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Lincoln and new radio & navigation equipment. Other changes saw the installation of the landing gear that was to be used on the Avro The Rolls-Royce Merlin 24 engine was installed, along with the necessary tropical engine modifications. Firstly instead of the normal seven man crew this was reduced to six and With the second convoy leaving on the 23rd July and this was known as Vacuum.ĭue to the very different conditions of the Pacific compared to Europe a number of modifications were made to the Lancaster. Two convoys were soon on their way, the first left Liverpool on the 20th June and was known as Shield. The British and the Americans would share the engineering and logistics of building theĪirfields and Okinawa was just 400 miles south of Japan, well within the Lancaster's range. Whilst thisĪirfield would only have space for half of the 20 'Tiger Force' squadrons there were two main benefits. The British and Americans had seen the US Chiefs of Staff propose the use of an airfield on Okinawa for the 'Tiger Force' which Winston Churchill approved on the 4th June 1945. Prior to the end of this battle negotiations between On the 1st April 1945 the Allies invaded the Okinawa Islands, known as ' Operation Iceberg', and this battle would last until the 22nd June 1945. Require at least 100,000 men, not to mention the machines and logistics to support this endeavour.Īvro Lancaster in the 'Tiger Force' camouflage scheme of white and black © Whichever option was chosen the major phase of construction would The second option was that the Royal Air Force built its own airbases from scratch.
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Miles away from the force's envisaged targets. Two of the early options, neither of which was ideal, was to be based in the Philippines at North Luzon, which at best was 1,000 One of the major headaches was where the new force would be based.
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There were also some new additions with four transport and one each of an air-sea rescue, pathfinder and photo Refuelling plan was also shelved and the 36 heavy bomber squadrons reduced to 20. This saw the six long range fighter squadrons dropped from the order of battle, the air-to-air This would become known as the 'Tiger Force' on the 24th February 1945 with Air Marshal Sir Hugh Lloyd being appointed its commander.Īs planning continued during early 1945 the end of April saw the make up of the force changed. A number of B-24 Liberators and Lancasters would also be converted to tankers for air-to-air refuelling. Alongside this the Australian First TacticalĪir Force, equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire and Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk,Īlong with the United States Far East Air Force, equipped with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang, would also be Mk II and the de Havilland Hornet, when it became available. Six long range fighter squadrons comprising a number of aircraft including the Hawker Tempest These plans would see three groups each comprising of 12 heavy bomber squadrons equipped with either the Lancaster,Ĭonsolidated B-24 Liberator and the Avro Lincoln The 23rd November 1944 saw 'Operation Mould' unveiled.
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#LANCASTER BOMBER CREW NUMBERS HOW TO#
The major obstacles for this plan was the availability of airfields in range of JapanĪnd how to get, not only the Lancasters and their crews, but all the necessary support staff and infrastructure the nearly 14,000 miles by sea to the Pacific theatre which would take around The US Chiefs of Staff, in principle, accepted the offer of the Lancaster squadrons on the 27th October 1944. The Pacific, only once the hostilities in Europe had ceased, to be made by Churchill to the United States. This lead to an offer for 40 Lancaster squadrons to be made available for use in Roosevelt.ĭuring these the idea of using Avro Lancaster's of Bomber Command to attack targets in Japan was raised. Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. The make up of the 'Tiger Force' is changed.Ĭhurchill approves the use of bases on Okinawa.įirst 'Tiger Force' convoy leaves Liverpool.īetween the 12th and 16th September a number of meetings were held between the American and British Governments involving British Prime Minster Air Marshal Sir Hugh Lloyd appointed commander of the 'Tiger Force'.