The Avro Manchester was meant to be the future of Britain’s heavy bombing power—sleek, powerful, and capable of reaching deep into enemy territory. But what was meant to be a war-winner turned into one of the Royal Air Force’s most frustrating aircraft of the Second World War. #ww2 #aviation #military | The War Rooms

#onthisday in 1941, the Avro Lancaster took to the skies for the first time. Descended from the Manchester after the failures of the Vulture engine, the Lancaster would go on to become the UK’s most famous bomber aircraft of the war, thanks to missions like Op CHASTISE and Op CATECHISM #warbirds #ww2 #avro #lancaster #bombercommand | Daniel J Wheatcroft