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LANCASTER FM212

OVERVIEW | LATEST | NEEDS | BACKGROUND See also PUBLICITY | Parramatter NEWSLETTER  

Avro Lancaster FM212 "up-the-pole" in Windsor, Ontario

OVERVIEW

Preservation of Canadian-built Avro Lancaster  FM212 in Windsor, Ontario.

THE Canadian Historical Aircraft Association (CH2A) and the good people of Windsor, Ontario are desperately trying to save this 1945 Canadian-built Mk.X Lancaster. Although currently in fantastic condition, the ravages of her outdoor existence "up-the-pole" in the Rose Test Memorial Garden in Jackson Park, will eventually preclude any possibility of preserving her for future generations, unless she can now be quickly taken indoors and conserved. 

Although built in 1945 in Canada by Victory Aircraft  and flown to the UK for operations, she never got to see active service in WWII. Nevertheless this does little to diminish her importance in the 21st Century as one of the few surviving complete Lancasters.

Post-war converted to a 10-P Photographic Prototype,  she went on to have an illustrious cold-war career monitoring  Russian activities in the Arctic, and with her camera arrays, photo-mapping vast tracts of Northern Canada. It's likely she also took past in the flypast of the last Lancasters in Canadian Service.

By some miracle she survived the blow-torch and was selected in 1964 for preservation as a memorial to the 400 aircrew from the Windsor region that lost their lives during WWII. Mounted on a plinth in Jackson Park, she has remained there to this day -  lovingly cared for in more recent years by volunteers from the CH2A.

LATEST

The momentous decision has been made to remove her from the plinth and transport to a new home at Windsor Airport. This is on condition that a special building will be completed first and a replacement fibreglass Hurricane or Spitfire be found. Various committees have been formed for the fund-raising efforts for the new building to house FM212, as well as the restoration and relocation work, and replacement memorial.

Work on FM212 by the CH2A is also ongoing. The main wheels on the Lancaster were extended, then retracted, by volunteers with the CH2A on Saturday July 10th 2004, about mid-day. It was the first time the gear has been lowered in 39 years, and was done to determine if the undercarriage is still in serviceable condition to carry the weight of the aircraft.  The only snag was a minor valve stem leak on the starboard tire, which was subsequently repaired.

NEEDS

Help and support in any shape or form, including membership.