Avro Manchester

History of Avro Manchester

Avro Manchester was a semi-successful attempt by Avro to meet the Air Department specification page 13/36. The specification calls for twin-engine heavy bombers capable of carrying dual-purpose bomb or torpedo payloads. Unlike Handlery Page Halifax's four-engine offering - a bomber developed to the same specifications from the Air Ministry - Manchester's production run was shorter, had a shorter lifespan and had many engine problems in operational service.

Only 209 Manchester units were eventually completed, with production split between Avro (177) and Metropolitan-Vickers (32).

Externally, Manchester resembles other multi-engine Avro products from WWII (Lincoln, Shackleton, Lancaster). The twin engines are suspended from a mid-mounted monoplane wing with V-shaped outboard engines and main wheel landing gear. The fuselage is mostly straight from nose to tail, but the design is slim. The flight deck maintains a good all-around advantage with a wide frame. The tail is dominated by the recognizable twin vertical tail arrangement common to other Avro designs.

However, the original production Manchester had a third vertical stabilizer, located between the two base aircraft and along the rear of the upper part of the fuselage. The rear fuselage extends beyond this assembly, which maintains the rear gunner's position.

Manchester II appears as a proposed and improved model version of the Manchester series. These Manchester cars will be equipped with two Bristol Centaurus or Napier Sabre engines to compensate for the inherent deficiencies of select Rolls-Royce Vulture branded engines used in production Manchester cars.

Unfortunately for Manchester and Avro, this model series was never produced.

A Manchester Mk I was pulled aside to convert to the new Manchester III standard. This new model design (BT308) features an increased wingspan that combines the power of four engines, but still retains the three vertical tail surfaces of the original Manchester.

The plane, recently named "Lancaster," made its maiden flight on January 9, 1941. The successor, the DG595, was introduced shortly thereafter and was fitted with the Manchester IA's enlarged vertical twin tail.

The Manchester Three essentially became the prototype for the war-winning Avro Lancaster family of multi-engine heavy bombers.

Canada became the only other Manchester operator in its short lifespan. All in all, the Manchester bomber was a failed project in itself, but the development of the system resulted in the mythical family of Lancaster bombers, which became the backbone of the RAF bomber fleet during the war. Lancaster went on to record a production total of over 7,300 units, with the model's last operational use ending under Canadian control in 1963.

To that end, at least the Manchester design is confirmed.

Specification

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes