Is this a Lancaster?

[wright61]

How about this a Fiat BR20

[Tony]

So it?s a French Potez, never heard of them before. Thanks for clearing that up.

Tony

[The Capstone]

It's a high-wing design, so I would agree that the French Potez is the most likely candidate.

Notice to the right, there appears to be a skeleton of another plane, perhaps another Potez? If it were an airframe, is it possible that this picture came from a captured French airfield?

Capstone

[John]

Fascinating posts guys.

Did this plane ever see action?

[wright61]

Heres a picture

[Ardent]

Ok, found this in a real old book, I am not sure what the tear drop shaped thing by the nose is?

VHF aerial?

[David Duxbury]

Hello,

Can anyone tel me if this aeroplane is a Lancaster or not?

I've always wanted a pic of a Lancaster with its crew only this crew will have to do for the time being.

Tony

Tony, I am absolutely certain that this aircraft is NOT, repeat NOT, a Lancaster, Halifax, Wellington, Beaufort, or Liberator (although I briefly thought it may be last named by shape of coskpit, and nose turret placement compared to location of cockpit), but the slab-sided box-section fuselage and strange "windows" a little further back make me think that this is something considerably older from a European manufacturer - perhaps French. The Bloch, Amiot and Potez companies produced some mighty ugly looking bombers prewar, usually high winged and two or four engines mounted alongside fuselage, the 4-engined type having pusher/puller engines mounted back to back so to speak. However my choice would have to be the Potez 540 of 1933 (entered service 1934), very slab-sided, high wing monoplane, nose turret, conventional tail surfaces, two Hispano Suiza V-12 engines driving 3-bladed metal propellers mounted low alongside fuselage. The main undercarriage units retracted into the lower regions of the engine nacelles, which appear to be attached to the fuselage by stub wings, or possibly struts. The wing is strut braced by large parallel lift stuts (as in Catalian flying boats), and there is a mid-upper turret which would make it quite an advanced aircraft for its day. It also has rear fuselage windows apparently identical in design to the aircraft in your photograph. Also important is fact that this type was still in ervice with the Armee de l'Air in 1939/40. What do you think? (Find a photo by googling) Some (49) were also delivered to the Spanish Air Force in 1936, and according to my information ("The Bomber Aircraft Pocketbook" by Roy Cross, published 1964, pages 84/85) over 210 were delivered to the French Air Force, and "the last remnants were still in use in North Africa for transport duties in 1943".

David D

[Tony]

Tony, I am absolutely certain that this aircraft is NOT, repeat NOT, a Lancaster, Halifax, Wellington, Beaufort, or Liberator (although I briefly thought it may be last named by shape of coskpit, and nose turret placement compared to location of cockpit), but the slab-sided box-section fuselage and strange "windows" a little further back make me think that this is something considerably older from a European manufacturer - perhaps French. The Bloch, Amiot and Potez companies produced some mighty ugly looking bombers prewar, usually high winged and two or four engines mounted alongside fuselage, the 4-engined type having pusher/puller engines mounted back to back so to speak. However my choice would have to be the Potez 540 of 1933 (entered service 1934), very slab-sided, high wing monoplane, nose turret, conventional tail surfaces, two Hispano Suiza V-12 engines driving 3-bladed metal propellers mounted low alongside fuselage. The main undercarriage units retracted into the lower regions of the engine nacelles, which appear to be attached to the fuselage by stub wings, or possibly struts. The wing is strut braced by large parallel lift stuts (as in Catalian flying boats), and there is a mid-upper turret which would make it quite an advanced aircraft for its day. It also has rear fuselage windows apparently identical in design to the aircraft in your photograph. Also important is fact that this type was still in ervice with the Armee de l'Air in 1939/40. What do you think? (Find a photo by googling) Some (49) were also delivered to the Spanish Air Force in 1936, and according to my information ("The Bomber Aircraft Pocketbook" by Roy Cross, published 1964, pages 84/85) over 210 were delivered to the French Air Force, and "the last remnants were still in use in North Africa for transport duties in 1943".

David D

David,

I wish they had always written what they had photographed on the back of their photos, including names, ranks and units of any soldiers in the background, where the photo was taken & exact date.

Thanks for your reply and welcome to the forum.

Tony

Edited January 27, 2007 by Tony

[David Duxbury]

David,

I wish they had always written what they had photographed on the back of their photos, including names, ranks and units of any soldiers in the background, where the photo was taken & exact date.

Thanks for your reply and welcome to the forum.

Tony

Tony,

Glad I could be of assistance. Actually you may have noticed that I was so busy looking up my reference books that I did not even notice there was a "Part 2" to your thread, which included fact that the other readers were on to it too! Still, I got there in the end, and it was only a matter of time - they even had an excellent picture of it already on the thread. A great hunt!

David D from New Zealand

[Alex K]

Hi guys my moneys on an Avro Manchester, the earlier and smaller version of a lancaster, or possible a Hudson

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...l%3Den%26sa%3DG

regards

Alex

Edited April 18, 2007 by Alex K

[Luftwaffe Rules]

Its not a Brit plane, one can tell that from the way the rear tail plan is painted. Its definitely a French Bloch or Potez. All the best, Jon

[Alex K]

I stand corrected, it is a Potez

regards

[Laurence Strong]

Cool. We can wrap this one up

[Wilco]

Indeed its an Potez 540/542

[Tony]

Thanks everyone. It's a great photo and I'm glad it's mine

Tony

[Syd-elnik]

This French Potez-541

Edited July 8, 2010 by Syd-elnik

[Syd-elnik]