Will third Lancaster bomber return to the skies?

Lancaster NX6-11, also known as Just Jane, is being restored to make it airworthy again

Of the 7,377 Lancaster bombers built during and after World War Two, only two are still believed to be flying. But a group of volunteers in Lincolnshire are hoping to change that.

On the side of Lancaster NX6-11, below the cockpit, is the bomber's nickname, Just Jane.

But there is nothing plain about this aircraft - one of just 17 that remain today.

Volunteers at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, in East Kirkby, are halfway through a 10-year project to restore it.

For these people, Just Jane has come to embody a nation's sacrifice more than 80 years ago.

Andrew Panton, who owns the aircraft and the centre, is melancholic.

"It's extremely emotional for me and everyone who's worked on it," he says. "But it's also seeing the joy it brings to people who've come to see it."

Andrew Panton inherited Just Jane and Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre

The Panton family's interest in the war and aviation is rooted in loss.

His grandfather, Fred, and great uncle, Harold, lost their brother, Christopher, during World War Two on Bomber Command operations over Nuremberg in Germany in 1944.

The family had always wanted to create a memorial for Christopher and Bomber Command.

"When the Lancaster and the old airfield at East Kirkby came up for sale, they decided that they would merge the two and create a living memorial to Bomber Command," explains Mr Panton.

"It's realising Fred and Harold's dream to have a flying Lancaster, that's what motivates me."

A team of around 30 people are working on restoring the aircraft

The decision to restore Just Jane was made in 2009, but Mr Panton says it has taken a long time to buy parts and source engines to restore.

"There is nothing on the Lancaster that you can just order off the shelf," he says. "So everything either has to be bespoke built or something has to be modified."

A team of 20 volunteers are working on the project, alongside eight engineers.

"We are restoring the port wing, the nose and finishing the rear fuselage," says Mr Panton.

"We're also swapping out the tailplane."

Mr Panton says the team has sourced parts from the Lancaster operated by the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which often performs flypasts at air displays.

Rob Harvey, 71, was an engineer in the RAF from 1970 until 1992 and worked on aircraft such as the Tornado and Jaguar.

He first encountered Just Jane in 1970.

"Little did I know then that 50 plus years later I would be here as a volunteer," he says.

Mr Harvey saw on social media that Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre was looking for volunteers to work on Just Jane.

He says: "I thought about it, I spoke to the wife and said do you mind if I go and play on an aeroplane? That was four years ago."

Rob Harvey is one of the volunteers helping to restore Just Jane

Mr Harvey makes the weekly journey from Bourne to work on the aircraft. He also assists with its taxi runs in the summer.

"My wife defines this [Just Jane] as one of my happy places," he says.

He adds: "It's something I thought I would never get a chance to do at my age."

Mr Harvey says he is "looking to live as long as possible" to see Just Jane return to the skies.

"[To] know that I contributed a small part to it would complete the circle."

Jodie Elcock is another volunteer and joined the project after finishing her career at RAF Coningsby.

She says: "Since I was seven years old I've been wanting to work on aeroplanes. I've done 28 years of air force stuff and now I carry on the aspiration of working on old aeroplanes.

"I'm happy as long as I can work on Just Jane."

Volunteer Jodie Elcock says she has always wanted to work on aeroplanes

Lancaster bombers flew more than 150,000 sorties between 1942 and 1945, including the famous Dambusters raid, which saw aircraft based at RAF Scampton attack a series of dams in Germany using engineer Barnes Wallis' so-called 'bouncing' bomb.

Just Jane was built in 1945 and saw service with the French navy.

It eventually wound up as a gate guard outside RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, before being bought by the Panton family in 1983.

Guy Martin backing

Mr Panton says the Just Jane has starred in films and TV shows, including an episode of Doctor Who.

"It's surprising how many times you turn on the TV and you see NX6-11 Just Jane," he says.

Television presenter and former motorcycle racer Guy Martin has featured the aircraft in his own TV shows and is helping with the restorations.

Mr Martin says: "I'm putting a bit back in and anything they need from me to help oil the wheels to get it up in the air.

"We're five years into the 10-year project, but it is happening, the ball is rolling."

When the aircraft is restored, it will be one of three airworthy Lancasters in the world.

The others are operated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

"That day when the Lancaster takes to the air for the first time, obviously it's extremely emotional for me and everyone who's worked on it. But also seeing the joy it brings to people who've come to see it fly," Andrew says.

"It'll be incredible. I'm sure the first thing I'll be thinking is I hope it comes back."

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