The Avro 679 Manchester emerged from a pivotal moment in British air‑power planning during the mid‑1930s.
The RAF, anticipating the need for long‑range striking capability but constrained by potential international limits on bomber size and numbers, issued two major specifications: B.12/36 for a four‑engined heavy bomber and P.13/36 for a twin‑engined multi‑role bomber.
The Manchester was the direct result of the latter requirement, which demanded a machine capable of carrying a 4,000‑lb bomb load, or alternatively torpedoes, over long distances, with internal stowage for large‑diameter ordnance.
The RAF’s planners expected that new high‑power engines—Napier Sabre, Bristol Centaurus, and Rolls‑Royce Vulture—would soon deliver the 2,000‑hp class performance needed to make a twin‑engined heavy bomber viable.
Avro’s proposal, led by chief designer Roy Chadwick, was judged the most promising among submissions from Avro, Bristol, Hawker, and Handley Page.
On 8 September 1936, Avro received a contract for two prototypes of the aircraft that would become the Manchester.
Design Philosophy and Airframe Characteristics The Manchester was conceived as a large, aerodynamically clean, all‑metal, mid‑wing monoplane with a deep bomb bay and a crew of seven.
Its most distinctive feature was its reliance on two Rolls‑Royce Vulture engines, each a 24‑cylinder X‑configuration powerplant essentially formed by coupling two Peregrine V‑12s to a common crankshaft.
These engines were mounted on the broad, rectangular centre-section wing, whose twin main spars passed over the bomb bay and through the fuselage.
Key structural and aerodynamic features included:
Wing: A rectangular centre section with tapered outer panels and slight dihedral, giving good lift and internal volume.
Tail unit: A twin‑fin arrangement mounted on the ends of the tailplane.
Early prototypes suffered from directional instability, leading to enlarged fins and the addition of a central fin on production aircraft.
Fuselage: A semi‑monocoque oval‑section structure with a raised cockpit “greenhouse” canopy housing a pilot, co‑pilot, navigator, and wireless operator.
Hydraulic systems: A notably complex hydraulic installation powered the landing gear, flaps, radiator shutters, and bomb bay doors—more elaborate than any previous RAF bomber system and a frequent source of early service trouble.
The Manchester’s internal bomb bay was unusually large, a direct consequence of the P.13/36 requirement to carry a 460‑mm torpedo internally.
This design choice later proved invaluable in the development of the Lancaster, which inherited the Manchester’s capacious centre fuselage.
Prototype Development and Early Testing
The first prototype flew on 25 July 1939, initially without its intended Fraser‑Nash defensive turrets.
The second prototype, which flew on 26 May 1940, incorporated the revised tail surfaces and full defensive armament: a two-gun nose turret, a four-gun tail turret, and a retractable ventral turret (later replaced by a dorsal turret).
Despite aerodynamic soundness, the aircraft’s performance was compromised by the Vulture engines.
Rated at 1,700 hp at altitude, they were temperamental, prone to overheating, lubrication failures, and catastrophic mechanical breakdowns.
Rolls‑Royce, overwhelmed by wartime demands for the Merlin, could not devote sufficient resources to maturing the Vulture design.
Production and Variants
Manchester I
The initial production model, the Manchester I, entered service in late 1940.
It featured:
Two Rolls‑Royce Vulture II engines (1,760 hp each)
Twin‑fin tail with a central fin added for stability
Fraser‑Nash FN5 nose turret, FN20 tail turret, and FN7 dorsal turret
Maximum speed: ~426 km/h (265 mph)
Normal bomb load: up to 10,350 lb (4,695 kg)
Manchester, IA Later production aircraft incorporated the following:
A larger tailplane with enlarged end fins
Deletion of the central fin, improving airflow and stability
Structural strengthening for heavier loads
These tail modifications were first tested on the second Lancaster prototype and then retrofitted to many Manchesters already in service.
Manchester II (proposed) Two alternative‑engine variants were studied but never built in quantity. Neither alternative powerplant offered meaningful improvement over the Vulture at the time.
Manchester III The decisive step was Avro’s proposal to fit the Manchester with four Rolls‑Royce Merlins, retaining the fuselage and centre wing section but adding new outer wings.
This became the Avro 683 Lancaster, whose prototype flew on 9 January 1941, even before the Manchester had entered full combat service.
The Lancaster’s success sealed the Manchester’s fate but also demonstrated that the underlying airframe was fundamentally excellent.
Operational Service
Entry into Combat
The Manchester entered frontline service with No. 207 Squadron in November 1940.
Its first combat operation occurred on the night of 24–25 February 1941, when six Manchesters attacked the German cruiser Hipper at Brest.
One aircraft was lost due to hydraulic failure on landing—an early sign of the type’s mechanical fragility.
Service Difficulties
Although pilots appreciated the Manchester’s handling and spacious crew accommodations, its operational record was marred by:
Chronic Vulture engine failures
Poor single‑engine performance (often fatal on takeoff)
Hydraulic system unreliability
Limited ceiling (often below 6,000 m), making it vulnerable to flak and fighters
Several squadrons—97, 61, 83, 49, 50, and 106—converted to the type during 1941–42, but many reverted temporarily to older Hampdens due to Manchester losses and grounding orders.
Notable Actions
One of the most famous Manchester sorties occurred during the first “1,000 Bomber Raid” on Cologne (30 May 1942).
Pilot Officer Leslie Manser of No. 50 Squadron pressed on to the target despite being unable to climb above 7,000 ft and suffering severe damage.
He ordered his crew to bail out and remained at the controls, sacrificing his life; he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Withdrawal
The Manchester flew its final combat mission on 25–26 June 1942, during the third 1,000‑bomber raid, this time against Berlin.
By then, the Lancaster was rapidly replacing it.
Remaining Manchesters served in training units until late 1943.
The Avro Manchester is often remembered as a failure—but this is only half the story.
Its shortcomings stemmed overwhelmingly from the Vulture engine, not from the airframe.
In fact, the Manchester’s structural design, systems layout, and internal volume were so sound that they formed the backbone of the Avro Lancaster, one of the most successful heavy bombers of WWII.
The Manchester, thus, occupies a unique place in aviation history:
As a technological stepping stone, it was indispensable.
As a combat aircraft, it was troubled and short‑lived.
As a design lineage, it directly fathered one of the war’s most iconic aircraft.
In total, 202 Manchesters were built (159 by Avro, 43 by Metropolitan‑Vickers), and although their operational career was brief, their influence was profound.
The Manchester’s story is ultimately one of ambitious engineering, wartime urgency, and the rapid evolution of bomber design under the pressures of global conflict.
