BBMF Lancaster fire?

[gumbyk]

Anyone know anything about this? Came across it on FB. Hopefully its nothing too serious.

 

[GregP]

Depends ... I'm thinking, of course, about the main spar.

 

[pbehn]

When was the picture taken? During the recent visit of the Canadian Lanc one of them had engine trouble resulting in a lot of smoke. Happily this resulted in me seeing a lanc flying over my mothers house as we set off to put flowers on her brothers ex bomber command brothers grave, unforgettable moment.

I hope hey havnt had more trouble.

 

[vikingBerserker]

That just makes me cringe!

 

[buffnut453]

I'm thinking those photos are a bit dated - the trees in the bottom pic have no leaves on them.

 

[gumbyk]

It was the BBMF Lancaster, apparently an engine fire during practice.
BREAKING: BBMF Lancaster Bomber catches fire at RAF Coningsby this afternoon - Boston Standard

Lancaster bomber mid-air engine fire - BBC News

I'd be worried about the foam. It fairly corrosive and there's going to be some major work to get it all out of the airframe.

 

[Crimea_River]

yikes.

 

[Capt. Vick]

Well it didn't crash so...

 

[nuuumannn]

Well it didn't crash so...

Yes, professional effort by the crew to get her down safely. That'll dampen a few airshow visit during the upcoming season, what with B of B anniversary this year.

 

[gumbyk]

Just saw this pic come through twitter. Hopefully this is the extent of the damage, it looks like it was contained forward of the firewall:

 

[Gnomey]

Damn! Hopefully the damage isn't too bad and the airshow circuit for the summer isn't too badly affected. Professional job by the crew insuring no further damage was done.

 

[Wildcat]

Glad they made it down OK!!

 

[GregP]

Ahead of the fire2wall is a very GOOD thing ... no spar dmage is likely, just things relatively easily fixed in comparison with the spar.

 

[GrauGeist]

How many times did a Lanc come back to it's base trailing smoke during the war?

That has to be one of the rarest photos of the modern age you can possibly imagine...

 

[Airframes]

My first thoughts are an oil fire - but note that this is a guess, not a statement of fact, based on the airborne photo, and the latest shot of the close-up of the engine bay.
I might be wrong, but it didn't look too intense, and the 'smoke' seen on the ground shot, with the fire crew in action, is the effect of the AFFF media, which 'billows' and turns smokey-grey on contact. This fire-fighting media is synthetic, and nowhere near as corrosive as the older, bio-based foams.
Also, a photo on BBC local news, showing the aircraft landing, from the starboard side, showed a relatively light trail of smoke, more consistent with burning materials such as hoses or insulation, rather than fuel (for example), with no flame visible.
As for the main spar, PA474 was re-sparred about four years ago, the only Lanc ever to have been so treated and, with the spar some ten feet or more aft of the 'seat' of the fire, and utilising new, heavier gauge material, damage to this area would be unlikely.
That said, it's going to take some time to remove the engine, and strip, examine and replace all the ancliliary systems, as well as the engine bearers etc, which, of course, will be done thoroughly by the BBMF, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Lanc is missing from all of this year's venues.

 

[stona]

How many times did a Lanc come back to it's base trailing smoke during the war?

Many times but they usually left a rather larger pall of smoke over some unfortunate German city

I'm sure many here will remember the old Airfix box art by Roy Cross, featuring a Lancaster with an engine out and on fire, making a landing.

Cheers

Steve

 

[bobbysocks]

i heard it will not be in the upcoming memorial fly-by and probably will not get into the air until mid june. i am happy they were able to get her to the ground where the fire sept was ready and waiting...and not like the b17 Liberty belle that burned up in the farmers field in illinois

 

[gumbyk]

i heard it will not be in the upcoming memorial fly-by and probably will not get into the air until mid june. i am happy they were able to get her to the ground where the fire sept was ready and waiting...and not like the b17 Liberty belle that burned up in the farmers field in illinois

Mid June if they are lucky. I'm not too sure what their spares situation is like, but to me that looks like more than 6 weeks of work. Probably two weeks just in a thorough assessment.