 It is today preserved as a museum piece.At the start of the Second World War, Barnes Wallis proposed a "Victory Bomber" of 50 tonnes to carry a 10-tonne bomb but it was discounted by the Air Ministry because of its limited application.As the war progressed the British contemplated very large bomber designs (from 75 to 100 tonnes with bombloads of 25 tonnes and six or more engines) but considered the time required to bring them into use, the difficulty of balancing bombload, defensive armament and range, and the success of existing designs (such as the Avro Lancaster) to outweigh any advantages.