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  • Lancaster

  • The Second World War’s Greatest Bomber
  • By: Leo McKinstry
  • Narrated by: Peter Noble
  • Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (138 ratings)
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Lancaster cover art

Lancaster

By: Leo McKinstry
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Summary

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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Lancaster

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Excellent

An excellent book, well written and well read. This book is a companion to the nook about the Spitfire.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting story of Bomber Commands use of the Lancaster in the Second World War

Not as good as the spitfire story, if your interested in the history of the development and use of the Lancaster. The book concentrate mostly on Harris and his use of the Lancaster, with fascinating first hand accounts from those involved. Perfectly read, however it’s quite repetitive. Personally I’d like to have heard more from the development of the platform and less analysing the morals of Bomber Commands actions with hindsight.

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4 people found this helpful

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Well read & well written

An awesome description of how the Lanc came about & designed by the brilliant Roy Chadwick
superbly written & an insight into the horrors of War.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The Bomber Harris Show

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the stories of development, production and strategy. Hearing from the factory workers and the ground crews supplemented the air crew's memories wonderfully. I've leaned lots.

But if you don't like hearing about the stubborn and petulant Sir Arthur Harris, then you're going to struggle. Leo Mckinstry could of cut out 50% of the Harris anecdotes and we'd of still got the idea.

Great Narration. Peter Noble doesn't attempt accents, he just brings clarity, gravitas and listenable cadence.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect biography of the best heavy of WW2.

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.

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An amazing listen!

I've experienced 2 other books of a similar nature, one on Bomber Command and one on the Dambusters and though all 3 books are great, this is the best. Charting the design, technological improvements during operation, the manufacture, the missions and the crew themselves. It's such a varied book. Filled with failure, triumph and the harrowing realities of war.

Great narration too, the voice fits the era that forged Britain.

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  • Overall
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Makes top gun feel tame

An all round great listen from start to finish opened my eyes and my heart

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable and thought provoking

Before I started listening there were two things that the Lancaster brought to my mind, the Dam Busters and the BoB Memorial Flight. I can honestly say that I have learnt so much from listening to this story. Yes there are many anecdotes about Harris but there is so much more from the crews that flew the Lanc. I thoroughly enjoyed this and as always had I been there I would have been championing the cause and rallying for the bomber crews to be officially recognised and rewarded for what they did. Ok so many may have opinions about those particular campaigns but we were at war and we had the brunt of the Luftwaffe hitting our towns cities factories and most importantly people. Thank you RAF for defending our shores and helping those who gave their lives in all Services and elsewhere so that we might have ours now.

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Very good

So informative and interesting with personal stories worth a look at will probably listen to it again in time

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  • Overall
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A deep dive

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.

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