We've lost count of bombers you'll see at the Airshow. Easiest thing to do is to count the number of four engined WWII bombers appearing at an airbase built for four engined WWII bombers: 2.
Sally B, the remarkable B-17 Flying Fortress (the only one flying outside North America) will be joined by another aircraft which is the only one flying outside North America; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster.
One of two Avro Lancaster's flying (the other one is in Canada) you'll have seen this one, PA474, flying over Buckingham Palace. It's an irreplaceable part of Britain's heritage and the legacy of the aircraft and the heroes who flew in them can be neatly summarised in one statistic; ten Victoria Crosses.
Here's another statistic; four. Specifically four Rolls Royce Merlin Engines. That's a total of 5,120hp, courtesy of the greatest piston engine ever conceived (and the greatest to listen to as well).
It's also, like Sally B, rather big at just under 30 tonnes. Imagine then the skill of the pilots who flew the mission which made the Lancaster a legend. It was called Operation Chastise and involved flying very accurately at very low level whilst being shot at in the dark in Germany, and carrying a specially developed bomb, designed to bounce and then sink when it hit water. You shouldn't really need any more clues, in case you do it made household names of Guy Gibson and Barnes Wallis, is regarded as one of the greatest raids in the history of conflict and created the word 'Dambusters'.
APPEARING JULY 29th ONLY
