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Avro Lancaster Mk I

Aircraft & Exhibits, 1942-1970, London, Hangar Five, 74/A/12

This Avro Lancaster is a rare survivor of the Second World War and among the most significant aircraft in the RAF Museum’s collection. On average, a Lancaster’s life expectancy was 21 operational sorties, yet this Lancaster flew a total of 137.

Four-engined aircraft with propellers and camouflage pattern, © RAF Museum/Iain Duncan

Handley Page Halifax Mk II Series 1

Aircraft & Exhibits, 27 MAR 1942-27 APR 1942, London, Hangar Five, 73/A/1113

This Halifax served with No. 102 Squadron. On 27 April 1942, it flew its first operational mission – an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz that was moored in a Norwegian fjord. Damaged by anti-aircraft artillery, the aircraft made a forced landing on a frozen lake. One of the crew suffered a broken ankle and was taken prisoner. The other five, with the help of the Norwegian resistance, escaped to neutral Sweden. W1048 sank to the bottom of the fjord where it remained for the next 31 years.

Handley Page Halifax B.Mk.II on display at RAF Museum London, (C) RAF Museum/Iain Duncan / RAF Museum