TOUR OF LANCASTER BOMBER "JUST JANE" NX611 LINCOLNSHIRE AVIATION HC • BOMBER COMMAND RAF EAST KIRKBY

Just Jane is Mk. VII Lancaster Bomber, built in April 1948 at Longbridge, which for those that don’t know was a car factory. Put together at Longbridge and took her apart and put on a trailer known as a “Queen Mary” and transported her to RAF Elmdon. Many of us have either from or landed at RAF Elmdon because it is in fact Birmingham International Airport. RAF Elmdon was where Just Jane first flew. She was intended to be part of the Tiger Force and fly in the far east in April 1945. So due to the climate of the far east, she is equipped with larger radiators and other modifications to cope with a warmer climate.

The fate of Just Jane did not intend for her to go to the far east at all but South Wales and stayed in storage until 1952. She was sold to Aero Naval, French Naval Aviation Service for £50,000 under the Western Union Agreement and went off to Morocco. She carried out Coastal and Border Surveillance in Morocco. In 1960 she set off to New Caledonia in the Pacific to carry out the same surveillance work.

By 1964, she was one of the last three surviving operational Lancasters. The Historic Aircraft Preservation Society, put in a request to the French Government to have the Lancaster when it finished its service. Not expecting confirmation that they could acquire Just Jane, but the were not expecting to pick it in Sydney, Australia. So they did just that, in 1965 they did their checks and took 9 days flying to get it back to the UK. Just Jane was put into a plan to fly her at airshows.

Just Jane’s next home was Blackpool she was laid to rest at a museum in Blackpool but sadly it went bust and put into auction. At the auction, the Panton brothers were present at the auction. Bidding didn’t go well as she didn’t meet her reserve. Lord Lilford purchased the Lancaster after the auction and allowed the RAF to borrow her as a gate guardian at RAF Scampton. The agreement was for 10 years but after this period was over, Fred and Harold Panton, had a discussion with Lord Lilford which then led to the agreed purchase for Just Jane. This is how she came to East Kirkby.

The Panton brothers wanted a Lancaster Bomber as a memorial to their older brother, Christopher who was a flight engineer for 433 Squadron in Halifax’s. During the war, on the night of the 30th-31st March 1944 he flew in one of the worst raid of WW2. He flew into Nuremberg, and they lost 94 aircraft were lost that night. Christopher Panton was in one of those Halifax’s lost and was sadly killed. So his brother wanted something to remember him by with a Lancaster BOMBER as a memorial along with other crew members who were lost.

Just Jane was never flown operationally but she has operational markings:
Red Bombs - Berlin raids
Yellow bombs - Bombing over occupied Europe
Ice cream - Italy
Key - 21st Operation Complete (Completed operational tour)
Parachute - Gardening (dropping sea mines)
LE marking is 630 Squadron along with a H for Harold Panton
DX marking is 57 Squadron along with an F for Fred Panton.
These two squadron were based here at RAF East Kirkby, the very place that the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is located. Their legacy lives on.

The Lancaster just had bare metal between the elements and the crew. The elements of the Britain would also cause issues. Our wet climate could cause bombs to jam in the bomb bay. On wet days, if bombs were loaded, the wet bombs could be jammed due to freezing at altitudes. At the rear section of the bomb bay, there were two port holes so that crew could physically see the armament and if they hadn’t been released. Should that happen, a metal rod and brute force was needed to manually release the bombs.

Over 55,500 young men died flying with Bomber Command during World War Two. Many volunteered, many lied about their age to become a pilot, many did not know they would come back…they died for us…

DONATE TO JUST JANE:
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OFFICIAL LINCOLNSHIRE AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE WEBPAGE
https://www.lincsaviation.co.uk

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