Avro Lincoln

History of Avro Lincoln

The Avro Lincoln became a four-engine heavy bomber developed from the very successful Avro Lancaster series at the end of World War II. Lancaster led the Royal Air Force (RAF) night bombing campaign against the Axis powers, which combined with American daytime operations to disrupt German wartime capabilities. Avro Lincoln itself originally originated from Lancaster B. Mk IV and B. Mk V, although both were redesignated as Lincoln B. Mk I and B. Mk respectively when Lancaster's design was significantly revised to justify the changes II.

Lincoln was derived from Air Department specification B.14/43, which originally called for medium-range twin-engine bombers in the Far East, and extended it to 1946.

The Lancaster design gained a larger high aspect ratio wingspan as well as an expanded fuselage assembly and a new nose to produce the Lancaster B. Mk IV. The nose houses a Boulton Paul powered turret that holds 2 x . 50 caliber Browning Heavy Machine Gun The first models were equipped with 4 Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 series two-stage in-line engines of 1,750 hp each, mounted in nacelles mounted below, with two engines per wing.

The B. Mk IV was then used to launch the new Lincoln family of heavy bombers, the Lincoln B. Mk I. After a further increase in wingspan and a further lengthening of the fuselage, the Lincoln B. Mk II models were born, these were powered by 4 Rolls-Royce Merlin 66, 68A or 300 inline engines throughout their life cycle.

From 1946 to 1948, the Royal Canadian Air Force operated only three Avro Lincolns. The end of World War II reduced the need to procure expensive heavy bombers. Local production (by Victor Aircraft) introduced only one aircraft.

The Argentine Air Force bought Avro Lincoln in bulk from 1947 and ran it until 1965. These Lincolns proved useful in their heavy bomber roles and were used against rebels in an anti-government coup attempt in September 1951. During the 1955 revolution, bombers were used by the government and insurgents.

In 1967, the last front line Lincoln served in Argentina was officially dismantled.

Beyond the dedicated Lincoln B. Mk I/B. The Mk 30 and B. Mk II long-range heavy bombers, the series tested or produced some notable variants: The Lincoln III was a proposed maritime reconnaissance platform also used in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), extensively modified as the Lincoln ASR.

Mk 3 changed to Avro Shackleton. The Lincoln B. Mk IV is the Lincoln B. Mk II bomber upgraded with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 engine. The Avro 695 "Lincoln" is a special transport variant of the Lincoln bomber that sacrifices its ammunition carrying capacity in favor of more interior cargo space.

Total production of Avro Lincolns reached 604 units. A.V. Roe sent 168, while the Vickers added 80. However, Armstrong Whitworth (Coventry) was responsible for most of the production, with 281 examples in total. 73 specimens were obtained from facilities in Australia.

Lincoln's long Cold War series secured their place in military aviation history. All were abandoned by the RAF due to their age and eventually replaced by a new generation of jumbo jet heavy bombers that were not popular in many militaries around the world.

For other carriers, the type is simply discontinued without replacement.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes