Avro Manchester III
When Avro designer Roy Chadwick designed the twin-engined Manchester, he already had a name for any successor; Lancaster. It seemed that the name would be used sooner rather than later, as the Rolls-Royce Vulture engines in the Manchester failed to realise their potential, and left the aircraft not only underpowered, but also a maintenance nightmare.
The solution was to go with not only a more reliable engine, but also to exceed the planned power of the two Vultures by fitting four of them. The RR Merlin, already becoming a legend, was chosen, and a lengthened wing to accommodate them was a rather simple, but striking, change to the airframe.
It had become traditional in aviation circles to rename almost any aircraft that had undergone such a radical change in appearance, but Chadwick’s idea was not to be realised. The reason was that a benefactor, one James W. Gibson, had done his part for the war effort by financing a large portion of the redevelopment, and wished to retain the Manchester name. This was no doubt due to his ownership of the Manchester United football club, and a significant infusion of his cash was not to be argued with.
Initially, the tailplane design had been wavered between a new twin-tailed configuration, or a single unit. The Manchester had experimented with both on the same aircraft, and it was decided to enlarge the fuselage fin and dispense with the twin-tails for the newly christened Manchester III
The KitThe Academy 1/144th scale Lancaster is a better kit than I had hoped, with only one aspect living up to my apprehension: the clear parts. A little suspect in shape, but that’s nothing compared to painting the frames. Fortunately a pre-painted main canopy is included for those of lesser skills (looks in mirror, once again…), but the turrets are still devoid of such a consideration, and the lines are all but invisible. Rather than trying to go the brush route I just used a toothpick. Still a little rough, but I'm satisfied with it. The vertical stabiliser came from the parts bin, I believe it came from bits of an Airfix Vought OS2U Kingfisher. It was cut down from what would have appeared as a ridiculously large piece to something a bit more acceptable and esthetically pleasing. Is it too small to replace the distinctive ‘twin fins’ of the Lancaster? No idea, I’m a modeler, not an aeronautical engineer. Decals by Cartograf, so there was no problem in that area. Paints were AK for the topside, Tamiya for the underside, finished with Tamiya Flat Clear.
