Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster bomber returned to air show duty

Weather and serviceability dependent, the iconic Lancaster, flown by the BBMF from RAF Coningsby, will take part in two UK air shows following extensive winter maintenance and a pause in flying following the sad loss of Spitfire pilot Sqn Ldr Mark Long in May this year.

This weekend’s air shows at Blackpool and Compton Abbas are hoped to be the first of many to appear on their schedule for the rest of the 2024 season, further display details will be released by BBMF when they have confirmation.

The extensive winter maintenance included the replacement of the tailplane of the aircraft, something which BAE Systems have supported BBMF with.

BAE Systems is well-known for building and maintaining Typhoon jets, the backbone of today’s Royal Air Force a Coningsby. However, a lesser-known part of its work is the supporting the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby, as the design advisor to its iconic Lancaster Bomber.

BBMF’s Lancaster PA474 is one of only two airworthy Lancaster’s in the world today. Designed and built by one of BAE Systems’ predecessor companies, Avro, during the Second World War, the Lancaster Bomber was the main heavy bomber aircraft of the RAF fleet and was famously involved in the daring Dambusters’ raid.

Today, PA474 is flown regularly alongside other aircraft of the BBMF and occasionally alongside modern aircraft such as the Typhoon, showcasing the significant heritage of the UK’s aircraft industry. It has appeared at Royal celebrations, air shows across the nation and is a regular sight in the skies over Lincolnshire operating from Coningsby.

Dr Paul Needham, Chief Engineer of Historic Aircraft at BAE Systems’ Air sector, said: “It’s a real honour to be part of the Lancaster here, not just because of the RAF and the heritage it brings, but also the heritage for BAE Systems. We’ve been designing aircraft from the 1940s and that will go right through to future generations.”

Keeping the BBMF Lancaster in an airworthy condition requires a collaboration of unique engineering skills, knowledge and professionalism that the BAE Systems Air Engineering Team excel in. The collaboration between the RAF BBMF Project Team, BAE Systems’ Engineering Team, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support, and supporting organisations has ensured that this iconic aircraft remains the pride of the RAF’s fleet and an icon for the entire nation.

Flt Lt Daniella, who is part of the BBMF Project Team at RAF Coningsby, said: “It’s really good that we can work together and try to take the history of engineering through to the modern day and further through to the future to inspire generations.”

Having first flown more than 80 years ago, some parts of the Lancaster’s airframe are beyond repair. Recently the BAE Systems team have been working to replace the tailplanes of the Lancaster. This has been one of the largest and most complex airframe renewal programmes of work in the aircraft’s history. The port and starboard tailplanes have been built to the original design using traditional fabrication methods whilst employing modern materials; this approach required innovative engineering by the BAE Systems team.

The team also contribute to the ongoing airworthiness of the Lancaster with the management of the fatigue meter formula (translating the flying regime into the number of flying hours remaining) and by answering general in-service queries from across the airframe.

Joshua, an Engineering Degree Apprentice at BAE Systems, said: “We’ve got so much exciting work going on at the moment. What excites me about this is when you look at the Lancaster, you see a real legacy. I feel like at the moment, with so much work coming into BAE Systems, as an early career, I feel like I have the opportunity to make a little bit of a legacy.”