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Avro Lancaster FM213

Avro Lancaster

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ105702240 ↗
Source-derived summary

FM213 is an Avro Lancaster, one of only two airworthy examples in the world. It was built in Malton, Ontario, at Victory Aircraft as construction number 3414 and rolled out in July 1945. Built as a Mark X bomber, it was no longer needed in Europe and transferred directly to storage at CFB Trenton. It was later modified for maritime reconnaissance but damaged during delivery and underwent repairs in 1953. FM213 spent the next ten years as a search and rescue aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean.

She retired in November 1963 and was sold to the Royal Canadian Legion as a gate guard in Goderich, Ontario. In 1977 she was donated to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and was airlifted to Hamilton in 1979 by a Chinook helicopter. She underwent lengthy restoration before taking flight once again in September 1988, and has been flying about 50 hours a year since.

Officially registered with the civilian tail code C-GVRA, the restored FM213 was first painted as RCAF KB726, VR-A, in commemoration of the aircraft which was involved in an action in which Andrew Mynarski won the Victoria Cross in 1944. Referred to officially as the "Mynarski Memorial Lancaster", but unofficially as "VeRA", she is a frequent sight at airshows and free-flights over the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Avro Lancaster FM213” is avro Lancaster. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Avro, Lancaster and FM213, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1945, 1953, 1963, 1977—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Avro, Lancaster and FM213 is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “avro Lancaster” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q105702240. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1945, 1953, 1963 and 1977.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Avro Lancaster FM213”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Avro Lancaster FM213 primary sources, Avro Lancaster FM213 archive and Avro research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Avro Lancaster FM213”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Avro Lancaster FM213” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.