Avro Lancaster Mk.I - British users part twelve

The Avro Lancaster was regarded by the German ace Adolf Galland (who, at the time the Lancaster entered service, he was the commander of the German fighter command) as the "best night bomber of the war". Same did his adversary, Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris who referred it as the RAF's shining sword. According to some historians, the Lancaster was overpraised, however, in a pardonable fashion.
The squadrons covered today are:

• No.15 Squadron: This squadron received the Avro Lancaster Mk.I, together with the Mk.III in December 1943 at RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk. In the autumn 1944 this squadron undertook the daylight precision bombing role through the clouds with the aid of the radar known as G-H. Their last raid was on 22nd April 1945 when they attacked Bremen and, before the German surrender, they took part on the Operation Manna, which we have already posted about before. After the war they retained the Avro Lancasters until 1947 when they were replaced by the more advanced Avro Lincoln.
• No.57 Squadron: The Vickers Wellingtons were replaced by the Avro Lancaster in September 1942 and they took part in the famous raid against Schneider works at Le Creusot, in France. In November 1942 they received the honour of being visited by HM King George VI followed early the next year, in 1943 by a Royal Visit both by King and Queen. The took part in many raids between 1942 and 1945, among them the V1 storage sites at St. Leu d'Esserent and the Mondeville steelworks at Caen, both of them in France situated this last one, just 2000 yards (1829 meters) away from the British front lines in Normandy. In December 1944 they took part in the raid against the German Baltic Fleet anchored at Gdynia, in Poland and, in March 1945 they were part of the Bomber Force that destroyed the German defences in Wesel just before the British Commandos crossed the river with just 36 casualties. About this last raid, Field Marshall Montgomery said "The bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece, and was a decisive factor in making possible our entry into the town before midnight". When the war ended they were reformed at RAF Elsham Wolds, in Lincolnshire and were re-numbered as No.103 Squadron.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Lancaster

2. https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/bombercommandno15squadron.cfm

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._15_Squadron_RAF

4. https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/bombercommandno57squadron.cfm

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._57_Squadron_RAF

6. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 52 - Lancaster in Action