Lancaster & B17 together - Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2023

Avro Lancaster B1 and Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ’Sally B’ performing an very rare paired display during the Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2023. Lancaster:- The RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster B1, PA474 is one of only two Lancaster aircraft remaining in airworthy condition out of the 7,377 that were built (the other is in Canada with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton, Ontario). The left-hand side of PA474 represents Lancaster BIII W5005 ‘AR-L’ “Leader” of 460 (Royal Australian Air Force) Squadron, with its nose art of a kangaroo in wellington boots playing bagpipes reflecting the mixed nationalities of the crew: Scottish, Welsh and Australian. The ‘bomb log’ on the nose shows a ‘snapshot in time’ at the point just after the 30th successful operation flown by W5005, to Munich on 6th September 1943. W5005 eventually completed 94 operations before ditching in the Humber on 27th August 1944, after having been transferred to 550 Squadron. The right-hand side of PA474 wears the 50 Squadron code letters ‘VN-T’ representing Lancaster LL922 in which Flying Officer ‘Dougy’ Millikin (grandfather of the ex OC BBMF, Andy ‘Milli’ Millikin) and his wireless operator John Tait, flew 33 operations together. The starboard side of the Lancaster’s nose also bears the coat of arms and name of The City of Avro Lancaster is the most famous and successful RAF heavy bomber of World War Two. It is a legend that lives on today and the contribution made by the aircraft and its crews to the freedom of our nation will, hopefully, never be forgotten. The prototype Lancaster took to the air for its first flight from Woodford, Manchester, on 9th January 1941; the first production Lancaster flew later that year on 31st October. The first RAF unit to receive the new aircraft for operations (on Christmas Eve 1941) was No 44 Squadron at Waddington, quickly followed by 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa. The performance of the Lancaster was simply outstanding. It could carry a maximum bomb load of 22,000 lb, its maximum level speed with a full load at 15,000 feet was 275 mph and it could cruise routinely at altitudes above 20,000ft at a range speed of 200 mph. With a full bomb load the aircraft had a range in excess of 1,500 miles. The Lancaster’s performance, its ruggedness, reliability and to many its sheer charisma, endeared it to its crews who were proud to fly this famous thoroughbred. Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ’Sally B’:- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ’Sally B’, G-BEDF, displaying on the second day Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2021. Pilot, Peter Kuypers, co-pilot Paul Szluha ’Sally B’ is the only remaining airworthy B-17 in Britain and Europe. Built as a Boeing B-17G-105-VE c/n 8693, Sally B was one of the last B-17s to be constructed by the Lockheed-Vega plant at Burbank, California. Accepted by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as 44-85784 on 19th June 1945 it was too late to see war service, and was flown to Nashville for modifications. Converted for training purposes and re-designated TB-17G, it was based at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson AFB), Ohio from November that year. Continuing in the care of 2750th Air Base Group (ABG), ‘784 was selected for use as a research vehicle and in 1949 allocated EB-17G status. As such the B-17 was used in a variety of research roles, one of the most bizarre being the addition of a man-carrying pod on the starboard wingtip. Also fitted at the time was an infra-red tracking device in place of the Perspex nose. These trials continued for some years in a variety of guises and it was not until 1954 that ‘784 was returned to standard configuration, less armaments, at Hill AFB in Utah. No details have emerged of the trials which this aircraft was involved in. In France the Institut Geographic National (IGN) purchased several B-17s after the war for survey and mapping work. ‘784 arrived in November 1954 and was given the French registration F-BGSR. Based at Creil, these aircraft carried out work for the French government and others for many years. As they entered the 1970s it was apparent that the cost of operating the Flying Fortresses was getting prohibitive, also there was a shortage of spares. So The IGN replaced the B-17s with other aircraft. Businessman and pilot, Ted White brought F-BGSR to Britain via Biggin Hill to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, as N17TE, in March 1975, to begin a new life as Sally B, named after his long-time companion Elly Sallingboe. Sally B made her debut at the 1975 Biggin Hill Air Fair, flying as the USAAF World War Two Memorial Flight. A permanent operating base was set up at Duxford. Kept in flying condition by volunteers from the newly formed Duxford Aviation Society, the Fortress was painted in the 457th Bomb Group, USAAF 8th Air Force, based at Glatton during the Second World War, but retaining her original serial number 485784. Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight