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Lancaster

The Second World War’s Greatest Bomber

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About this listen

A comprehensive history of Britain's greatest bomber plane.

The Spitfire and the Lancaster were the two RAF weapons of victory in the Second World War, but the glamour of the fighter has tended to overshadow the performance of the heavy bomber. Yet without the Lancaster, Britain would never have been able to take the fight to the German homeland. Highlights the scale of the bomber's achievements, including the famous Dambusters attacks. With its vast bomb bay, ease of handling and surprising speed, the mighty Lancaster transformed the effectiveness of the Bomber Command.

Whilst addressing the political controversy surrounding the bombing offensive against Germany, Leo McKinstry also weaves individual tales into this compelling narrative. Rich characters are brought to life, such as Roy Chadwick the designer, who taught himself engineering at night school and Sir Arthur Harris, the austere head of the Bomber Command. This is a rich saga, a story of triumph over disaster and the history of an iconic plane.

©2009 Leo McKinstry (P)2009 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Europe Great Britain Military Weapons & Warfare War Air Force Aviation US Air Force Imperialism Winston Churchill England
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I found this immensely intriguing, from the story of it's birth, through the gripping accounts of it's successes and failures, through to it's eventual retirement from service, illustrated by the extracts of the first hand accounts of some of those involved. I am somewhat biased in this, because my late Dad was aircrew in, first, 44 squadron, and, later, 199 squadron, and I found the graphic descriptions of the trials, tribulations and terrors faced by the aircrews both illuminating and informative. This work is as much a tribute to the grit, tenacity and bravery of the aircrew as it is to Mr Chadwick's creation.

Perfect biography of the best heavy of WW2.

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As a child I made the airfix kit and later listened to the memories of my father in law who had been Lancaster ground crew, but until now I had not grasped the full picture. I was enthralled every minute of this 25 hour history. Leo McKinstry has used a wide range of sources and voices to compose a moving and informative picture of the bombing offensive and the people caught up in it. This is no gung-ho celebration of the legend, but a balanced account of the moral controversy woven with strands of horror and heroism. Even the boardroom tussles over aircraft design, deployment and tactics are made gripping. But with Churchill, crusty Arthur Harris, Barnes Wallis, Leonard Cheshire, Guy Gibson and many more as dramatis personae the reader is in for an interesting time. Peter Noble is excellent.

Enthralling

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I was looking forward to learning about the Avro Lancaster in terms of the concept, design and development. This was very satisfying and I think we can safely say that it is just about all here. But one of the important things to do is to place the aircraft in context and I think that this book more than achieves this. There's a lot here about the air war and the role of Bomber Command and, as anyone remotely interested in the era will know, there are more than a few controversial considerations and the Lancaster was very much part of the mechanism that facilitated the bombing campaign. So I was very gratified that there was so much that was included. All in all, I thought it was expressed in a fairly balanced way. I found myself really wishing that things were handled differently but I have the benefit of hindsight. I will certainly delve into the Author's other books.

A deep dive

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Everything you could wulish to know on the story of the Lancaster and the people that made it happen, and I think the reader made the story all the more compelling.

Great story/writing and a great reader

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An excellent book with lots of info about the development of the Lancaster bomber and the crews who flew it. I found the stories of the manufacturers AV Roe and their competitors to be very informative and the drive of Roy Chadwick to develop the troublesome Manchester, into what i believe to be the best aircraft of all time. For the Lancaster Bomber lover this is a must listen. Lest we forget.

The story of a legend

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