During World War II tens of thousands of aircraft were flown across the Atlantic by ferry and air force pilots in support of the Allied fight against the Nazis. Most made the trip successfully, some were lost and never heard from again. It was a part of war and the challenge, and danger, were accepted by those who took on the task of getting these aircraft to where they were needed.

One of the many aircraft types that were flown 'across the pond' were Avro Lancaster bombers. Roughly 430 Lancasters there were built in Canada with almost every aircraft making the trip to the UK and no losses en route.

Lancaster B X FM213 was built and completed in July 1945 by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario. She was converted to an RCAF 10MR type Lancaster and in 1952 received a replacement wing centre section after a serious accident. FM213 served as a Maritime Patrol aircraft with 405 Sqn, Greenwood and with 107 Rescue Unit in Torbay, Newfoundland. She was retired from RCAF service in 1963 and put into storage at Dunnville, Ontario.

She was eventually sold off to the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich, Ontario for the sum of $1200 and was placed on a plynth until she was sold to Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 1977 with help from the Sulley Foundation. Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum restored her to flying condition over a little more than 10 years, taking to the air again in 1988 where thousands of people watched her return to the skies. Many of those who attended were veterans who flew or were crew in Lancaster bombers.

FM213 is painted in the colours of wartime Lancaster KB726, VR-A, and is dedicated to the memory of P/O Andrew Mynarski, VC. During a mission on June 13, 1944, VR-A was attacked by a German night fighter and was shot down in flames. Mynarski attempted to save the rear gunner who was trapped in the tail of the out of control, burning Lancaster. The aircraft crashed and Mynarski lost his life. The tail gunner survived the crash.

Today, the CWH Mynarski Lancaster flies at many airshows and dedications across Canada, and in some parts of the United States, in the memory of all those who served and flew with Canadian Squadrons and Bomber Command. She is one of only two currently airworthy Lancaster bombers in the world, the other flies with the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) in the UK.

On August 5th, 2014, Lancaster VR-A took off from her home at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario in a historic trip bound for RAF Coningsby, UK, via Goose Bay, Labrador & Newfoundland and Keflavik, Iceland. She will fly in the UK for roughly 6 weeks through August and part of September, taking part in an assortment of airshows and aviation events throughout Britain, flying with the BBMF Lancaster and, very likely, with an assortment of other aircraft such as the numerous Spitfires and Hurricanes still currently flying in the UK.

There are many tributes and memorials prepared for the two Lancasters over the next 6 weeks. This will be the first time two Lancaster bombers have flown together in as many as 50 years when the RCAF flew a formation of 3 Lancasters over the city of Toronto to mark the Lancaster's retirement from service. For those in the UK, excitement has been building for months and tickets for most events are already sold out. If you live in the UK, or are heading to the UK in order to see these two beautiful, flying examples of one of the most successful aircraft of World War II, enjoy and make the most of this, possibly, once in a lifetime opportunity, of having two Lancs across the pond!

Canadian Warplane Heritage: warplane.com

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight: raf.mod.uk/bbmf/

Vintage Wings of Canada: vintagewings.ca

National Warplane Museum: 1941hag.org

Surviving Lancaster Info: bombercommandmuseum.ca/main_lancaster.html

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