Of all the RAF bombers involved in operations over Germany during the Second World War, the Avro Lancaster must rank as the most famous of them all. As the strategic bombing offensive gathered momentum, it was the Lancaster that came to the fore after entering service with the RAF in 1942, overshadowing its other four engine contemporaries, such as the Handley-Page Halifax and the Short Stirling.

The Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 608,612 long tons (618,378 tonnes) of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Just 35 completed more than 100 successful operations and 3,249 were lost in action. It was the Lancaster that spearheaded the battles for Berlin and Hamburg, as well as playing a vital role in the devastating raid upon Dresden. The Lancaster has become the symbol of the Bomber Command and as such, a symbol of the British air power during the Second World War.