Lancaster
Role and duties of the flight engineer
(1) To assist the pilot to fly the aircraft by operating the various controls such as the throttles and prop rev levers to give the correct boost and revs at take-off, landing and during flight.
(2) During take-off, to select the correct fuel tanks and to switch on the fuel booster pumps, operating the throttles, rev levers, selecting the correct degree of flap and retracting the undercarriage and then the flaps.
(3) On landing to operate the throttles, rev levers, lower the undercarriage and to select the correct degree of flap. Then on touch down to throttle back and to select full flap.
(4) During flight, to complete a log and to compute the fuel supply to ensure maximum economy under all flying conditions. To keep a constant watch on the engine temperature and pressure gauges, the fuel gauges and to operate the superchargers while climbing and flying above 10,000 feet. It was also necessary for the flight engineer to ensure the oxygen system was functioning correctly.
(5) As a night operation usually entailed using at least 200 aircraft flying in a relatively small air space in poor visibility and often adverse weather conditions, it was necessary for the flight engineer along with the pilot and gunners to maintain a constant field of search for both friendly and enemy aircraft.
(6) To ensure effective liaison with the ground crews and maintenance staff.
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(7) Finally, it was the flight engineer’s responsibility to take over the controls if ‘heaven forbid’ the Pilot was hit and rendered incapable of flying the aircraft.
Note Fuel economy was paramount, in fact, there was a board on the wall in the flight engineer leader’s office with every flight engineer listed, each being awarded a green, yellow or a red for the fuel consumption after every operation. A green was for those who achieved a consumption of 180 gals per hour, A yellow for 190 and a red for over 200 gals per hour. Heaven help you if you got too many reds!
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1145 HP (854 kw) The aircraft first being used operationally early in 1942.
While the airframe looked, and indeed remained, essentially the same throughout its operational life, there were many changes made which resulted in the aircraft becoming a formidable bomber. These changes included engines, airframe and what are now called avionics. The individual engine power available on production aircraft rose to 1620hp (1208kW); nearly 6500hp (4834kW) in total. Many small changes to the airframe allowed the bomb load to increase from the original design of 4000lbs (1814kg) to 12000lbs (5443kg) and eventually the enormous 22000lbs (9979kg) ‘Grand Slam’ bomb was carried. Also, the Lancaster is forever associated with the ‘Dams Raid’ and Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb. As important were the changes in the avionics. These included the introduction of navigation and target location systems such as ‘Gee’ and the airborne radar known as H2S and various so called counter measures, particularly against enemy nightfighters. In fact one of the few obvious changes on some of the Lancasters was the addition of a ventral bulge housing the H2S aerial.
In its final form the BI Lancaster in 1944 had a maximum speed of nearly 290mph (467km/h), could reach 24,500ft (7468m) and had a range of 2530 miles (4073km) with a 7000lb (3175kg) bomb load.
It was the flight engineer’s job to be familiar with various systems in the aircraft including the engines, airframe and armament. He was also the main point of technical contact between the ground crew and air crew
There were some downsides to the Lancaster. It had three gun turrets, nose, tail and dorsal, and although it was tried on a few aircraft most did not have a ventral turret. This made it vulnerable from attack from below by nightfighters. Many crews never knew what shot them down. In those days there were no ejection seats and bailing out from any aircraft was never an easy thing to do, particularly with the high centrifugal forces involved when spiralling down after being hit, but for some of the seven crew members, the Lancaster was particularly difficult to exit with one hatch forward and one near the tail and the main wing spare to negotiate. And only two crew members wore pilot type parachutes, the others having to find and attach them. One estimate suggests that only about 12% of Lancaster crew survived such an experience.
Lancaster PB645(9JA), Peter’s aircraft, was part of an order for 800 Avro Lancaster BI, BIII and Lancastrians placed with AV Roe some time in 1942 or 1943. She was built in Manchester, Woodford or Chadderton, but the date that she was taken on charge is not known. The order says that she was a Lancaster BIII which means that she had Packard Merlin engines. These were rated at 1390HP, had a two-speed, single stage supercharger and Bendix carburettors. The American engines came with a box of tools that were seen as superior to the British and much sought after by the ground crews.
Fuel and oil systems One of the main tasks of the flight engineer was to monitor and operate the fuel system,
1 The pilot and flight engineer’s position looking forward (D H Taylor). Picture courtesy of The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre
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