened

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

Lancastrian engine testbeds

''Data from:'' Avro Aircraft since 1908 With the advent of gas turbine engines there emerged a need to test the new engines in a controlled flight environment in well instrumented installations. An ideal candidate emerged as the Avro Lancastrian which could easily accommodate the test instrumentation as well as fly on the power of two piston engines if required. Several Lancastrians were allocated for engine test-bed work with turbojet engines replacing the outer Merlin engines or test piston engines in the inner nacelles. Fuel arrangements varied but could include kerosene jet fuel in outer wing tanks or fuselage tanks, with avgas carried in remaining fuel tanks.

Accidents and incidents

The

Aviation Safety Network The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals to help solve safety problems ...

, part of the

Flight Safety Foundation The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals to help solve safety problem ...

, records 23

hull loss A hull loss is an aviation accident that damages the aircraft beyond economic repair, resulting in a total loss. The term also applies to situations where the aircraft is missing, the search for its wreckage is terminated, or the wreckage is ...

accidents involving the Lancastrian occurring between 1946 and 1964 resulting in a total of 81 fatalities. Notable accidents include: ; Lancastrian ''G-AGLX'' On 23 March 1946 Lancastrian ''G-AGLX'' was lost over the Indian Ocean en route between

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. All 10 on board died. ; Lancastrian ''G-AGWH'', ''Star Dust'' On 2 August 1947 Lancastrian ''G-AGWH'' ''

Star Dust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

'' of British South American Airways was lost in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

en route from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, to

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. The probable cause of the crash was a navigation error due to the unknown effect of the fast-moving

jetstream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents in the Earth's atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the globe. The northern hemisphere and th ...

. ;Lancastrian ''T-102'' On 11 December 1960 Lancastrian ''T-102'' of the

Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

crashed near

San Andrés de Giles San Andrés de Giles is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat of the San Andrés de Giles Partido. External links * www.san-andres-degiles.com.ar - Website with pictures and stories of the cityMunicipal website ...

, Argentina. All 31 on board were killed. This was the worst accident involving this type of aircraft.

Variants

;Lancaster XPP :Nine built by converting Lancaster Mk. Xs at Victory Aircraft Ltd Canada. ;Lancastrian C.1 :Nine-seat transport aircraft for

and

. Royal Air Force designation Lancastrian C.1 to Specification 16/44. A total of 23 built by Avro ;Lancastrian C.2 :Nine-seat military transport aircraft for the RAF. A total of 33 built by Avro ;Lancastrian 3 :13-seat transport aircraft for

British South American Airways British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline of the United Kingdom in the mid-to-late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines, it was renamed before ...

. A total of 18 built by Avro ;Lancastrian C.4 :Ten to 13-seat military transport aircraft for the RAF. Eight built by Avro

Operators

Civil operators

; * Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (FAMA) - three C.4 incorporated in 1947 ; *

; *

Trans Canada Airlines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. ...

; *

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

– five Lancastrians operated from 1947 until 1952 ; *

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The ...

* British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) *

Flight Refuelling Ltd Flight or flying is the motion of an object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift associated with gliding or propulsive thrust, aero ...

* Silver City *

Skyways Limited Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became well-established as the biggest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe.''Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... Skyways)'', p. 57, Ian Allan ...

Military operators

; *

- two C.4 ex-FAMA, incorporated in 1948 ; *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

No. 24 Squadron RAF No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on Airbus A400M Atlas, A ...

** No. 231 Squadron RAF ** No. 232 Squadron RAF

Specifications (Lancastrian C.1)

Notes

Bibliography

* Franks, Richard A. ''The Avro Lancaster, Manchester and Lincoln: A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller''. London: SAM Publications, 2000. . * Holmes, Harry. ''Avro Lancaster'' (Combat Legend series). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2002. . * Jackson, A.J. ''Avro Aircraft since 1908, 2nd edition''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1990. . * Mackay, R.S.G. ''Lancaster in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1982. . * * Milberry, Larry. ''The Canadair North Star''. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1982. . * Ottaway, Susan and Ian. ''Fly With the Stars – A History of British South American Airways''. Andover, Hampshire, UK: Speedman Press, 2007. . * * Taylor, John W. R. "Avro Lancaster." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. .

External links

"The Lancastrian," a 1945 ''Flight'' article on the Avro Lancastrian

* ttp://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%201331.html "England to Australia in 3 Days!" – a 1945 advertisement in ''Flight'' magazine for the BOAC Lancastrian service to Australia
"Flight in the Nene Lancastrian"
a 1946 ''Flight'' article

on the

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent,"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 ...

jet engine experimental installation on the Lancastrian {{Aircraft manufactured in Canada Aviation in Lancashire Lancastrian 1940s British airliners 1940s British mailplanes Lancastrian Mid-wing aircraft Four-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1943 Four-engined piston aircraft Twin-tail aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear