Avro Lincoln
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The Avro Model 694 Lincoln was a British 4-engined heavy bomber of World War II, first flying on June 9, 1944 and entering service in August 1945, too late to be used in action. The last piston-powered bomber built for the RAF, a total of 604 were built.
It was a development of the Avro Lancaster, built to the Air Ministry Specification B.14/43, having a larger wingspan with two-stage supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 engines, bigger fuselage, and with bigger fuel and bomb loads. As a result, it could fly higher and further than the Lancaster. It was intended for use in the war in the Far East as part of Tiger Force and was known initially as the Lancaster IV and V (the V having the Merlin 68A engines), but was renamed Lincoln B.1 and B.2 respectively.
The Lincoln became operational too late to serve with the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth air forces in World War II. The type later served with Argentina and the Royal Australian Air Force. Many were built in Australia - the largest aircraft ever built there.
The RAAF heavily modified their aircraft in the 1950s for use in anti-submarine warfare, giving them a 6' 6" longer nose to house acoustic submarine detection gear and its operator, larger fuel tanks to give 13 hours endurance, and modifying the bomb bay to accept torpedoes. The "long-nose" variant - officially the Mk. 31 - was particularly difficult to land at night, as the bomber used a tailwheel and the long nose obstructed the pilot's view of the runway. Only 20 were built.
In the Royal Air Force, the Lincoln equipped several bomber squadrons.
The Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft was derived from the Lincoln.
Service
Nearly 600 Lincolns were built to equip 29 RAF squadrons. Due to the lack of range they were partially replaced by Boeing Washingtons which could reach targets inside the Iron Curtain. They were phased out of use in the late 1950s, and were completely replaced by jet bombers by 1963.The Lincoln was used in combat during the 1950s in Kenya against the Mau-Mau, and Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. One was shot down by a Russian Mig-15 in 1957 as it flew to Berlin on a training flight.
Variants
- Lincoln B.1 :
- Lincoln B.2 : Built by Avro, Armstrong-Whitworth and Vickers-Metropolitan
- Lincoln Mk.15 : The designation of one single aircraft, built by Victory Aircraft in Canada.
- Lincoln Mk.30 : Long-range bomber version for the RAAF.
- Lincoln Mk.30A :
- Lincoln Mk.31 : ASW version for the RAAF
General Specifications (Lincoln B.1)
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References
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