Could a Avro Lancaster bomber have carried the first Atom bomb?

[zenrat]

Tu-4a was the first Soviet aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon.

[sideshowbob9]

Yes, yes the B-29 was the go-to aircraft for the mission. No one is disputing that. Believe it or not, I have indeed read around the subject and would humbly suggest that B-29 history lessons would be of greater value to others in a dedicated thread.

As to the question that is the subject of this thread? Given Britain's nothing less than prodigious aeronautical capabilities in 1944-45, it is my opinion (nothing more or less) that the Lancaster design could be pushed into it. I certainly wouldn't recommended it but it could be made to happen.

A vanilla Lanc? As wonderful a design as it is, no.

Now, if I may be permitted some more idle speculation as I once was in the days of yore, thoughts turn to developments of the Fairey Queen Bee for the role....

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/484/The-Mother-of-All-Drones.aspx

[PR19_Kit]

Now, if I may be permitted some more idle speculation as I once was in the days of yore, thoughts turn to developments of the Fairey Queen Bee for the role....

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/484/The-Mother-of-All-Drones.aspx

About 20-30 of them 'twinned' together with the Bomb in a trapeze underneath? 

[sideshowbob9]

^ For the official record, what I had in mind was more a development of the underlying technology of the Queen Bee rather than the actual airframe, which is biblically inadequate. Something like a radio-caster guiding in a bomb-caster - Aphrodite with more RF and (hopefully) less parachutes.

Although I suspect my tail is being tweaked here. Humph & double-humph.

[PR19_Kit]

So the Bombcaster would be expendable then?

Good thinking there. 

[sideshowbob9]

Well it might get a little plaque posthumously or something....

[sideshowbob9]

This plaque is dedicated to little Lancaster SX922

Said of it was:

"It flew, I guess."

[Weaver]

Funnily enough, this video has just gone up on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XX9ptCNpik

Apparently a secret RAF unit was formed with modified 'black' Lancasters to act as a backstop in case efforts to modify the B-29 failed.

[Howard of Effingham]

Funnily enough, this video has just gone up on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XX9ptCNpik

Apparently a secret RAF unit was formed with modified 'black' Lancasters to act as a backstop in case efforts to modify the B-29 failed.

weaver! that Mark Felton is quite a historian. not inclined to think this is disinformation.

[NARSES2]

What we should remember of course is that it was 75 years ago today the first one was used in anger.

[Howard of Effingham]

What we should remember of course is that it was 75 years ago today the first one was used in anger.

indeed.

[Geoff]

I did consider doing an Argentinian FAA Lancaster as a carrier for a "Heisenberg Device". One of the smaller Nazi designs.

[sideshowbob9]

Is that anything like a Heisenberg Compensator? Sounds like a job for Chief O'Brien. Although he is more likely to be running about in a Defiant.

Anyone who gets the references, give yourself a jumja stick.

[Leading Observer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XX9ptCNpik worth watching on this question

[scooter]

Is that anything like a Heisenberg Compensator? Sounds like a job for Chief O'Brien. Although he is more likely to be running about in a Defiant.

Anyone who gets the references, give yourself a jumja stick.

Or Enterprise-F, if you follow the STO timeline