AVRO Lancasters and Leeds

[Si]

LS16 wrote: So, back to my first picture and post in this thread: That looks like Appleyards filling station on Eastgate roundabout in the background and presumably Quarry Hill on the right of the picture, if that's the case how did the plane get there?Lancs are not small and the viaduct must restrict access to this area. I seriously doubt that, in the time of war, there was time to dismantle and transport by road so where did it land? There is no way a Lancaster is going to be allowed to land in the middle of Leeds, even during wartime. There isn't a big enough area, anyway. It must have arrived by road on a transporter, and the wings, engines, fuselage and tail assembled in situ. It wouldn't take that long. If these events raised over £7 million in War Savings, it was worth the effort.PS It's not a mock-up either, as it has exhaust staining on the wings.    

[simong]

LS16 wrote: At least one went on to civilian service. Interesting to see the bomb-aimers bubble still in place! The civilian version was the Avro Lancastrian, although I don't think any British Lancasters were converted into Lancastrians - Wiki says Canadian ones were.As I've said elsewhere here my Dad did his national service in the RAF just after the war and his main job was commissioning and dispatching new Lancasters. They were flown into Whaddon, often from Yeadon, certified and then in many cases scrapped immediately.

[Trojan]

simong wrote: LS16 wrote: At least one went on to civilian service. Interesting to see the bomb-aimers bubble still in place! The civilian version was the Avro Lancastrian, although I don't think any British Lancasters were converted into Lancastrians - Wiki says Canadian ones were.As I've said elsewhere here my Dad did his national service in the RAF just after the war and his main job was commissioning and dispatching new Lancasters. They were flown into Whaddon, often from Yeadon, certified and then in many cases scrapped immediately. There was a famous incident of a Lancstrian crashing in the Andes - the remains turned up at the bottom of a glacier over 50 years laterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Dust_(aircraft)

[LS16]

simong wrote: LS16 wrote: At least one went on to civilian service. Interesting to see the bomb-aimers bubble still in place! The civilian version was the Avro Lancastrian, although I don't think any British Lancasters were converted into Lancastrians - Wiki says Canadian ones were.As I've said elsewhere here my Dad did his national service in the RAF just after the war and his main job was commissioning and dispatching new Lancasters. They were flown into Whaddon, often from Yeadon, certified and then in many cases scrapped immediately. I refer to the caption on the photo - this Lanc (LM639) had served in the UK before being sold to "Flight Refuelling" finally scrapped in 1950. Another Leeds Lanc to enter civil service was LM681 also with Flight Refuelling scrapped Sept 1951.Perhaps the book's wrong. I'll try other sources.

[pyramar]

My mother and father both worked for Avro during the war, at Yeadon and Sherburn. The story relating to the fake cows on the roof was true as far as I was told. The underground factory is still there, next to Leeds Bradford International Airport and is now industrail units. I was told the roof was painted green and wooden animals placed on it. The Luftwaffe searched for it by following the railway lines from Hull and seeking out Yeadon Tarn as a marker which i was told was drained as a result.

[simong]

LS16 wrote: simong wrote: LS16 wrote: At least one went on to civilian service. Interesting to see the bomb-aimers bubble still in place! The civilian version was the Avro Lancastrian, although I don't think any British Lancasters were converted into Lancastrians - Wiki says Canadian ones were.As I've said elsewhere here my Dad did his national service in the RAF just after the war and his main job was commissioning and dispatching new Lancasters. They were flown into Whaddon, often from Yeadon, certified and then in many cases scrapped immediately. I refer to the caption on the photo - this Lanc (LM639) had served in the UK before being sold to "Flight Refuelling" finally scrapped in 1950. Another Leeds Lanc to enter civil service was LM681 also with Flight Refuelling scrapped Sept 1951.Perhaps the book's wrong. I'll try other sources. Again from Wikipedia, there was the Lancaster XPP, which was a conversion, and then Avro started making purpose built Lancastrians, so yes, there were civilian Lancasters, but also Lancasters with passenger capability, which were two (slightly) different things.