ENGINES

Most Lancasters were powered by the excelle Rolls-Royce Merlin XX liquid-cooled V12 engine. During a mission to Berlin, each Merlin would make one and a quarter million revolutions, consuming fuel at a rate of 200 gallons an hour. But, as with its bomb bay, the Lancaster had a huge fuel capacity. Its six fuel tanks in the wings could carry 2,154 gallons. One variation of the Lancaster was the Mark III, with air-cooled, reduced significantly Bristol Hercules the plane’s heavier engines, but these were performance than the Merlin, which