{"id":4124,"date":"2026-06-12T08:50:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=4124"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:50:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:50:55","slug":"on-freedoms-wings-the-a46s-lancaster-sculpture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/highlights\/on-freedoms-wings-the-a46s-lancaster-sculpture\/06-2026","title":{"rendered":"On Freedom’s Wings: The A46’s Lancaster Sculpture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"On
On Freedom’s Wings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ufeffLast month saw the official unveiling of one of Lincolnshire\u2019s most striking new landmarks, as hundreds gathered near the A46 at Norton Disney to witness the completion of On Freedom\u2019s Wings \u2014 a monumental sculpture honouring the crews of Bomber Command and the sacrifices made across Lincolnshire during the Second World War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Created by The Bomber County Gateway Trust, the project has been led by Charlie White, Adrian Longmate and Sophie White, transforming years of planning and fundraising into a remarkable tribute visible to thousands of motorists every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sculpture represents a full-scale Lancaster bomber banking on its final approach to RAF Swinderby, recalling the tragic crash of Lancaster R5689 in nearby Thurlby Top Wood in September 1942. Four members of the seven-man crew lost their lives returning from a dangerous mission over the Baltic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing 29 metres high with a wingspan of over 31 metres, the sculpture is even taller than Gateshead\u2019s Angel of the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weighing more than 100 tonnes, the structure has been engineered to withstand the exposed Lincolnshire landscape for generations to come. Its Corten steel exterior will weather naturally over time, creating a dramatic silhouette against the county skyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lancaster itself was manufactured by Lincolnshire\u2019s own Timmins, while installation of the colossal structure was undertaken by Hutchinson Engineering. The finished work combines aviation history, engineering excellence and public art on an extraordinary scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the opening celebrations, visitors heard the moving story of Lancaster VN-N, the aircraft whose final moments inspired the memorial. The sculpture is not intended to commemorate one crew alone, but instead serves as a lasting reminder of the 55,573 Bomber Command personnel who lost their lives during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project has also benefited from the support of local historians, veterans, businesses and volunteers, with pathways and landscaping designed to create a reflective setting around the landmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Freedom\u2019s Wings can be seen now, it\u2019s located off the A46 at Norton Disney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ufeffLast month saw the official unveiling of one of Lincolnshire\u2019s most striking new landmarks, as hundreds gathered near the A46…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[710,155,396,27,156,709],"class_list":["post-4124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","tag-a46","tag-bomber-command","tag-lancaster","tag-lincolnshire","tag-raf","tag-sculpture"],"acf":false,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4127,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124\/revisions\/4127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}