Avro Manchester - British users

In November 1940, the Manchester entered officially in service with the reformed No.207 Squadron where at least 80 of them were in active by December 1940. Its first mission was an air raid agains the French por of Brest in February 1941but, by April all of them were grounded due to engine troubles and switched back to the obsolete Handley Page Hampden, however in August the operations were resumed even with the initial problems.
While the modifications to correct al those troubles were being conducted, an air raid against Berlin was carried out in November 1941 where of 400 bombers, only 15 of them were Manchester, and when, on 3rd March 1942 a force of 200 bomber attacked the Renault factory, close to Paris, only 25 of them were Manchester.
They took part in the raid on Cologne of 30th May 1942 when 1047 bombers were sent to bomb the city, among them 35 Manchester. In that raid the Victoria Cross was posthumously awarded to the Flying Officer Leslie Manser while piloting a Manchester during the raid.
The last raid of the Manchester was against Bremen, on 25th June 1942 and shortly after, all of them were retired from the active duty. It persisted in second line duties, mainly training and some experimental ones (with the RAF Coastal Command) until 1943 when it was completely retired.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Manchester
2. https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/forgotten-aircraft-avro-manchester/

Avro Manchester - Prototypes

The first prototype of the Avro Manchester flew for the first time on 5th July 1939 and it revealed to have some flaws and stability problems apart from being too heavy and exhausting to control.
It also required a very long runway to take-off when fully loaded even when it hasn't installed yet any armament.
It showed, however, a very good internal space arrangement, specially when compared with the smaller Handley Page Hampden.
The second prototype, featured lighter controls and wingtip extensions in order to shorten the minimum required runway. However stability problems weren't solved, specially when flying at low speeds. So Avro decided to take the prototype back to the factory in order to add a third vertical fin, which initially seemd to solve the problem, but it came back when the turrets were fitted. In fact, the frontal turret created a heavy yaw when turned, the rear one created a very heavy vibration and the ventral one was too unconfortable to raise or leave it deployed.
The engine was also a problem, as it was underpowered. It had initially a rate of 2000hp but it turned out that at its peak it could achieve only 1750hp, less than an aircraft of this type needed. It was discovered that it was because of the internal arrangement of the engine made the lubrication system too dificult, causing some engines to break down or overheat.

Sources:
1. https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/forgotten-aircraft-avro-manchester/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Manchester

Avro Manchester - Canadian Users

The Avro 679 Manchester was a British heavy bomber developed during the early stages of the World War II. It was a failure due to its engines but, it was the forerunner of the Avro Lancaster, most probably the best British strategic bomber of the World War II.

The Royal Canadian Air Force was the only foreign user of this bomber, where it served in two squadrons, the No. 408 and the No.420.
With the No.408 "Goose" Squadron it served initially together with the already aging Handley Page Hampden, operating from Lindholm, in Yorkshire from 1941, when it was activated, until 1942 both types were replaced by the Handley Page Halifax.
In the No.420 "City of London" Squadron, it served briefly when this squadron was activated on 19th December 1941 but, due to the bad reputation of the Manchester, it was quickly replaced by the Handley Page Hampden, also in December 1941.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Manchester
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/408_Tactical_Helicopter_Squadron
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._420_Squadron_RCAF