G For George, the Lancaster That Always Brought His Crew Home

[Michael51]

21 minutes ago, Steve27752 said:

Amazing build, I am 61 now and for as far back as I can remember, I have known about G for George. I have never noticed the strikes before, I wonder if they were added for the flight to Australia?

 

 

I have read about those strakes somewhere but cannot remember where.

 

I think they are something to do with enhancing structural integrity on early versions.

 

I think such a fix was also applied to some Spitfires (I may be wrong).

 

A photograph of another early  Lanc. with strakes appears on page 48 of the Wingleader Photo Archive number 5 book.

 

Michael

[mark.au]

11 hours ago, Spitfire 123 said:

Amazing build, excellent photography too. How did you do the exhaust stains, if I may ask? 👍👍👍

Riley

Thanks mate I appreciate the comments.  The exhaust stains were airbrushed.  Working from photos I used very thin mixes of a slightly lightened black and a generic light grey and slowly built up the colour density until I was satisfied.  I left them at a very flat finish while the unstained parts of the wings have a slight sheen to create a contrast and further enhance the effect.

 

57 minutes ago, Steve27752 said:

I have known about G for George. I have never noticed the strikes before, I wonder if they were added for the flight to Australia?

That might be the case; try as I might I could not find a pic earlier than the one at Prestwick which had been taken from an angle that would show whether the strakes were present or not.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments, much appreciated.

 

Edited to add thanks to @Michael51 for the comment above.

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by mark.au

[steh2o]

Beautifully done Lanc!

[woody37]

Lovely build. Those strakes are new to me too, wonder if it's something to improve airflow across the wing?

[Buzby061]

Excellent work. Would never have guessed it was the original Airfix kit that I built as a kid.

 

Pete

[Rabbit Leader]

What a cracking job you’ve made of this old kit Mark. You’ve really recreated George so wonderfully well and it’s a credit to all those fine young men and woman who served so gallantly within Bomber Command. I’m also glad this kit has changed your mind about ‘old tool’ kits. There’s plenty of great ones out there that deserve to be built up yet again using today’s vast range of techniques and products. 
Cheers and very well modelled.. Dave 

[opus999]

That is outstanding Mark.  Nice work!

[mark.au]

8 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

You’ve really recreated George so wonderfully well and it’s a credit to all those fine young men and woman who served so gallantly within Bomber Command

Thanks Dave, that’s a big part of my enjoyment of the hobby.

[BritJet]

Excellent job on the Lancaster. I contacted a friend of mine who writes a lot of Lancaster articles to ask about the strakes behind the outer engines, his reply is;

 

Those strakes on the AWM Lancaster, G-George, were a short lived solution to the early engine mount weaknesses suffered by the first batch of Lancasters off the production line. The second production Lancaster (really a Manchester that had been converted on the production line) had its No.1 engine fall off upon take-off from Boscombe Down and, following its repair, then had a mainwheel fall off as the gear was lowered on another flight soon afterwards! The first dozen or so Lancasters also had their wingtips snap upwards when flying loaded - many snapped off completely, and all three 'teething problems' were quickly solved by modifications introduced on the production lines. G-George was ordered as a Manchester but converted to Lancaster configuration on the production line, hence the wing strakes which have been on the aircraft since she was built. She is the oldest surviving Lancaster airframe and the only one left with the strakes.

 

Hope that helps solve the puzzle.

 

Steve

[mark.au]

57 minutes ago, BritJet said:

Excellent job on the Lancaster. I contacted a friend of mine who writes a lot of Lancaster articles to ask about the strakes behind the outer engines, his reply is;

 

Those strakes on the AWM Lancaster, G-George, were a short lived solution to the early engine mount weaknesses suffered by the first batch of Lancasters off the production line. The second production Lancaster (really a Manchester that had been converted on the production line) had its No.1 engine fall off upon take-off from Boscombe Down and, following its repair, then had a mainwheel fall off as the gear was lowered on another flight soon afterwards! The first dozen or so Lancasters also had their wingtips snap upwards when flying loaded - many snapped off completely, and all three 'teething problems' were quickly solved by modifications introduced on the production lines. G-George was ordered as a Manchester but converted to Lancaster configuration on the production line, hence the wing strakes which have been on the aircraft since she was built. She is the oldest surviving Lancaster airframe and the only one left with the strakes.

 

Hope that helps solve the puzzle.

 

Steve

Thanks awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to add that.  It’s good to know the story behind the strakes and I’m very happy I added them, and took the time to make them as well as I was able; it’s another significant detail that makes that airframe special.

[BritJet]

You're welcome, I was intrigued when I first saw your model as I'd never seen the strakes before.

 

Steve