Kirby, Robert The First of the Line

The Avro Manchester Stor

There are many books about the Lancaster, Halifax, Stirling and Wellington bombers, as well as numerous biographies and autobiographies written by their crew members. Less common, however, are authoritative books about the earlier aircraft, which were less successful but paved the way for the later Heavies that contributed significantly to the victory of the strategic bomber campaign against Germany in occupied Europe. One such largely overlooked aircraft was the Avro Manchester, the direct predecessor of the mighty Lancaster. Over a period of 18 months, 202 Manchesters with 538 Vulture engines completed only 1,264 missions of various types. The reason for the attention given here to a secondary model is the unbroken line of development between the Manchester and its successors. This is the only report that adequately addresses the initial challenges that arose in attempting to use this engine test aircraft as an operational bomber at the same time. It makes clear why it was a wise decision from a military standpoint to stick with it. Another incentive for researchers was that, although this aircraft was only produced in small numbers and used exclusively in the European theatre of war, the little that had been published about the aircraft, its engines and its career was, unfortunately, extremely inaccurate.