The Haynes workshop manual is a mixture of the practical and the historical. © Haynes

One of the most important aeroplanes of the Second World War, the Avro Lancaster, will be commemorated today May 22 2008 at the Royal Air Force Museum Hendon, when the Haynes owner’s workshop manual of the legendary British bomber is launched.

Veterans who flew the bomber, including Ron Clarke, the pilot of Phantom of the Ruhr, a Lancaster that survived 25 perilous operations, will be joined at the museum by authors Jarrod Cotter and Paul Blackah, who is also Chief Technician on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Produced with the full cooperation of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Haynes Avro Lancaster Manual offers a full technical insight into how the Lancaster is constructed, how it is flown and operated, and just like the publisher’s famous range of motor car manuals, the all-important details of how it is serviced and maintained to keep it airworthy.

Lancasters flew some of the most daring bomber operations of the war including the intrepid daylight attack on the MAN diesel engine factory in Bavaria in 1942; the legendary dams raid in 1943; and the attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944-45.

A Lancaster bomber in the RAF Museum, Hendon, collection. © RAF Museum, Hendon.

Its importance was such that the wartime commander of RAF Bomber Command, Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, claimed the plane was the “greatest single factor in winning the war.”

Agreeing with Harris, co-author of the Haynes manual, Jarrod Cotter, Deputy Editor of FlyPast magazine, told 24 Hour Museum:

“The Lancaster was vitally important to the war effort; it was so much more capable than some of the other bombers had been. Obviously it didn’t win the war on its own but it was of vital importance.”

“It was powered by four Rolls Royce Merlin engines which were very powerful and reliable engines and it could take a massive payload. I’ve spoken to Bomber Command crews and they always say what a difference it was to fly compared to some of the earlier bombers. It could also take a lot of damage and get back.”

Surprisingly, of the 7,377 Lancasters built only two survive today in an airworthy condition - one in Britain, the other in Canada. A third is capable of ground running at the Yorkshire Air Museum, East Kirkby.

The powerful and robust Lancaster gave Bomber Command a chance to strike Germany effectively for the first time. © RAF Museum, Hendon.

The manual contains servicing and technical information, weaved together with historical information and although it is not aimed at people who want to keep a Lancaster airworthy, it explains how the crew go about flying the Battle of Britain memorial plane with insights from the pilot, navigator and the flight engineer.

“It’s a balance between historical information and technical information,” added Jarrod. “We’ve worked hard to get the right balance so that whether you are a keen aviation enthusiast or a military enthusiast there will be something that interests you.”

The manual is not the first foray into the technical specifications of World War Two warplanes, and joins the 2006 publication of the Haynes Supermarine Spitfire Manual, based on the restoration of the Spitfire Mk XVI at RAF Coningsby and was written by Dr Alfred Price and Paul Blackah, RRP: £17.99, hardback.

AVRO LANCASTER (1941 onwards all marks), An Owner’s Workshop Manual, written by Jarrod Cotter and Paul Blackah is published by Haynes priced £17.99.