Roy Chadwick designed the Avro Lincoln to meet Air Ministry Specification B.14/43 for a new heavy bomber, it was a development of the existing Lancaster but had a higher bomb-load and could fly higher and faster. The Avro Lincoln entered service in late 1945 and WWII ended before the aircraft could see operational Squadron use, it was to be the last piston-engined bomber produced for the RAF. A total of 604 Avro Lincolns were built and remained in service until 1963, the cold war bringing their RAF operational life to a premature end as they lacked the range to attack many potential Soviet targets with gravity Nuclear weapons, their replacements were the all new jet V bomber force, the Avro Vulcan, Handley-Page Victor and the Vickers Valiant. It is of interest to note that the Avro Lincoln was originally named the Avro Lancaster IV but to stop confusion which might occur with spare parts the bomber was re-named the Avro Lincoln. A maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare variant, the "Lincoln III", was developed and eventually evolved into the Avro Shackleton with a re-designed fuselage and remained in service with the RAF until 1990 as a maritime platform. The picture above is of the long range version, the Avro Lincoln BII, and is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. Avro Lincoln I Specifications: Crew: Pilot, flight engineer/co-pilot, navigator, wireless operator, front gunner/bomb aimer, dorsal and rear gunners - Length: 78 ft 3½ in (23.86 m)
- Wingspan: 120 ft (36.58 m)
- Height: 17 ft 3½ in (5.27 m)
- Empty weight: 43,400 lb (19,686 kg)
- Loaded weight: 75,000 lb (34,100 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 82,000 lb [9] (37,273 kg)
- Engines: Four 1,750 hp (1,305 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 V piston engine
- Maximum speed: 319 mph (475 km/h) at 18,800 (5,640 m)
- Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
- Range: 2,930 mi (4,720 km) with maximum bomb-load 1,470 miles (2,370 km)
- Service ceiling: 30,500 ft (9,295 m)
- Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (245 m/min)
Armament: - Guns: Twin .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in nose, dorsal and tail turrets, alternatively twin 20 mm Hispano cannon in dorsal turret
- Bombs: Maximum of 14,000 lb (6,400 kg) of bombs
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