The Lancaster was the RAF’s best heavy bomber of World War II. It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within RAF Bomber Command., The "Lanc", as it was affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams. Originally designed to carry an 1800kg bomb, the adaptable Lancaster was later equipped to carry a variety of bombs, most memorably the spinning, bouncing bombs of ”Dambusters” fame. Designed by Barnes Wallis, they were carried by the Lancasters of 617 squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, to breach the Ruhr dams. Thank you Maria for this wonderful card, where the aircraft is in embossed plastic. Surely a collector’s item.
