The Vickers Wellington was a WW2 medium bomber designed in the mid-1930's by Vickers-Armstrong's Chief Designer R. K. Piersonusing at Brooklands in Weybridge utilising Barnes Wallis's Airship geodesic construction method for it's airframe. The Vickers Wellington first flew in June 1936 and entered RAF service in October 1938 and by the end of production a total of 11,464 aircraft had been built. The Wellington was widely used as a night-time bomber in the early years of World War II eventually being replaced by larger four engined bombers like the Avro Lancaster and Halifax then serving as a costal patrol anti-submarine aircraft until the cessation of hostilities.
It is of note that n late 1944 a radar-equipped Wellington was modified for use by the RAF's Fighter Interception Unit as an Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, it operated at an altitude of some 4,000 feet over the North Sea controlling de Havilland Mosquito fighters tasked with intercepting Heinkel He 111 bombers inbound from Dutch airbases carrying airborne launched V-1 flying bomb ("Buzz Bombs" or "Doodle Bugs"). Vickers Wellington Mk IC Specifications: - Crew: six
- Length: 64 ft 7 in (19.68 m)
- Wingspan: 86 ft 2 in (26.26 m)
- Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m)
- Max takeoff weight: 28,500 lb (12,927 kg)
- Engines: Twin 1,050 hp (783 kW) Bristol Pegasus Mk. XVIII radial engines
- Maximum speed: 235 mph (378 km/h)
- Range: 1,805 miles (2,905 km)
- Service ceiling 18,000 ft (5,486 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,050 ft/min (320 m/min)
Armament: |
