Lancaster factory movie

[silberpferd]

Hi all,

 

I don't know if it has already been posted, but I just came across this nice movie

 

 

 

Laurent

[warhawk]

Great video. Seems to confirm that the inner frames on the back canopy were a late-war feature.

[FinnAndersen]

Post war?

 

[Work In Progress]

Very late production. The interesting patchwork aeroplane being towed out of the hangar early on is NX792 so that's an Austin-built B.VII with Martin mid-upper turret (as are the others we see in various stages of work). I guess if that is its initial roll-out then it must have re-used scrap components from an eariler airframe "reduced to produce". 

 

Note also the Lincoln-style rudders 04:35 on NX793, and the large radiator housings associated with the Far East airframes.

 

We know that NX611 ("Just Jane") was built in April 1945 so these shots are unlikely to predate that.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Work In Progress

[EwenS]

Lancaster Mark VII rolled off the Austin Motors, Longbridge production line between April and Sept 1945. NX792 being the third from last production machine. So more likely using up the last new components provided by a subcontractor, or from their own prior production of Mark I that ceased in April 1945, rather than recycling “scrap” components. Other factories were still producing Mark I into 1946.

 

http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_prod_austin.htm

 

Edit:- The film cannot have been taken at Longbridge as the Stirling and Lancaster built at Longbridge couldn't fly out of the airfield there. The sub-assemblies were taken from the Longbridge factory by road to a second Austin run Shadow Factory at Marston Green for final assembly, then taken across a temporary railway bridge and test flown at Elmdon Airfield, now Birmingham Airport, where Austin also had a hangar. Scroll down the following page.

 

http://www.austinmemories.com/styled-20/index.html

 

Edit 2:- In fact having had another look at the footage it tells the story in reverse in a way. Starts with NX782 (or NX792) being towed from the flight shed at Elmdon (as the camera pans left to right from about 1.20 you get to see the now preserved old B'ham airport terminal building, in fact even part of the hangar may still exist judging from Google Earth), then moves on to flight test of NX783. From about 5.00 the film seems to be of the assembly sheds at Marston Green. Then from 12.00 on assembly of front fuselage sections at the Longbridge factory (see the photo of finished front fuselages lined up in the Austin Maemories pictures). Then from about 18.00 back to Marston Green including fitting the tailplane to NX787.

 

Pictures of Elmdon post war. One of the photos has the terminal building and the row of 3 hangars, at least one of which was used for Lancaster flight test.

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/gallery/elmdon-airport-15056122

 

The old terminal building is on the far side of the runway from the current terminal and is now subjct to a preservation order I believe. Fascinating piece of history.

Edited November 14, 2019 by EwenS

[72modeler]

8 hours ago, silberpferd said:

I don't know if it has already been posted, but I just came across this nice movie

Great footage! New to me, but very, very interesting. (Really had to wrestle those QEC's and props onto the splined shafts!) Thanks for sharing it with us.

Mike

 

6 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

Very late production.

WIP- a couple of questions, if you don't mind:

Are those Lancs painted for use in the Far East? Not the same variants as the ones that the Aeronavale got after the war, I'm guessing.

The ones with the Martin dorsal turret also have the larger radiators, Lincoln fins/rudders, as well as the Rose? .50cal tail turrets?

I'm not very well-versed on the Lancaster, but want to have my facts straight in case I want to do one of this variant/production block.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

Edited November 14, 2019 by 72modeler
corrected text

[Graham Boak]

I think you are right about being Tiger Force Lancs.  The tail turret is the Frazer Nash not the more bulbous Rose.

 

Yes a twin 0.5.  Sorry about posting here but the site wouldn't let me link and then wouldn't let me post.  Fingers crossed...

Edited November 14, 2019 by Graham Boak

[72modeler]

3 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

The tail turret is the Frazer Nash

Still a twin .50cal turret?)

Mike

[Work In Progress]

19 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

 

Are those Lancs painted for use in the Far East? Not the same variants as the ones that the Aeronavale got after the war, I'm guessing.

 

Yes, that was the intended Tiger Force colour scheme. 

Yes the same variants and in some cases those actual airframes... NX611 "Just Jane" being a case in point, as the European war was over and the RAF had no use for most of them when the idea of Tiger Force effectively became redundant with the nuclear attacks on Japan in August, and Tiger Force then being formally cancelled at the end of October .

Edited November 14, 2019 by Work In Progress

[EwenS]

There was an article about the Tiger Force aircraft, incl Lancasters, in Scale Aircraft Modelling Dec 2018. The article covered units, equipment (incl turrets, bomb doors, bomb bay tanks) and camouflage and markings.

 

All B.I(FE) and B.VII for Tiger Force were to be fitted with the Frazer-Nash FN82 tail turret with 2x0.5" brownings. Interestingly the article notes no mid-upper turrets were to be fitted but Mark VIIs were being delivered from the factory with them anyway.

[Work In Progress]

10 minutes ago, EwenS said:

All B.I(FE) and B.VII for Tiger Force were to be fitted with the Frazer-Nash FN82 tail turret with 2x0.5" brownings. Interestingly the article notes no mid-upper turrets were to be fitted but Mark VIIs were being delivered from the factory with them anyway.

As were the B.1(FE), though obviously the earlier type of mid upper turret

 

 

[silberpferd]

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Still a twin .50cal turret?)

Mike

Yes, Fn82 with two .50.

 

Laurent

[LucyHolland]

Afternoon all, thanks for the the add to this great site on behalf of myself and Gary we would just like to say that your members detailed analysis of the fascinating images in a British Path'e film of Lancaster bombers being assembled at Elmdon airport enabled Gary to describe a still photo of one of the aircraft from the film in a recent video we produced about the 1930's Art Deco terminal building at Elmdon. Members may like to watch 'Passport To The Past'...link below ...there are a few other photos in the film of aircraft your members may also find interesting.  Thank you

 

 

 

 

[sprue]

Fascinating movie. When you see how a Lancaster is made of a number of sub-assemblies it's easy to understand how a Lancaster in the later part of it's service could end up a mish mash of assemblies from other aircraft once the repair organisation had worked on them. I've often wondered which part of an airframe keeps the serial number remembering most sections are interchangable?

According to F.K.Mason NX787 was a MK VII built at Austin Motors Longbridge Birmingham although finaly assembled at Elmdon. Then saw service with 617 Squadron as KC-T before being sold for scrap in June 1954.

Most interesting thanks for sharing.

[Graham Boak]

The main fuselage assembly keeps the serial number on most aircraft - on the Lancaster I believe it was the nose section but suspect that the centre-section might make more engineering sense.  All the other bits were replaceable  although not necessarily "interchangeable" in the true (and very limiting) meaning of the word.