IWM Duxford

The mighty Avro Lancaster, this is KB889 and it is a Canadian built example. It was built in 1945 by the Victory Aircraft Company in Ontario and came to the UK in January 1945. It does not carry any form of nose art (usually on the opposite side of the cockpit) and did not fly any operational sorties as it returned to Canada in June 1945.

In November 1951 it was converted for Maritime Reconnaissance and Rescue duties. After 1959 it was further converted to Maritime Patrol service. In 1964 it was sent for scrap but was bought and saved, resold in 1968 when it was planned to be restored. A further sale saw the Lancaster come to the UK in 1984 and the IWM bought it in 1986. It has been restored to wartime condition using unspecified parts from an Avro Lincoln.

De Havilland Mosquito TA719 was originally built as a B mk35 in late 1945.Around 1952/53 it was converted to a TT35 for target towing duties and given a yellow and black striped underside. It was up for disposal in March 1963 and was sold on and registered for civilian use. This airframe was used in the film "633 Squadron" and was made up as HJ898. The IWM received the heavily cannibalised Mosquito in 1978.