Canadian Lancaster landing at RAF Waddington 21st August 2014

FM213 - airworthy with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum out of Hamilton, Ontario as C-GVRA. Built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, in 1945, this aircraft didn't see combat in Europe before the end of the war. It was later used for Search and Rescue operations under Maritime Air Command) before being retired from service on 6 November 1963. It was displayed in Goderich, Ontario from 1964 to 1977 then stored at Dunnville, Ontario. FM213 had 4,392.3 hours on the airframe when it was handed over. It would probably have been sold for scrap metal except for the intervention of The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Goderich, ON. The aircraft was acquired by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 1978, underwent a 10-year restoration, and has remained airworthy since 1988. The aircraft is flown in the paint scheme of KB726 coded VR-A, depicting the aircraft of No. 419 Squadron RCAF in which Canadian Andrew Mynarski won the Victoria Cross. It has thus been named the "Mynarski Memorial Lancaster", but is known colloquially as "Vera". C-GVRA departed Hamilton, Ontario on 4 August 2014, to take part in a series of events in the UK in formation with the world's only other airworthy Lancaster, PA474, during August and September. The North Atlantic crossing included en-route stops at Goose Bay Canada, Narsarsuaq Greenland, and Keflavik Iceland before arriving at RAF Coningsby, home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. This was purported to be the first Atlantic crossing by a Lancaster since 1975.