E-T-A helps to protect the only airworthy Lancaster in Europe
E-T-A helps to protect the only airworthy Lancaster in Europe
Keywords: Aircraft, Military, History
The Avro Lancaster PA474 with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is one of the only two remaining Lancasters in the world that are airworthy out of 7377 that were built during war time. This aircraft never saw combat as it was built in 1945, earmarked for the Far East, and hostilities ended before it was shipped out. It was used as a test vehicle for new wing designs and appeared in two films, including “The Guns of Navarone”, before being prepared for display at the RAF Museum in Hendon. In 1965, PA474 was acquired by 44 Squadron at RAF Waddington, having been the first unit to be equipped with Lancasters during the war. A restoration programme began which made it air worthy for regular use in 1967.
The name, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), was established in 1973 after starting out as the Historic Aircraft Flight at Biggin Hill in 1957. In the years in between a number of aircraft, including Spitfires, Hurricanes and the Lancaster PA474, have been acquired or have moved on, while the siting of the flight has moved around the country until settling at Coningsby,Lincolnshire, in 1976. In all those years the aircraft have been used in the annual Battle of Britain fly-past and at countless displays in the UK and across Europe. Last year they were involved in fly-pasts covering the UK, France,Belgium, Holland and the Channel Islands.
The Avro Lancaster was developed from the twin-engined Manchester. A bomber was required by the RAF which was capable of carrying up to 26,000lbs of bombs,and capable of flying to the far reaches of Germany and back. The two engines were replaced with four Rolls-Royce Merlins and the wings extended with storage tanks in the wings large enough to accommodate up to 2,500 gal of aviation fuel. Altogether the Lancasters flew around 156,000 sorties, including the famous“Dambusters” mission. The Lancaster was capable of flying at up to 22,000 feet, with a typical speed of around 280 mph at 11,500 feet. Maximum range was around 1,660 miles with a full bomb load and normal crew. This included the Captain and Co-Pilot, Navigator, Flight Engineer, and three other crew for bomb aiming and as anti-aircraft gunners.
Restoration of the Lancaster
Gradually the Lancaster has been restored to its former glory with gun turrets re-attached. Work over the winter of 1995/6 replaced the main spar,extending the aircraft’s life well into the current millennium. For the 2000 season, the livery was changed to commemorate 61 Squadron’s Lancaster EE176, “Mickey the Moocher”, a Mk III built in 1943 which flew 128 sorties before finishing up as an instructional airframe.
It was from a need to provide far greater safety protection of the numerous electrical circuits that E-T-A came to the rescue. Over the winter of 2000/1,re-wiring of the whole aircraft was scheduled. While the original cabinet that once held 96 of the old fashioned brass ended fuses is still utilised, the fuses have now been replaced by around 40 E-T-A 483 circuit breakers. The 483 series offers the highest performance specification of aircraft circuit breaker available on the market, in this case protecting circuits from 1 A up to 20 A.
Corporal Simon Hingley, Electrical Technician on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), explained, “When we had decided to go ahead with the re-wiring, we naturally contacted E-T-A as its products are used on a number of military aircraft, including the Tornado, Hawk and Sea Harrier. The E-T-A 483 is a very rugged, single pole circuit breaker with a unique tease-free operating mechanism and two chamber construction. It is also temperature compensated and has excellent shock and vibration characteristics. It was obviously ideal for the task.”
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight today
The BBMF can be visited at its home base at Coningsby in Lincolnshire, with guided tours around the hangar throughout the year. The aircraft can be seen at close quarters as they are being worked on, and the tour base also houses an informative exhibition about the aircraft and Lincolnshire’s long involvement with the RAF.
The Flight currently totals 11 aircraft – the Lancaster, 5 Spitfires, 2 Hurricanes, 1 Dakota and 2 Chipmunk training aircraft. These are maintained by a group of 18 technicians and mechanics headed by a Warrant Officer engineer. They are assisted by a further six personnel who are involved with instrumentation,parts acquisition and safety equipment. Most of these ground crew volunteer for posts on the BBMF for a limited period.
The Chipmunks provide pilot continuation training on single piston-engined,tail-wheel aircraft as an introduction to the Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Dakota provides an introduction to the handling of the Lancaster, as well as keeping the pilots of the Lancaster current during the winter months when it is being overhauled ready for the next season.
Nowadays, the Officer Commanding the BBMF, Squadron Leader Paul Day OBE AFC RAF, is the only aircrew member permanently serving on the Flight, the other Pilots, Navigators, Air Engineers and Air Loadmasters coming from RAF Coningsby,RAF Cranwell and RAF Waddington. Accustomed to primary roles on modern aircraft such as the Tornado F3, AWACS, Dominie and Jetstream, they volunteer to give their free time at weekends to fly and display the historic aircraft of the Flight from May through to the end of September.
Corporal Hingley enthused, “I find the work fascinating. This is my second assignment at BBMF. Though the designs of these aircraft are relatively simple by today’s standards, they demand the use of trade skills that are rarely required on modern aircraft. We are always looking to utilise spares from the stockpile we have produced, but sometimes we resort to the original drawings and build a spare part from scratch. It is a great privilege to be part of a team maintaining the heritage dedicated to the memory of so many brave aircrew who risked or lost their lives during the war."
Details available from: E-T-A Circuit Breakers Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1296 420336;Fax: +44 (0)1296 488497; E-mail: info@e-t-a.co.uk
Jonathan AdamsManaging DirectorE-T-A Circuit Breakers
