BOMB LOADS

The Lancaster’s huge 33 feet-long bomb bay, a legacy of the torpedo-carrying capacity of its predecessor the Manchester, made it by far the most effective heavy bomber of the European theatre. Standard Lancasters could carry up to 14,000lb, compared with a maximum of 8,000lb on the American B-17 Flying Fortress. But towards the end of the war, some specialist Lancasters were carrying huge 22,000lb Grand Slam earthquake bombs. Altogether, the Lancasters dropped: 608,612 tons of explosives 51 million incendiaries. The amount of high explosives dropped by the Lancaster would have been enough to fill a goods train 345 miles long