Packard Forum Index » General

Our City has had the good fortune of hosting one of two WWII Lancaster bombers that are still in flying condition for the last week. The sound of four Packard Merlin engines roaring overhead is a special experience.

Attach file:

---

  (107.25 KB)


  (117.95 KB)


  (100.38 KB)


  (25.32 KB)

I also had the extreme pleasure of hearing those big Merlin engines when the Lancaster arrived in Thunder Bay.The bomber is named for Victoria Cross recipient Andrew Mynarski from Winnipeg Manitoba. Marvelous!

warplane.com/pages/aircraft_lancaster.html

Those Lancaster bombers are impressive. I can only imagine what one of them must sound like, like four Mustangs? They and the famous RAF Squadron 617 were featured in the "Dam Busters" movie. Those Merlin engines could have been made by Rolls Royce, Packard, Continental, or Ford of England; although, I believe most of the surviving Merlins are the Packard-built type. I can't read the text, but the illustration on the Packard ad "From Horseless Carriages to Multi Engine Bombers" is confusing as it pictures what appears to be the B-24 Liberator bomber. This airplane did not use Packard-built engines.

(o{I}o)

John, Unfortunately for me at least the Lancaster came in to the airport directly from Lake Superior and landed into a strong wind with the props feathered and the throttles barely above idle. The next day I was on my way to Toronto and never had the opportunity to hear the engines in "full song" during take off as the plane headed west.