DM
Humberside
For the 55,000 brave aircrew who lost their lives in the Second World War, it would have been their final view of England, soaring high above the North Lincolnshire countryside.
In tribute, one of the world’s last two airworthy Lancasters takes the same route over Bomber Country - where some 389,000 sorties were flown by Bomber Command between 1939 and 1945.
This moving footage is captured from a light aircraft flying alongside the 69ft-long Canadian bomber, flying in formation much how the legendary bombers would have done more than 70 years ago. MailOnline was given exclusive access to film the Avro Lancaster Mk X, which this month made the 14-hour, 3,700-mile journey to Britain for the last time.
The four-minute tribute video shows the bomber taking off from Humberside Airport, flying down to Lincoln Cathedral, then out towards the North Sea and over The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum - home of the Avro Lancaster Just Jane.
The Canadian Lancaster, with a magnificent 102ft wingspan, looks haunting and glorious, its distinctive markings shimmering in the sunlight, as the plane - one of the Second World War’s most-recognisable British aircraft - powers across the blue sky. At one point, the two planes are so close to each other, the passengers in the light aircraft flying alongside are able to see the Lancaster pilot’s face - and the dials on its dashboard.
Phil Vinter, 36, from London, who shot the video for MailOnline, said: ‘It was spectacular - the sun was shining on the Lancaster and it looked as awesome as you would expect. It was a fantastic sight.
‘It was staggering just how close we were able to get. We were able to see right inside the cockpit - at times, you could see the pilot, and some of the dials on the dashboard. We were just metres away from each other.
‘The noise was incredible as well - when you’re on the ground, it’s a unique sound and very different to modern aircraft. If you were living in the flight path to one of those, you would know about it.
‘It’s a very low but loud drone - very basey. You can just imagine that noise during the war - and the Lancaster being a very threatening device.
‘As one of the world’s only two remaining Lancaster bombers, to have the opportunity to see the plane that was so vital during the Second World War, the most significant aircraft helping the allies to win, to see one of these up close, the famous Dambuster plane, it was a really special moment. I feel very privileged.’
More than 7,377 Lancasters, 430 of which were built in Canada, were built during the Second World War but many that survived were scrapped.
It was the most successful bomber used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill threw his support behind the Royal Air Force’s Fighter Command and the development of Bomber Command, stating: ‘The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. Therefore our supreme effort must be to gain overwhelming mastery in the air.
‘The Fighters are our salvation, but the Bombers alone provide the means of victory.’
The Lancaster Vera - dedicated to Andrew Mynarski, the last Canadian airman to be awarded the VC in World War II – made the long journey to Britain from its base at the Ontario’s Warplane Heritage Museum earlier this month.