The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

developed and manufactured by the

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful four-engined

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

, which was one of the most capable

strategic bomber A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, ...

s of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Avro designed the Manchester in conformance with the requirements laid out by the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

Specification P.13/36, which sought a capable

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

with which to equip the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) and to replace its inventory of twin-engine bombers, such as the

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

and

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

. Performing its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

on 25 July 1939, the Manchester entered squadron service in November 1940, just over twelve months after the outbreak of the war. Operated by both RAF and the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF), the Manchester came to be regarded as an operational failure, primarily as a result of its

Rolls-Royce Vulture The Rolls-Royce Vulture was a British aero engine developed shortly before World War II that was designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. The Vulture used the unusual " X-24" configuration, whereby four cylinder blocks derived from the ...

engines, which were underdeveloped and hence underpowered and unreliable, and production was terminated in 1941. However, the Manchester was redesigned into a four-engined heavy bomber, powered by the

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...

engine instead, which became known as the Lancaster.

Development

The Manchester has its origins in a design produced by Avro in order to fulfil the British

's Specification P.13/36. This was the same specification to which

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...

had also produced their initial design for what would become the Halifax bomber. Issued in May 1936, Specification P.13/36 called for a twin-engine monoplane "

" for "worldwide use", which was to be capable of carrying out shallow (30°)

dive bombing A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughou ...

attacks and carry heavy bombloads (8,000 lb/3,630 kg) or two 18 in (457 mm)

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es.Lewis 1974, p. 299.Bowyer 1974, p. 25. Additionally, it had to feature provisions to conduct catapult assisted takeoffs, which would permit the carriage of the maximum payload, was also a stated requirement, although this provision was explicitly removed in July 1938.Bowyer 1974, p. 29. The envisioned cruising speed of the bomber was to be a minimum of 275 mph at 15,000 feet.Mason 1994, p. 323. The Air Ministry had expectations for an aircraft of similar weight to the B.1/35 specification, but smaller and faster. Avro had already started work on a corresponding design prior to having received a formal invitation to tender. The company was in competition with Boulton Paul, Bristol, Fairey, Handley Page and Shorts. Vickers also had its Warwick, which had Napier Sabre engines, but eventually chose against tendering it. In early 1937, both the Avro design and the rival Handley Page HP.56 were accepted and prototypes of both ordered; but in mid-1937, the Air Ministry exercised their rights to order the types "off the drawing board". This skipping of the usual process was necessary due to the initiation of a wider expansion of the RAF in expectation of large scale war in Europe. From 1939, it was expected that the P.13/36 would begin replacing the RAF's existing medium bombers, such as the

and

. The Avro design used the

24-cylinder X-block engine, which was two

Rolls-Royce Peregrine The Rolls-Royce Peregrine was a , liquid-cooled V-12 aero engine designed and built by the British manufacturer Rolls-Royce in the late 1930s. It was essentially the ultimate development of the company's Kestrel engine, which had seen wides ...

Vee cylinder blocks mounted one on top of the other, the bottom one inverted to give the "X" shape.Bowyer 1974, p. 26. When developed in 1935, the Vulture engine had promise — it was rated at 1,760 hp (1,310 kW) but it proved woefully unreliable and had to be derated to 1,480–1,500 hp (1,100–1,120 kW). Avro's prototype Manchester ''L7246'', was assembled by their experimental department at Manchester's Ringway Airport and first flew from there on 25 July 1939, with the second aircraft following on 26 May 1940. The Vulture engine was chosen by Avro and not stipulated by the Air Ministry as is sometimes claimed; other engine layouts considered included the use of two Bristol Hercules or Bristol Centaurus

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

s. The Handley Page HP.56, always intended as the backup to the Avro, was redesigned to take four engines on the orders of the Air Ministry in 1937, when the Vulture was already showing problems. While the Manchester was designed with a

twin tail A twin tail is a specific type of vertical stabilizer arrangement found on the empennage of some aircraft. Two vertical stabilizers—often smaller on their own than a single conventional tail would be—are mounted at the outside of the aircra ...

, the first production aircraft, designated the Mk I, had a central fin added and twenty aircraft like this were built. They were succeeded by the Mk IA which reverted to the twin-fin system but used enlarged, taller fin and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s mounted on a new

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

, with span increased from 22 ft (6.71 m) to 33 ft (10.06 m). This configuration was carried over to the Lancaster, except for the first prototype, which also used a central fin and was a converted, unfinished Manchester.Lake 2002, p. 89. Avro constructed 177 Manchesters while

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

completed 32 aircraft. Plans for

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

and

Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...

at Stockport/Ringway to build the Manchester were abandoned. Fairey's order for 150 Manchesters was replaced by orders for the Halifax.

Design

The Avro Manchester was designed with great consideration for ease of manufacture and repair.Flight 1942, p. 555. The fuselage of the aircraft comprised longitudinal stringers or longerons throughout, over which an external skin of aluminium alloy was flush-riveted for a smooth external surface. The wings were of a two-spar construction, the internal ribs being made of aluminium alloys; fuel was contained with several self-sealing fuel tanks within the wings. The tail shared a similar construction to the wing, featuring a twin fin-and-rudder configuration that provided good vision for the dorsal gunner.Flight 1942, p. 556. The cockpit housed the pilot and fighting controller's position underneath the canopy, and these two crew members were provided with all-round vision. The navigator was seated aft of the fighting controller and the position included an

astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

for use of a

sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...

. The bomb aimer's station was housed inside the aircraft's nose, beneath the forward turret and bomb aiming was conducted using optical sights housed in this compartment.Flight 1942, p. 557. For crew comfort on lengthy missions, a rest area was situated just to the rear of the main cabin.Bowyer 1974, p. 28. The aircraft's undercarriage was entirely retractable via hydraulic systems, or in an emergency, a backup air system. The doors to the

bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over t ...

were also operated by these systems, an additional safety measure was installed to ensure that the bombs could not be dropped if the doors were shut. The bombs were housed on bomb racks inside the internal bomb bay, and other armaments such as torpedoes could also be fitted. All fuel tankage was located in the wings in order to keep the fuselage free to accommodate more armaments in the bomb bay which covered nearly two-thirds of the underside of the fuselage. Vulnerable parts of the aircraft were armoured; the pilot had additional armour and bulletproof glass and an armoured bulkhead was to the rear of the navigator's position. The Manchester featured three hydraulically-operated turrets, located in the nose, rear and mid-upper fuselage; the addition of a

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...

turret directly behind the bomb bay had been considered and tested on the second prototype, but did not feature on production aircraft. Access to all crew stations was provided by a walkway and crew positions had nearby escape hatches. The Manchester was powered by a pair of Vulture engines; in service these proved to be extremely unreliable. Aviation author Jon Lake stated of the Vulture: "The engine made the Manchester mainly notable for its unreliability, poor performance, and general inadequacy to the task at hand" and attributed the aircraft's poor service record to the engine troubles.

I was one of the six original pilots to have flown with the first Manchester squadron. That was a disaster. The aircraft itself, the airframe, had many shortcomings in equipment in the beginning, but as we found out Avro were excellent in doing modifications and re-equipping the aeroplane. The engines never were and never did become reliable. They did not give enough power for the aeroplane, so we ended up with two extremely unreliable 1,750 hp engines having to haul a 50,000-pound aircraft. We should really have had 2,500 hp engines. You felt that if you'd lost one, that was it, you weren't coming home. It didn't matter if you feathered the propeller or not. There was only one way you went and that was down. I have seen an aircraft doing a run up on the ground and have two pistons come right out through the side of the engine. The original bearings were made without any silver as an economy measure, so they weren't hard enough. The bearings would collapse the connecting rod and the piston would fling out through the side of the engine and bang! Your engine just destroyed itself.

Operational history

On 5 August 1940, the first production Avro Manchester, ''L7276'', was delivered to

RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

in advance of service acceptance trials. In November 1940, the Manchester officially entered service with the newly reformed No. 207 Squadron of

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

. The type passed all acceptance tests by 21 December 1940, and 207 Squadron had at least 80 Manchesters on strength by the end of 1940. The Manchester's first operational mission was conducted on 24–25 February 1941 in a raid on the French port of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

.Thetford 1957 On 13 March 1941, ''L7319'' became the first Manchester to be shot down by enemy fire.Bowyer 1974, p. 31. On 13 April 1941, all Manchesters were temporarily grounded due to a higher than expected number of engine bearing failures; on 16 June 1941, a second grounding of the type was ordered due to more engine troubles.Bowyer 1974, p. 32. The unserviceability of the Vulture engine forced squadrons to make use of obsolete bombers such as the Hampden in its place. Upon the restart of operations in August 1941, additional failings were encountered; excessive tail flutter, hydraulic failures and faulty propeller feathering controls.Bowyer 1974, p. 33. Production of the Manchester was halted in November 1941, by which point a total of 202 aircraft had been constructed. A total of eight bomber squadrons were equipped with the type, it also served in two further squadrons and also saw use by

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

Inside 207 Squadron Avro Manchester WWII IWM CH 3884

While modifications were made by Avro to address some of the technical issues experienced, unit strength suffered and Bomber Command was frequently unable to raise significant numbers of aircraft to participate in large bombing missions; on 7 November 1941, all of the RAFs serviceable bombers had been dispatched to bomb

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, out of a force of over 400 bombers, only 15 were Manchesters.Bowyer 1974, p. 34. On 3 March 1942, out of a force of nearly 200 bombers sent against a

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

factory near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 25 were Manchesters;Bowyer 1974, p. 35. while during the first 1,000 bomber raid on

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

on 30 May 1942, 35 Manchesters were amongst the 1,047 bombers sent to attack the city.Bowyer 1974, p. 38. Flying Officer Leslie Manser was posthumously awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his actions while piloting Manchester ''L7301'' of 50 Squadron during the Cologne bombing mission. The Mk III Manchester (

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''BT308'') which first flew on 9 January 1941, was essentially the first Lancaster, featuring a longer wing fitted with four Rolls-Royce Merlins in new unitized,

power-egg A power-egg is a complete "unitized" modular engine installation, consisting of engine and all ancillary equipment, which can be swapped between suitably designed equipment, with standardised quick-changing attachment points and connectors. In a ...

nacelles – originally developed by Rolls-Royce for the Merlin-powered Beaufighter II – although initially retaining the three fins and twin outboard rudders (the central fin had no movable control surface) of the Manchester I. ''BT308'' received the "Lancaster" name immediately after its first flight. The second prototype Lancaster ''DG595'' featured the twin, enlarged fins and rudders of the Manchester IA. Manchester production continued until November of that year but some aircraft that were still in production were instead completed as Lancasters. The 193 operational Manchesters flew 1,269 sorties with Bomber Command, dropping 1,826 tons (1,657 tonnes) of bombs and lost 78 aircraft in action, flying its last operation against

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

on 25 June 1942.Jackson 1990, p. 356.Bowyer 1974, p. 43. A further 45 were non-operational losses of which 30 involved engine failure. The Manchester was withdrawn from operations in mid-1942 in favour of more capable aircraft. Its final role in RAF service was as instructional trainers for converting crews to the RAF's new Lancaster bombers; the Manchester and Lancaster shared nearly identical crew positions and fuselages. The type persisted in use for training purposes into 1943 before being completely retired.

Variants

;Manchester ''L7246'' :First prototype originally with twin tail. Due to lack of directional stability, it had a third fin added. Became a training airframe in November 1942. ;Manchester ''L7247'' :Second prototype first flown 26 May 1940, fitted with armament, became a training airframe in October 1941. ;Manchester I :First production version with 90 ft wing and 28 ft twin tail and additional central fin later added; 20 of this type were built. ;Manchester IA :Main production version with 90 ft wing, twin tail with 33 ft enlarged tailplane. It also had taller fins and rudders. ;Manchester IB :As Manchester IA but with thin-gauge fuselage skin. ;Manchester IC :As Manchester IB but with 2 x 2,520 hp Bristol Centaurus. Installed in one airframe but never flown. ;Manchester II :As Manchester IB but with 95 ft wing. ;Manchester IIA :As Manchester II but with 2 x Bristol Centaurus. None built. ;Manchester III ''BT308'' :This version was powered by four Merlin engines with increased wingspan; also, the three fins and rudders of the Manchester I were retained. This variant was the first prototype of the later

Orders and production

* Two prototypes were ordered against specification P.13/36 and were built by Avro at Ringway. * Production contract for 200 Manchesters placed with Avro to be built at Chadderton, contract changed to Lancaster I production after 157 had been built, delivered between August 1940 and November 1941. * Production contract for 150 Manchesters placed with Fairey to be built at Ringway, order cancelled. * Production contract for 200 Manchesters placed with Metropolitan-Vickers at Trafford Park, contract changed to Lancaster I production after 43 had been built, delivered between March 1941 and March 1942. The first 12 aircraft being built on the Trafford Park production line were destroyed in a German air raid on 23 December 1940, not being completed they are not included in the total aircraft built. * Production contract for 150 Manchesters placed with Armstrong-Whitworth, order cancelled. In total two prototypes and 200 production aircraft were built before the production lines changed to building the four-engine Lancaster.

Operators

; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

** No. 460 Squadron RAAF (August 1942 - October 1942) ; *

No. 408 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

No. 420 Squadron RCAF No. 420 "City of London" Squadron RCAF was a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) (and subsequently Canadian Forces) which existed from late December 1941 forwards. The Squadron's nickname was "Snowy Owl". Their motto was ''Pugnam ...

; *

** No. 49 Squadron RAF at RAF Scampton (April 1942 – June 1942) ** No. 50 Squadron RAF at RAF Skellingthorpe (April 1942 – June 1942) **

No. 61 Squadron RAF No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in t ...

at RAF Hemswell (June 1941 – June 1942) ** No. 83 Squadron RAF at RAF Scampton (December 1941 – June 1942) ** No. 97 Squadron RAF at RAF Waddington then RAF Coningsby (February 1941 – February 1942) ** No. 106 Squadron RAF at RAF Coningsby (February 1942 – June 1942) ** No. 207 Squadron RAF at RAF Waddington then RAF Bottesford (November 1940 – March 1942) ** No. 25 Operation Training Unit at RAF Finningley ** No. 44 Conversion Flight ** No. 1485 Flight RAF ** No. 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit ** No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit ** No. 1660 Heavy Conversion Unit ** No. 1668 Heavy Conversion Unit ** Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment ** Torpedo Development Unit at RAF Gosport

Specifications (Manchester Mk I)

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

"Avro Manchester – Details and Performance of Our Heaviest Twin-engined Bomber."
''Flight International'', 4 June 1942. pp. 555–557. * Bowyer, Chaz. ''Aircraft Profile No. 260: Avro Manchester.'' Windsor, UK: Profile Publications, 1974. * Buttler, Tony. ''British Secret Projects: Fighters and Bombers 1935–1950.'' Hickley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. . * Jackson, A.J. ''Avro Aircraft since 1908''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, Second edition, 1990. . * Lake, Jon. ''The Great Book of Bombers: The World's Most Important Bombers from World War I to the Present Day.'' Zenith Imprint, 2002. . * Lewis, Peter. ''The British Bomber since 1914.'' London: Putnam, Second edition, 1974. . * "Manchesters". ''Aeromilitaria No. 2''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK:

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled "The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts", is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Brit ...

(Historians) Ltd., 1990. * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914.'' London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. . * Sinnott, Colin. ''The RAF and Aircraft Design 1923–1939: Air Staff Operational Requirements'' (Studies in Air Power). London: Frank Cass, 2001. . * Thetford, Owen. ''Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57.'' London: Putnam, First edition, 1957. . ;Further reading * Chant, Christopher. ''Lancaster: The History of Britain's Most Famous World War II Bomber''. Bath, UK: Parragon, 2003. . * Holmes, Harry. ''Avro: The History of an Aircraft Company''. Marlborough, UK: Crowood Press Ltd, Second edition, 2004. . * Holmes, Harry. ''Avro Lancaster (Combat Legend series)''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2002. . * Jackson, Robert. ''Aircraft of World War II''. Enderby, UK: Silverdale Books, 2006. . * Kirby, Robert. ''Avro Manchester: The Legend Behind the Manchester''. Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 1995. . * Mackay, R.S.G. ''Lancaster in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1982. .

External links

Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary – Avro Manchester

History, Specifications and Pictures of the Avro Manchester

The Lancaster & Manchester Bomber Archive

1941 British Pathe news report on the newly introduced Avro Manchester

a 1942 ''Flight'' article {{Authority control Conventional landing gear

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

1930s British bomber aircraft World War II British bombers Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939 Twin-tail aircraft