AVRO Manchester?

[TIGA84]

Was enjoying a couple of pints in my local in Biggin Hill and watching a few things take off and land earlier, and amongst a Spit and a couple of other bits was what looked like a Lancaster take off but smaller with two engines (same tail arrangement). Now my FIL and sisters husband said it was a Wellington but I have searched and it definitely had the same sort of tail fin as a Lancaster and it would appear that its a Manchester, are they still flying or am I mistaken?

[Eric Mc]

If only.

A Manchester flew for the last time probably before World War 2 had even ended. So, it could not possibly have been a Manchester.

By the way, the Manchester was almost as big as a Lancaster. It had the same fuselage but the wingspan was extended to allow the fitting of four Merlins to replace the two Vultures.

There are no flying Wellingtons either. Some Wellingtons soldiered on into the 1950s - mainly as test bed aircraft and navigational trainers - but none have flown since about 1956 or so.

If the aircraft you saw had twin tail fins, I would guess it might be a Beech 18.

[jimmyjimjim]

I think they were all junked, as being, well, junk.

B-25 mitchell?

[Eric Mc]

There is a Dutch B-25 based in Europe.

[richw_82]

The last Manchester was scrapped in the late 1950's by the USAF.

[Hooli]

All I know of the Manchester is recalling a book about test pilots saying how they'd catch light before completing the takeoff run.

[Eric Mc]

The Vulture engine was a bit of a disaster.

[davepoth]

Here's a Manchester.



Basically the same fuselage as a Lancaster (in fact for a short while the Lancaster was considered a Manchester variant) except for the third tail; the wing was a little shorter IIRC.

[Eric Mc]

Later Manchesters did away with the central fin and increased the size of the twin tail fins.

Early Lancasters actually used fuselages that should have been Manchesters.

[TIGA84]

Eric Mc said:

If only.

A Manchester flew for the last time probably before World War 2 had even ended. So, it could not possibly have been a Manchester.

By the way, the Manchester was almost as big as a Lancaster. It had the same fuselage but the wingspan was extended to allow the fitting of four Merlins to replace the two Vultures.

There are no flying Wellingtons either. Some Wellingtons soldiered on into the 1950s - mainly as test bed aircraft and navigational trainers - but none have flown since about 1956 or so.

If the aircraft you saw had twin tail fins, I would guess it might be a Beech 18.

Possibly, it took off, did a slow 180 then landed again, gear down the whole time, it looked more like the B-25 mentioned, was fairly slow and sedate but may just have been a test run and didn't go up again that I saw. It looked quite old, was in dark green colours which made me think Lancaster era but I'm not great with aircraft!!

[Eric Mc]

Tailwheel or nosewheel?

Single tail fin or twin tail fins?


If a single tail fin and a tailwheel, A DC-3 might be the answer.

[TIGA84]

100% twin tail fins, I saw it through the trees as it rotated initially and immediately thought it was a Lancaster, the more I look at the B-25, the more it looks like that. Is there a way of checking what took off yesterday from Biggin Hill, there have been Spitfires flying loads over the last few weeks, not hanging about either.

[TIGA84]

This looks very much like it.



Possibility?

[Eric Mc]

Here's a B-25. Notice it has a nosewheel - which was quite rare at the time it first flew (1940) -

[BLUETHUNDER]

The Lanc did fly low over Bromley yesterday. So chances are it was that. It came in the direction of Biggin.

[TIGA84]

I think we're there, I noticed this as well, second one down.

Would seem to be what I saw, and coincidentally the same pic I grabbed off google.

http://www.airfighters.com/photosearch.php?loc=267...

[TIGA84]

BLUETHUNDER said:

The Lanc did fly low over Bromley yesterday. So chances are it was that. It came in the direction of Biggin.

Blimey, didn't see that, was 100% not the Lanc, unless it had left 2 engines behind!

[Eric Mc]

TIGA84 said:

I think we're there, I noticed this as well, second one down.

Would seem to be what I saw, and coincidentally the same pic I grabbed off google.

http://www.airfighters.com/photosearch.php?loc=267...

It's based in Holland and carries Dutch markings. It's a regular atendee at UK airshows.

[TIGA84]

Problem solved. Interestingly the Lanc was flying yesterday as well!

Do you know anything about the abundance of Spitfires recently? Theres a new hangar been built thats supposed to house some of them I heard but its hard to find anything out about it, even though I'm local.

[Eric Mc]

Try the Flypast Magazine Historic Aviation forum. There are lots of people "in the know" there.

Also, Aeroplane Monthly and Flypast are excellent magazines for keeping up to date on the worldwide and UK warbird scene.