Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Lancaster is one of only 2 flying Lancaster bombers in the world
Taken on Aug. 29, 2018 the awesome photos in this post feature Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 Demonstration Hornet flying with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Lancaster.
Noteworthy Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Lancaster is one of only 2 flying Lancasters in the world.
The Museum’s Lancaster Mk. X was built at Victory Aircraft, Malton in July 1945 and was later converted to a RCAF 10MR configuration. In 1952, it suffered a serious accident and received a replacement wing centre section from a Lancaster that had flown in combat over Germany.
It served as a maritime patrol aircraft, with No. 405 Squadron, Greenwood, NS and No. 107 Rescue Unit, Torbay, Newfoundland for many years and was retired from the RCAF in late 1963.
With help from the Sulley Foundation in 1977, it was acquired from the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich, Ontario, where it had been on outside display. According to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum website, eleven years passed before it was completely restored and flew again on Sep. 24, 1988.
The Lancaster is dedicated to the memory of P/O Andrew Mynarski and is referred to as the “Mynarski Memorial Lancaster”. It is painted in the colours of his aircraft KB726 – VR-A, which flew with RCAF No. 419 “Moose” Squadron.
Andrew Mynarski won the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry, on Jun. 13, 1944, when his Lancaster was shot down in flames, by a German night fighter. As the bomber fell, he attempted to free the tail gunner trapped in the rear turret of the blazing and out of control aircraft. The tail gunner miraculously survived the crash and lived to tell the story, but sadly Andrew Mynarski died from his severe burns.
Photo credit: Snowbird 10 Captain Blake McNaughton, Snowbird 11 Captain Robbie Hindle, and Patrick Cardinal / Royal Canadian Air Force
