Way back in 1971-72,I was serving in RAF, at RAF Unit Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. (Servicing V-Bombers ) In a Canadian Aviation magazine I saw a picture of a Lancaster fitted with huge floats parked on a big Lake, somewhere in Canada, but have a feeling it was was over Vancouver way.
It was a Water Bomber, but I cannot remember the name of the Company that ran it. Or the Plane number. The floats appeared to be attached to the main U/C with huge aerofoil section “spats.” (For want of a better word ) and the Lanc was sitting horizontal to the water.
This has bugged me down the years as to -who? what ? where ?etc. And I’ve never found out any more about the set-Up, or found any one who has known of it either. So it seems like a good time to mention this in here and hope the Canadian members might know something.
Having a search in recent times, coughed up that a Canadian North West Company purchased 6 Lancasters in 1960 and intended to convert them to water Bombers, but that was all I could find. Then found that:- North West Air (Think thats right) was running B-25 Mitchells as Water Bombers in 1973-5 and they had gotten hold of one Lancaster at that time that they were preparing as a Water Bomber and the project was abanded because of big problems with water tank in Bomb bay,(Or Tanks) so this Lanc. was sold to a chap in Scotland in 1975. 😮 ( I’m sure our UK Forumites will come up with info on this bit ).
I’d like to know if the pic I saw is of same Aircraft and would also like to know all about :- “The project”. and Previous / subsequent history, as I’m sure you folks would.
Over to you.
Bill T.
By: pogno - 17th October 2012 at 11:11
KB976 was being prepared for use as a water bomber in Canada with some stripping out being done in preperation, then the plans changed and it was sold and flown to the Strathallan collection in Scotland.
Its now with Kermit Weeks in Florida, in bits awaiting restoration.
As for a Lanc on floats, the biggest around would have been some from a Dakota as desctibed here.
(The Edo Corporation, of College Point, N.Y. designed, and built twin, 1-ton floats, (the largest floats ever built). Each float was 42 feet long, five feet, eight inches wide, and displaced 29,000 pounds of water. The cellular construction of each float had 14 separate water-tight compartments. Each float also had a 325 gallon fuel tank. The floats had fully retractable, hydraulic wheels, and could land on water, snow or land. The float rudders were connected to the air rudder).
They potentially could have been modified to fit the Lancaster Undercarriage attachment points but a fully laden DC3 only weighs about the same as a empty Lancaster, therefore the floats would have been impossibly small.
Seems unlikely unless someone knows differently.
Richard
By: Peter - 17th October 2012 at 03:04
I dont think KB976 got that far did it? I remember seeing pics of her with tanks fitted but wasnt she meant for loading at an airfield?
By: Mike J - 16th October 2012 at 23:59
If it is the one I’m thinking of, its mortal remains are in a number of containers stored behind the restoration shop at Fantasy of Flight in Florida.
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October 16, 2012 at 8:10 pm