The end of WWII did not mean the end of the Lancaster. It was simply too useful an aircraft to send them all to the scrapyard. There was an overseas market of sorts for the type and a fair number saw service there. They were also sent to overseas RAF units that had previously not had Lancasters. In addition, there were new build variants that did not see wartime service such as the B.VII as well as the ASR and GR reconnaissance versions. Add to this the conversion of many to Lancastrian transports and airliners as well as a fairly large number of these planes that were used for trials aircraft to test a variety of new gas turbine engines and you can see that the Lanc did not simply disappear into razor blades.

This lated book in the Airframe and Miniatures series covers all these post war military types as well as the Lancastrian. This editon follows a familiar format with a background history, a look at the different variants, the camouflage schemes worn by the aircraft (which includes a lot of full color profiles), and a set of detail drawings of each different variation on the scheme. Even post war there are a large number of variations on the theme. A full listing of all the Lancastrians built and a short history of each plane is provided. There is also a large colors and markings section thanks to the variety of schemes these planes carried. Foreign operators are also widely covered.

 In addition to this, you have a fairly complete modelers section. This one limits itself to the scope of this book so the sheer volume is fairly reduced from the previous volume. There is one build article on the HK Models 1/32 Lancasterl One section I particularly like is the 'building the Lancaster' set of drawings which starts with the Manchester prototype and then proceeds to show every external detail change, no matter how small. A real boon for those who want to get things just right. Then there is a detail section which uses both images from extant airframes as well as a plethora of period photos and drawings from the technical manuals as well as some from extant airframes. Next are listings for all the different kits on the post war Lancaster and Lancastrian. This is also true of decals, accessory sets, and books. The last pages of the book are 1/48 plans for several versions in a huge multi-page fold-out. 

Overall, this makes this THE book to have on the Lancaster. In order to have the full story you really need to add to it the previous volume. That will make over 540 pages of Lancaster information.  It is one of my favorite book series. It is a book for which I can easily provide my highest recommendation.

July 2023

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