Avro Lancaster B MkIII Airborne Cigar 2026-08-17

[Pat Pattle]

Pat Pattle submitted a new resource:

Avro Lancaster B MkIII Airborne Cigar - Avro Lancaster fitted with Electronic Counter Measures

Avro Lancaster BIII serial number DV302 squadron code SR-H, was a legendary 101 Squadron RAF heavy bomber based at RAF Ludford Magna. It achieved the rare milestone of completing 121 operational missions during World War II and survived the conflict before being scrapped in January 1947. Fitted with Airborne Cigar (ABC) specialized radio counter-measures equipment to jam German night-fighter control frequencies. It carried an 8th crew member who was a fluent German-speaking Special Duties...

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[Shessi]

A nice little addition Pat, many thanks

Cheers

Shessi

 

[Pat Pattle]

Cheers Mark!

 

[flashgordon]

Superb model and texture. Thanks Clive and John. Great that this aircraft legend has been getting the attention it deserves.

Now just to give it a home. The numbering on the RAFM plans is quite small and blurred but have found that I can use an AI Text Enhancer to get enough legible so that a decent representation can be made. From the attached I think it may take me a while - at least all the male barrack huts were Nissens. Great for ease of modelling but maybe not for the chaps who had to live in them at 'Mudford Magna'. The 2 pubs in the village may require a visit or two to ensure accuracy.
Now where's that tutorial?

 

[Pat Pattle]

My nearest book to hand has this.
It's not too far from where my son lives in Lincolnshire so I may go and have a look.

 

[Snuffy]

Here ya go Mr. Clive.

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[Pat Pattle]

Here ya go Mr. Clive.

Thanks, I think this is one for Gordon.
The Black Horse seems to have gone but The White Hart is still there, you'll have to have two in that one.

 

[flashgordon]

Thanks guys. I have the Air Ministry record AMAS and AMDS plans drawn up by a firm called LMG of Retford Notts in 1951 (believe they are a building firm that is still in business) which I obtained from the RAF Museum (askcollections@rafmuseum.org). The airfield was built by George Wimpey & Co Ltd for some £800,000 over the winter of 1942-43 and opened with 101 Sqn on 15 June 1943. At 428ft above sea level it was then the highest bomber airfield in the country but suffered from poor drainage which led to it's nickname of 'Mugford' Magna. Due to the slope of the site the main runway was orientated N-S which could give pilots problems from cross winds. Fog was an additional hazard which led to the installation of FIDO (Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation) which was first used on 10 March 1944 being the first BC 1 Group airfield to be so equipped. Large pipes with petrol burners were run 50ft out and parallel to either edge of the main runway supplied from a tank farm constructed to the east of the airfield. It consumed some 75 to 100,000 imperial gallons per hour but burning the fuel produced massive amounts of heat that lifted and cleared the fog to give many a safe but scary landing. ('Black Thursay' December 16–17, 1943, returning from a major raid on Berlin, RAF Bomber Command lost 25 aircraft to enemy action, but over England when sudden, thick winter fog blanketed airfields, causing over 30 more bombers to crash or be abandoned, killing roughly 150 personnel. Some 325 pilots and crew in just one operation killed or a few POW). From 1948 to 1956 the communal and accomodation sites housed some 7-800 Polish displaced persons. It remained an Air Ministry site and housed 3 Thor IRBM from 1959 to 1963 with the launch pad of one being one of the few remains today of RAF Ludford Magna which was sold off to local companies in October 1965 by the Ministry of Defence.
Anyone for FIDO? Now that would give CFS3 a spectacular first and set TOW alight!

 

[mongoose]

We have ACC_Ludford-Magna-1943_airbase

 

[flashgordon]

Back in the day before the inception of ETO, Clive, Joost and the late Ted Miller crafted a number of specific airfields such as Graveley, Harrington and Bassingbourn each one involving many, many hours of work but resulting in representations that were far superior to those offered by Microsoft of RAF and USAAF airfields. These were used as generics when ACC made their contribution to ETO with each one having slight modifications to represent the named airfield in the sim as building actual models of each was too daunting for the small ACC team who had real lives to pursue and other modelling interests to develop. The real Ludford Magna has an unusual triple runway layout, some 6 x T2 and 1 x B1 hangars together with a large number of Communal and Accommodation Sites to the north of the linear village from which the airfield takes it's name. I have other unfinished airfield projects, Bardney, Binbrook, Bourn and Upwood needing that extra boost which the new interest and time to fill which may allow these to eventually see the light of day.

 

[Pat Pattle]

The real Ludford Magna has an unusual triple runway layout, some 6 x T2 and 1 x B1 hangars together with a large number of Communal and Accommodation Sites to the north of the linear village from which the airfield takes it's name. I have other unfinished airfield projects, Bardney, Binbrook, Bourn and Upwood needing that extra boost which the new interest and time to fill which may allow these to eventually see the light of day.

Plus we have Scottish airfields in work too. I'm actually hoping that after this ridiculously hot summer we get a nice long, cold and wet winter so that I can spend guilt-free (Wife) time with them.

 

[Pat Pattle]

Back in the day before the inception of ETO, Clive, Joost and the late Ted Miller crafted a number of specific airfields such as Graveley, Harrington and Bassingbourn each one involving many, many hours of work but resulting in representations that were far superior to those offered by Microsoft of RAF and USAAF airfields

Gosh yes many moons ago. The first was by Frosty, Gecko and myself and was Kenley. The ground textures that Frosty made are a work of art. Then came Graveley I think, with input from Beau Brummie. He went on to help out with the Coastal Command airfields.
Ted Miller made all of his on his own, all USAAF and are brilliant.
There was another chap, Chrisyponemous who made a few of the BoB ones such as Thorney Island and Lympne, all excellent.
Don't forget your own input Gordon. The BoB and ETO global layers are down to you and are the foundations of all that we have.
Lastly, Nachtpiloten and Mongoose are responsible for a lot of the LW airfields that we have.
All in all a far cry from those bl**dy awful chicken sheds that M$ tried to pass off as European airfields. Yuk!

 

[mongoose]

I just counted over 600 airbase facilities b4 I gave up; must be at least 750+ as I was still on AAC stuff! I also am getting around to doing another LW one for Arado attacks on the Remagen bridge