B.II
Media related to
Avro Lancaster B Mark II at Wikimedia Commons
B II with
Bristol Hercules radial engines
Bristol Hercules (Hercules VI or XVI engines) powered variant, of which 300 were produced by
Armstrong Whitworth. One difference between the two engine versions was that the VI had manual mixture control, requiring an extra lever on the throttle pedestal. Very early examples were fitted with an FN.64 ventral turret; however, these were quickly removed due to problems with aiming the turret through its periscope (which prevented the gunner from seeing a target he was not already aiming at), and inadequate traverse speed.Due to the Luftwaffe
Schräge Musik attacks, a variety of unofficial field modifications were made, including fitting of 20 mm cannon or a .50 inch machine gun in the open hole where the FN.64 had been installed, before an official modification (Mod 925) fitted with a .303 inch machine gun was authorized for the same location, though not in all aircraft. These were rarely installed on other variants as the
H2S radar that was not used on the B II was mounted there. Three types of bulged bomb bay were used on the B II, the prototype having a narrow bulge running from just aft of the cockpit to the end of the bomb bay, while early production examples had a full width bulge that ran the same length and on late production examples the bomb bay doors were prominently bulged throughout their length.
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/handleypagehalifax.cfm
Halifax B.II
- B.II Series 1 : Strengthened for higher weights and 15% higher fuel load than standard B.I. Powered by Merlin XXs. Bulbous mid-upper turret.
- B.II Series 1A : Nose turret deleted and replaced by Perspex fairing with 18in increase in length; revised mid-upper turret and engine fairings - all to reduce drag. Merlin 22 or 24 engines.
- B.II Series 1 (Special) : Standard B.II with nose and mid-upper turrets removed. Later versions fitted with rectangular fins to improve directional control.