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Ministry of Defence

Silhouetted by an explosion, a Lancaster speeds away from the bombing of a German tank depot in France, May 1944. This operation saw 42 Allied aircraft shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters.

A Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) armourer belts up ammunition for a Lancaster, February 1944. At its peak strength in 1943, WAAF recruits numbered over 180,000, with over 2,000 enlisting per week.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, based in Lincolnshire, features a Lancaster – PA474, pictured here with a Hurricane – despite the bomber not being involved in the battle. Brought into service in 1942, it instead intensified the Allied bombardment of German soil, with bombing raids over major cities and infrastructure critical to the Nazi war effort. The ever-changing nose art, rotated in tribute to the various squadrons of Bomber Command –here displays a kangaroo playing bagpipes and wearing Wellingtons – and was commissioned to reflect the Australian, Welsh and Scottish nationality of the crew of 460 Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Lancaster W5005.

Bruised and battered by more than 70 operations since 1942, Avro Lancaster R5729/KM-A, of 44 Squadron runs up its engines in Lincolnshire before setting out on a night raid on Berlin, January 1944. It was shot down with the loss of its entire crew a week after this picture was taken during a raid on the German city of Brunswick.