AVRO 683 Lancaster-The Aftermath

(Monochrome Photograph showing - George Bale's Lancaster crew with repatriated Prisoners of War at RAF Wratting Common airfield 1945.)

With the end of the war in 1945 and the cessation of hostilities in Europe, Lancasters were given the role of assisting in the return from captivity of Allied Prisoners of War and, once again, the aircraft proved its worth by returning over 74,000 P.O.Ws.

In May 1945 another vital task was to supply food to the starving people of Holland and, sharing this duty with B-17s of the U.S. 8th Air Force, Lancasters dropped over 6,000 tons of supplies under the Code Name of 'Operation Manna'.

(Monochrome Photograph showing - A Lancaster of No.15 Squadron delivering food to the starving people of Holland during 'Operation Manna'. A total of 6,672 tons of food were delivered by the R.A.F.