Lancaster III with saddle tank for Far East missions
The final variants of the Lancaster during the war were the B.Mk I(FE) and B.Mk VII(FE), both adapted for tropical conditions. The B.Mk VII(FE) had a Martin mid-upper gun turret and an FN.82 tail turret, both equipped with 0.5-inch (12.7-mm) machine-guns, replacing the previous 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) guns. These variants were intended to be used by the RAF’s Tiger Force, a very-long-range bomber unit for attacking Japan, if the war had continued. To improve the range of the aircraft for these missions, two Lancaster Mk Is were fitted with large ‘saddle’ fuel tanks, which increased their fuel capacity by 50%. They were flown to India for testing in mid-1944. Two Lancaster aircraft had already been flown to India in 1943 for tropicalisation trials and were also used for towing Horsa and Hamilcar gliders, which were intended for use in the India-Burma theatre.