Postage Stamp Collection PS5333AU

Postage Stamp Collection PS5333AU is a 1/150 scale diecast model of the Avro Lancaster B. I, G for George, squadron code AR-G of No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

G-George

The Avro Lancaster B1, known as “G for George”, flew ninety operational missions over Europe with No. 460 Squadron RAAF. Constructed in 1942 and retired from active service in 1944, the bomber is on exhibit at the Australian War Memorial, ACT, Australia.

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engine heavy bomber that served during World War II. It was developed from the twin-engine Avro Manchester and first took flight on January 9, 1941. The Lancaster entered service in early 1942 with No. 44 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Production of the Lancaster concluded in 1946, with a total of 7,377 airframes built; this total includes 430 aircraft manufactured in Canada. The RAF retired its last Lancasters in 1956, while the Canadian and Argentine Air Forces, as well as the French Navy, phased theirs out in 1964.

Variants of the Lancaster include the Lincoln bomber, the Lancastrian airliner, the York transport aircraft, and the Shackleton long-range maritime patrol aircraft.

The crew of the Lancaster consisted of seven members: a pilot, a flight engineer, a navigator, a bomb aimer/nose gunner, a wireless operator, and two gunners (one mid-upper and one rear).

The Lancaster is powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines, with two engines mounted on each wing. These engines drive de Havilland Hydromatic three-bladed propellers.

For armament, the Lancaster is equipped with eight machine guns: two in the nose turret, two in the upper turret, and four in the rear turret. Its internal bomb bay can carry up to 6,400 kg (14,000 lbs) of munitions, and its long, unobstructed design allows it to transport some of the largest bombs used by the RAF.