AVRO 691 Lancastrian Origins

(Monochrome Photograph showing - This Lancaster CF-CMS served as R5727 with No.44 Squadron, RAF, before going to Canada and being converted for the Trans-Atlantic Mail Service.)

The origin of the Lancastrian can be traced to the requirement of a fast Trans-Atlantic aircraft during the Second World War. It was in 1943 when a Lancaster Mk.III which had been flown to Victory Aircraft in Canada was stripped of all of its military equipment and proved to be ideal for carrying reasonable loads over a great distance at an acceptable speed. The aircraft was flown to Avro Woodford for further modification before returning to Canada to be certificated for the Trans-Atlantic Mail Service, but the Type was soon cleared for passenger carrying by the award of a British Certificate of
Airworthiness on 1 September 1943.

Additional Canadian-built Lancaster Mk.Xs were also converted to this role and fitted with new streamlined nose and tail fairings to become known as the Lancaster XPP.

(Monochrome Photograph showing - Lancaster XPP was the designation given to Canadian-built aircraft used by Trans Canada Airlines. Late in the war the aircraft regularly flew from Montreal to Prestwick delivering VIP passengers and confidential mail.)

The success of the Type prompted Avro to improve the design and put the aircraft into production by converting a number of unfinished Lancasters, commencing in 1944, into the Avro 691 Lancastrian C.Mk.1. The Lancastrian was intended as an interim type for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) until the initial deliveries of the Avro 688 Tudors with the first aircraft being handed
over in February 1945.

The Lancastrian service to Australia was an immediate success, with BOAC sharing the route with QANTAS, that country's flagship airline, with the inaugural flight taking place in May 1945. Other routes were being studied with operations to South America a long term ambition. British South American Airways (BSAA) commenced operations in the following year