AVRO LANCASTER, AIR MINISTRY BOMB SELECTOR CONTROL PANEL

With the ability to carry a bomb load often close to equalling the aircraft’s total weight and a range of 1550 to 2530 miles, the Avro Lancaster soon became the mainstay of the British Bomber Command’s strategic bombing offensive.

Often required to carry a range of ordinance from 14 x 1000 lb bombs and incendaries right up to the 22,000 Tall Boy ‘Block Buster’, ensuring the aircraft maintained stable flight upon bomb release was not an easy task.

Mounted just above the Lancaster’s Bomb Distributor Timer Switch on the starboard wall of the bomb aimer’s position, the Type F5D/655 Bomb Selector Control Panel enabled the bomb aimer to pre-select the 16-station bomb release sequence of the varied ordinance over the target and which bombs would be released. This enabled the crew to hold some ordinance in reserve if they had a designated secondary target.

The Type F5D/655 was just one of three Bomb Control Units that enabled the bomb aimer to not only predetermine which bombs would be released, but also their timing intervals, whilst also ensuring that the sequence of release did not destabilise the aircraft’s flight characteristics during the attack. 

Carrying a bomb load weighing almost almost as much as the aircraft’s total unloaded weight meant that, without a balanced drop the Lancaster could suddenly find its nose pitched violently upwards, hurtling it into the path of another aircraft in the bomber stream. 

This versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip 617 Squadron to undergo modification to carry the "Bouncing bomb" designed by Barnes Wallis for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams.

With bomb bay doors removed and the "Bouncing bomb" suspended on a vee-shaped strut, it was rotated at 500 rpm via a drive belt to a hydraulic motor. Two Aldis lights were fitted in the rear bomb bay fairing and when shone on the relatively smooth waters of the dam's reservoirs, the light beams converged into a single spot to indicate the correct hight for bomb release.

By 1945, a total of 33 Lancasters had been modified to deploy the 22,000 lb Grand Slam bomb - which was so heavy that the bomb and the Lancaster itself weighed roughly the same. Lancasters flew a total of 156,000 sorties and dropped over 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945.

With its Air Ministry AM & Crown markings, this is a rare piece of RAF aviation history with all switches operational and the hinged, drop-down panel revealing the complete wiring for the unit. It also comes complete with its chain attached, removable Arming Safety Cover and original rotating 'Dial In' Arming Programs'

* Please note that this original Recovery Curios Aircraft Display is also available in a Super Detailed, Large Scale 1/48 version with some astounding and simply awesome detail. Click on the 1/48 Scale Model Option' at the top of this page to order.

This Avro Lancaster Instrument comes complete with detailed Scale Model, Mango Wood Stand & Plaque plus Printed Fact Sheet featuring photo of instrument in the aircraft cockpit.

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