23. Britain’s Other Heavy Bomber
The Avro Lancaster is probably the British Royal Air Force’s best-known strategic heavy bomber of the Second World War. However, it carried the load along with an often-overlooked sister: the Handley Page Halifax. Along with the Lancaster, the Halifax was the mainstay of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, with 6127 built between 1940-1945. Halifaxes were less versatile than the Lancasters, because their bomb bay, divided into three compartments, could not carry huge individual bombs such as the 4000 lb “Cookie” or larger. However, Halifaxes could still carry 14,500 lbs of bombs that individually weighed up to 2000 lbs each.
First flown in 1939, Halifaxes entered service in November, 1940, and saw combat in March, 1941. At Bomber Command’s peak, it had 76 squadrons flying Halifaxes. Halifaxes were also used in Pathfinder units that flew in advance of RAF nighttime bombing raids to locate the targets, then mark them with flares and colored incendiaries for the following bomber streams.