The last two airworthy Lancasters ....

Of the 7377 Lancasters that were built, only 17 survive in complete form; here is information their current location, status, and history of these surviving Lancasters.

Of these 17 complete aircraft, only two Lancasters still airworthy, one in Canada (FM213) and one in Britain (PA474).

The Canadian Lancaster is usually referred to as "Vera", due to her VR-A squadron code.

"Vera" was briefly repainted as "Ropey" in 2014.

The British Lancaster, PA474, is owned by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. During her stay with BBMF, she has been painted with a range of different nose arts and squadron codes. Among this variation in nose arts are "Mickey the Moocher", "Phantom of the Ruhr", and "Thumper".

And here is a video from 2014, when "Vera" met "Thumper"!

Most recently, PA474 has sported the "City of Lincoln" nose art.

Of course, I have been looking for at least one model of PA474, and I actually managed to get my hands on two (I keep looking for more, of course).

First of all, the most common model of PA474 on eBay and other sites is her as "City of Lincoln".

But I also stumbled across one as "Mickey the Moocher".

Back to the real PA474, I've never seen her fly, and it will take some time before that opportunity could become reality. One of only two remaining airworthy Lancasters is currently grounded and undergoing major maintenance. Bringing us back to models again, you could say she sort of resembles a giant Airfix model at the moment!

In a replica Lancaster cockpit

Last summer, we spent a good part of a day at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection near Salisbury. Among the many whole and partial aircraft they have on display is a replica of the front part of a Lancaster, including the cockpit and front turret.

Needless to say we took the opportunity to get inside! 

Getting to the cockpit, past a table with maps and radio equipment, showed that the inside of a Lancaster, no matter how big an aircraft it is, feels rather claustrophobic. Hard to imagine how it must have felt for the crew in the 1940s, flying at night, through flak and at constant risk of being shot down ...

Space inside the actual cockpit is a bit less cramped, and centre stage are the switches and dials for the four Merlin engines. 

We were not allowed to crawl into the front turret, due to health & safety regulations .... 

There is no original Lancaster at Boscombe, but they did have a diorama next to the replica cockpit.