AVRO LANCASTER TYPE VII 5D/1065 BOMB RELEASE TIMER DISTRIBUTOR PANEL

Mounted on the starboard wall of the Lancaster bomb aimer's station, was the Air Bomber's Panel which comprised three primary instruments and enabled the bomb aimer to pre-select not only the sequence of which ordinance to drop, but also their timing delay and grouping whilst still maintaining the critical flight balance of the aircraft.

The Avro Lancaster often carried an eclectic mix of bombing ordinance, from 236 x small 1.8kg or 24 x 14kg incendiary bomblets (carried in the Small Bomb Container SBC); 230 kg and 450kg general purpose High Explosive (GP/HE) bombs as well as the high impact 1800kg and 3600kg bombs. 

Later in the war, some Lancasters had their bomb  bay doors removed to enable them to carry the single, 5400 kg 'Tallboy’ blockbuster which were used to great effect during raids on the German U-Boat pens, which had been protected by metres of reinforced concrete.

One of the most celebrated Lancaster conversions were those carried out on 19 Lancaster B Mk IIIs of 617 Squadron during operation ‘Chastise’ - more commonly know as the Dambusters Raid.

British inventor and scientist, Barnes Wallis had developed a 4,100 kg ‘bouncing’ bomb that could ’skip’ along the surface of the water allowing for low level, pin point accuracy.

It required the removal of the Lancaster’s bomb bay doors and the installation of a motorised, geared pulley system which would spin the barrel-shapped bomb counter clock-wise to the direction of travel, prior to it's release

On the evening of May 16/17th 1943, the 19 Lancasters under the command of Wing Commander, Guy Gibson took off into the darkness on a mission to attack the three German Rhur Valley dams.

A number of Lancasters failed to reach the target - succumbing to anti aircraft fire and mechanical failure along the route with one Lancaster hitting high voltage electricity wires during its low level approach

The remaining Lancaster’s dropped down over the surrounding hillsides, flying low over the surface of the dams towards their targets.

Using two purpose-built offset spot lights mounted in the bomb bay, the bomb aimer directed the pilot to reduce height until the beam of the two lights converged on the darkened water’s surface, indicating they were at the correct height for release.

The spinning bomb dropped and upon impact, bounced high into the air before continuing its bouncing trajectory until it hit the dam wall, where it sank to the base of the wall and detonated via a timed fuse.

Although the Lancaster’s had to make multiple runs at their designated targets before they could accurately release their ‘bouncing bombs’, the mission was a tremendous success with both the Möhne and Edersee dams being breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. 

Two hydroelectric power stations were also destroyed and several more damaged and many factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. 

An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 enslaved labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 56 aircrew, with 53 dead and 3 captured, with the loss of eight aircraft.  

Whilst the Lancaster carried the Mk II and later, the more advanced, computer-controlled Mk XIV Bomb sights which enabled the bomb aimer, laying prone in the nose of the aircraft, to accurately mark the target, he still had some extensive and time- consuming work to do in preparing the release of the Lancaster’s bomb load. He did this on his Air Bomber's Control Panel which consisted of three separate Control Units.
 
Mounted just back from the Lancaster’s bubble plexiglass nose, the first of these was a 16 Switch, Connell Bomb Pre-selector Unit which allowed the bomb aimer to preselect which bombs to release.

The 16 switches related to 16 stowage points in the aircraft’s bomb bay and the bomb aimer used it to select which bombs or combination of bombs would be released over the target and which bombs might be retained for another attack on a secondary target. 

The unit also featured a Master Safety Jettison Handle with its chain-mounted, metal Safety Cover. When removed, the bomb aimer could jettison the entire bomb load in an emergency such as prior to a crash landing, an aircraft fire or fighter attack. The pilot also had a Jettison Switch and Pull Handle mounted on his main flying panel.

Directly below this unit was mounted the Type VII 5D/1065 Bomb Release Timer Distributor Unit, which the bomb aimer would use to pre-set the timing interval and order of the ordinance to be dropped. This was particularly useful if the Lancaster was attacking a long, spread out target such as a railway terminus, bridge or transport hub and needed to drop its bombs in a 'stick' formation along the target. 

The metal pointers in the middle of the Unit were rotated to preset any of the possible 32 bomb combinations whilst the small silver rotary dial below, was used to set the timing interval. A small bulb behind a swivelling coloured/clear window would then indicate their activation.

The Type VII 5D/1065 Bomb Release Timer Distributor  was mounted to the Bomb Aimer's master panel by two knurled pins on either side of the carrying handle to enable the unit to be removed from the aircraft after the mission and be reset for the next. A reinforced. padded timber box was used to carry the unit to and from the aircraft.

To the right of the Timer Distributor was mounted the Bomb Dropping Selector Box which was used to ensure the bombs were dropped in the correct order to maintain the critical trim of the aircraft during flight. 

This Air Ministry stamped Type VII 5D/1065 Bomb Release Timer Distributor is an original WWII veteran Bomber Command Unit. 

Mounted in its 100 yr old mango wood display stand with engraved plaque and highly detailed, custom built 1/72, 1/48 or super detailed 1/32 scale model of this iconic aircraft perched above on its removable magnetic arm, this original Recovery Curios WWII aviation collectable also comes with a full colour, laminated Fact Sheet featuring photos of the instrument in situ with details on its operation and the aircraft’s history.

As an added bonus, this Type VII 5D/1065 Bomb Release Timer Distributor also comes with its original padded wooden transport box.

What an incredible and memorable gift for the aviation enthusiast in your life!

* 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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