Enthusiasts rebuild ‘Grand Slam’ Lancaster

Volunteers are painstakingly rebuilding a historic Lancaster aircraft that dropped the first “earthquake” bomb that helped shorten the Second World War.

None of the 13 Avro Lancaster B1 Specials that were adapted to carry the 22,000lb “Grand Slam” bombs exist today. A team of 15 aviation enthusiasts are reconstructing its 14ft-long cockpit using original plans salvaged from a factory fire in the Seventies.

The £100,000 project is taking place at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum Airfield in Wiltshire and is being bankrolled by an anonymous private benefactor.