[Vinman]

Hello Gentlemen,

Statistics and figures can sometimes be wrong and misleading.
First, even though the Halifax and Lancaster had a max bomb capacity of 13,0000-140000 lbs, the planes that flew the missions hardly ever had their planes to full bomb capacity.
I have some references with accurate stats:
Key raids against Germany by the RAF:
1943, July 24/25: RAF Raid on Hamburg.
791 Planes (Mostly Lancaster, the rest Halifax and Sterling) dropped 2,200 tons of bombs, which works out to about 5,560 lbs per A/C.
1943, November 18/19: RAF Raid on Berlin.
444 Planes (Lancaster, Halifax and Sterling) dropped 1,500 tons of bombs, which works out to about 6,700 lbs per A/C.
1944, March 30/31: RAF Raid on Nuremberg ( Black night for Bomber Command and heaviest defeat suffered by the RAF in a bombing mission. Of the 795 A/C dispatched, 108 were lost, 70 damaged, casualties 545 men killed, 159 shot down but evaded capture)
795 Planes (mostly Lancaster and Halifax) dropped 2,500 tons of bombs, which works out to about 6,200 lbs per A/C.
So, as one can see by these three key examples, the bomb capacity was no way near the 13,000 to 14,000 range.
If the B17 had an average of 5,000 to 7,000 lb load, the Lancaster( with the exception of the B.1 special) and Halifax were not too far off.
Years ago at a hobby show here in Calgary, I talked to a Lancaster pilot, who was visiting from Saskatoon. He told me that he never flew a mission with a max bomb load on his plane, everything depended on the target and the range.
Facts and Stats: The bombing of Europe in WW2
Sorties flown by RAF Bomber Command: 1940-1945: 391,137
Sorties flown by USAAC: 1942-1945: 762,000
Tons of bombs dropped by RAF 955,000 ( 758,000 Bombs, 196,000 Incindiaries)
Tons of bombs dropped by USAAC: 1,400,000
Lancaster: Tons of bombs and incindiaries dropped, 600,000. (1940-1945)
Halifax: Tons of bombs and incindiaries dropped, 227,000. (1940-1945)
Boeing B17: Tons of bombs dropped: 640,000. (1942-1945)
Consolidated B24: Tons of bombs dropped: 460,000. (1942-1945)
*Note: The 8th Air Force alone, dropped more tons of bombs than the entire RAF and did it in 3 years compared to the RAF in 5 years!
Vinman.
References and sources: WW2 AIRCRAFT, The Allies: by Chris Chant.
1939-1945 war planes: by Andrew Kershaw.
Aviation Heritage: Black night for Bomber Commad by
N.W. Emmott.