Wellington
Wellington B Mk. IA. The geodesic construction is evident through the perspex windows along the aircraft's side. Vickers Wellington Mk. ...
Type	bomber, anti-submarine aircraft
Manufacturer	Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd.
Designed by	R. K. Pierson
Maiden flight	15 June 1936
Introduction	October 1938
Status	Retired
Primary users	Royal Air Force RCAF, RNZAF, RAAF
Produced	1936–1945
Number built	11,464
Variants	Vickers Warwick Vickers VC.1 Viking

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night-time bomber in the early years of World War II, before being displaced as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster. The Wellington continued to serve throughout the war in other duties, particularly as an anti-submarine aircraft. It was the only British bomber to be produced for the entire duration of the war. The Wellington was popularly known as the Wimpy by service personnel, after J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons and a Wellington "B for Bertie" had a starring role in the 1942 propaganda film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... Vickers-Armstrongs, Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1936: Events February February 13 - Imperial Airways commences airmail services to West Africa March March 23 - Impreial Airways begins scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Malaysia. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1938: Events Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London to Montreal. ... RAF redirects here. ... “RCAF” redirects here. ... The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is the air force arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... The Vickers Warwick was a transport, anti-submarine patrol and air-sea rescue aircraft of the RAF during World War II. Vickers Warwick The Warwick was designed in response to Air Ministry specification B.1/35 for a two-engined heavy (by the standards of the day) bomber to replace... Note: this is an artice about the Post World War Two twin-engined Vickers Viking airliner. ... A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; primarily to distinguish them from the much larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. ... Brooklands was a motor racing circuit built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. ... Weybridge is a town in Surrey, England. ... Vickers-Armstrongs, Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ... J. Wellington Wimpy, or just Wimpy, is one of the characters in the long-running comic strip, Thimble Theater, and in the Popeye cartoons based upon the strip. ... For other uses, see Popeye (disambiguation). ... One of our Aircraft is Missing (1942) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ...

Design and development

Wellington Mk.I aircraft, with the original Vickers turrets, of the RNZAF - anticipating war, the New Zealand government loaned these aircraft and their aircrews to the RAF in August 1939

The Merlin-engined Wellington Mk.II. This aircraft belongs to No. 104 Sqn.. Notice the criss-cross geodesic construction through the perspex fuselage panels.

Wellington Mk.X HE239 of No.428 Sqn. RCAF, illustrating the geodesic construction and the level of punishment it could absorb while maintaining integrity and airworthiness.

The Wellington used a geodesic construction method, which had been devised by Barnes Wallis for use in airships, and had previously been used to build the single-engined Vickers Wellesley bomber. The fuselage was built up from a number of aluminium alloy (duralumin) channel-beams that were formed into a large framework. Wooden battens were screwed onto the aluminium, and these were covered with Irish linen, which, once treated with many layers of dope, formed the outer skin of the aircraft. The metal lattice gave the structure tremendous strength because any one of the stringers could support some of the weight from even the opposite side of the aircraft. Blowing out one side's beams would still leave the aircraft as a whole intact; as a result, Wellingtons with huge areas of framework missing continued to return home when other types would not have survived; the dramatic effect enhanced by the doped fabric skin burning off, leaving the naked frames exposed (see photo). The Royal New Zealand Air Force or RNZAF is the air operations arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. ... Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, Kt, CBE, FRS, RDI, FRAeS (September 26, 1887 â€“ October 30, 1979), commonly known as Barnes Wallis, was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... The Vickers Wellesley was a 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd for the Royal Air Force. ... Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. ... Aircraft dope is a plasticised lacquer that is applied to fabric-coated aircraft to tauten, stiffen, adhere and provide protection to the skin material. ...

However, the construction system also had some distinct disadvantages, in that it took considerably longer to complete a Wellington than for other designs using monocoque construction techniques. Also, it was difficult to cut holes into the fuselage to provide additional access or equipment fixtures. The Leigh light, for instance, was deployed through the mounting for the absent FN9 ventral turret. Nevertheless, in the late 1930s Vickers succeeded in building Wellingtons at a rate of one per day at Weybridge and 50 per month at Chester. Peak wartime production in 1942 saw monthly rates of 70 achieved at Weybridge, 130 at Chester and 102 at Blackpool. Monocoque (French for single shell) is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. ... The Leigh Light (abbreviated L/L) was a British World War II era anti submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic. ... Nash & Thomson was a British engineering firm that specialised in the production of hydraulically-operated gun turrets for aircraft. ... For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ... This article is about the town in England. ...

The Wellington went through a total of 16 variants during its production life plus a further two training conversions after the war. The prototype serial K4049 designed to satisfy Ministry specification B.9/32, first flew as a Type 271 (and initially named Crecy) from Brooklands on 15 June 1936 with J. Summers as pilot. After many changes to the design, it was accepted on 15 August 1936 for production with the name Wellington. The first model was the Wellington Mk I, powered by a pair of 1,050 hp (783 kW) Bristol Pegasus engines, of which 180 were built, 150 for the Royal Air Force and 30 for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Mk I first entered service with No. 9 Squadron RAF in October 1938. Improvements to the turrets resulted in 183 Mk IA Wellingtons and this complement of aircraft equipped the RAF Bomber Command heavy bomber squadrons at the outbreak of war. The Wellington was initially out-numbered by its twin-engined contemporaries, the Handley Page Hampden and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, but would ultimately outlast them in productive service. The number of Wellingtons built totalled 11,461 of all versions, the last of which rolled out on 13 October 1945. This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry specifications for aircraft. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1936: Events February February 13 - Imperial Airways commences airmail services to West Africa March March 23 - Impreial Airways begins scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Malaysia. ... This article is about the day of the year. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bristol Pegasus piston engine The Pegasus was a 9 cylinder one_row radial aircraft engine designed as the follow-on to the Bristol Aeroplane Companys very successful Bristol Jupiter, following lessons learned in the Mercury effort. ... RAF redirects here. ... The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is the air force arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. ... No. ... Bomber Command badge RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ... The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force that was one of the main front-line bombers at the start of World War II. Along with the Whitley and Wellington bombers, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war... The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three twin-engine, front-line medium bombers in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of World War II. // Developed from the A.W.23 bomber-transport to meet Air Ministry Specification B.3/34 and manufactured by... is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1945: // Events January January 1 - the Luftwaffe begins targeting Allied airfields in Europe as Operation Bodenplatte February February 13-15 - Allied bombers attack Dresden with incendiary weapons, destroying most of the city and killing some 50,000 people. ...

Operational history

The first RAF bombing attack of the war was made by Wellingtons of No. 9 and No. 149 Squadrons, along with Bristol Blenheims, on German shipping at Brunsbüttel on 4 September 1939. During this raid, the two Wellingtons became the first aircraft shot down on the Western Front. Numbers 9, 37 and 149 Squadrons saw action on 18 December 1939 on a mission against the Schillig Roads and Wilhelmshaven. Luftwaffe fighters destroyed 10 of the bombers and badly damaged three others; thus highlighting the aircraft's vulnerability to attacking fighters, having neither self-sealing fuel tanks nor sufficient defensive armament. As a consequence, Wellingtons were switched to night operations and participated in the first night raid on Berlin on 25 August 1940. In the first 1000-aircraft raid on Cologne, on 30 May 1942, 599 out of 1046 aircraft were Wellingtons (101 of them were flown by Polish aircrew). No. ... For the car produced by Bristol Cars since 1994, see Bristol Blenheim (car). ... Elbe estuary Brunsbüttel is a city in northern Germany that lies on the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939: Events January January 12 - the RAF Auxiliary Air Force Reserve is formed February February 9 - Alex Henshaw sets a new speed record for the round trip between England and Cape Town in 4 days 10 minutes in a Percival Mew... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1940: Events March March 16 - Britain suffers its first civilian air-raid casualties of the war after a raid by KG 26 on Scapa Flow March 25 - the US government grants permission to the countrys aircraft manufacturers to sell advanced... Cologne (German: , IPA: ; local dialect: Kölle ) is Germanys fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

With Bomber Command, Wellingtons flew 47,409 operations, dropped 41,823 tons of bombs and lost 1,332 aircraft in action.

Coastal Command Wellingtons carried out anti-submarine duties and sank their first enemy vessel on 6 July 1942. DWI versions (see below) fitted with a 48 ft (14.63 m) diameter metal hoop were used for exploding enemy mines by generating a powerful magnetic field as it passed over them. In 1944, Wellingtons of Coastal Command were deployed to Greece, and performed various support duties during the RAF involvement in the Greek Civil War. A few Wellingtons were operated by the Hellenic Air Force. is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. ... Combatants Hellenic Army, Royalist forces, Republicans United Kingdom Communist Party of Greece (ELAS, DSE) Commanders Alexander Papagos, Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, James Van Fleet Markos Vafiadis Strength 150,000 men 50,000 men and women Casualties 15,000 killed 32,000+ killed or captured The Greek Civil War (Ελληνικός εμφύλιος πόλεμος [ellinikos emfilios polemos]) was... Hellenic Air Force ensign The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) (Greek: (ΠΑ), Polemikí Aeroporía) is the air force of Greece. ...

While the Wellington was superseded in the European Theatre, it remained in operational service for much of the war in the Middle East, and in 1942, Wellingtons based in India became the RAF's first long-range bomber operating in the Far East. It was particularly effective with the South African Air Force in North Africa. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... This article is about the Asian regions. ... The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ...

In late 1944 a radar-equipped Wellington was modified for use by the RAF's Fighter Interception Unit as what would now be described as an Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft^[1]. It operated at an altitude of some 4,000 feet (1,219 m) over the North Sea to control de Havilland Mosquito fighters intercepting Heinkel He 111 bombers flying from Dutch airbases and carrying out airborne launches of the V-1 flying bomb. AEW redirects here. ... The de Havilland Mosquito[1] was a British combat aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during the Second World War. ... The Heinkel He 111 was the primary Luftwaffe medium bomber during the early stages of World War II, and is perhaps the most famous symbol of the German side of the Battle of Britain. ... The V-1 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1) was the first guided missile used in war and the forerunner of todays cruise missile. ...

Variants

Bomber variants

Scale comparison diagram of the trio of British twin-engined medium bombers at the outbreak of World War II; the Wellington, the Handley Page Hampden and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley.

Type 271

The first Wellington bomber prototype.

Type 285 Wellington Mk I

Pre-production prototype. Powered by two Bristol Pegasus X radial piston engines.

Type 290 Wellington Mk I

The first production version. Powered by two 1,000 hp (746 kW) Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial piston engines. Fitted with Vickers gun turrets.

Type 408 Wellington Mk IA

Production version. Powered by two 1,000 hp Pegasus XVIII engines. Fitted with Nash & Thomson gun turrets.

Type 416 Wellington Mk IC

The first main production variant was the Mk IC which added waist guns to the Mk IA. A total of 2,685 were produced. The Mk IC had a crew of six; a pilot, radio operator, navigator/bomb aimer, observer/nose gunner, tail gunner and waist gunner.

Type 406 Wellington Mk II

The B Mk II was identical with the exception of the powerplant; using the 1,145 hp (855 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin X engine instead—400 were produced at Weybridge.

Type 417 Wellington B.Mk III

The next significant variant was the B Mk III which featured the 1,375 hp (1,205 kW) Bristol Hercules III or XI engine and a four-gun tail turret, instead of two-gun. A total of 1,519 Mk IIIs were built and became mainstays of Bomber Command through 1941.

Type 424 Wellington B.Mk IV

The 220 B Mk IV Wellingtons used the 1,200 hp (895 kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine and were flown by two Polish squadrons.

Type 442 Wellington B Mk VI

Pressurised with a long wingspan and 1,600 hp (1,190 kW) Merlin R6SM engines, 63 were produced and were operated by 109 Squadron and as Gee radio navigation trainers.

Type 440 Wellington B Mk X

The most widely produced variant of which 3,804 were built. It was similar to the Mk III except for the 1,675 hp (1,250 kW) Hercules VI or XVI powerplant and a fuselage structure of light alloy, instead of steel. The Mk X was the basis for a number of Coastal Command versions.

The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force that was one of the main front-line bombers at the start of World War II. Along with the Whitley and Wellington bombers, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war... The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three twin-engine, front-line medium bombers in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of World War II. // Developed from the A.W.23 bomber-transport to meet Air Ministry Specification B.3/34 and manufactured by... Bristol Pegasus piston engine The Pegasus was a 9 cylinder one_row radial aircraft engine designed as the follow-on to the Bristol Aeroplane Companys very successful Bristol Jupiter, following lessons learned in the Mercury effort. ... Nash & Thomson was a British engineering firm that specialised in the production of hydraulically-operated gun turrets for aircraft. ... The Rolls-Royce Merlin engines were a series of 12 cylinder, 60° V, 27 litre, liquid cooled piston aircraft engines built during World War II by Rolls-Royce, at Ford in Manchester[1] and under licence in the United States by Packard. ... Bristol Hercules engine The Hercules was a 14_cylinder two_row radial aircraft engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. ... Categories: Stub | Aircraft piston engines ... Polish Air Force (Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Siły Powietrzne RP). ... GEE was a British radio navigation system used during World War II. It used a series of broadcasters sending out precicely timed signals, and the aircraft using GEE, Bomber Commands heavy bombers, examined the time of arrival on an osciloscope at the navigators station. ... Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ...

Coastal Command variants

Type 429 Wellington GR Mk VIII

Mk IC conversion for Coastal Command service. Roles included reconnaissance, anti-submarine and anti-shipping attack. A Coastal Command Wimpy was the first aircraft to be fitted with the anti-submarine Leigh light.

Wellington GR Mk XI

Maritime version of B Mk X with an ordinary nose turret and mast radar ASV Mk II instead of chin radome, no waist guns.

Wellington GR Mk XII

Maritime version of B Mk X armed with torpedoes and with a chin radome housing the ASV Mk III radar, single nose machine gun.

Wellington GR Mk XIII

Maritime version of B Mk X with an ordinary nose turret and mast radar ASV Mk II instead of chin radome, no waist guns.

Wellington GR Mk XIV

Maritime version of B Mk X with a chin radome housing the ASV Mk III radar and added RP-3 explosive rocket rails to the wings.

Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... The Leigh Light (abbreviated L/L) was a British World War II era anti submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic. ... The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... The RP-3 (for Rocket Projectile 3), was a British air to ground rocket used in the Second World War. ... This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. ...

Transport variants

Wellington C Mk XV

Service conversions of the Wellington Mk IA into unarmed transport aircraft. Able to carry up to 18 troops.

Wellington C Mk XVI

Service conversions of the Wellington Mk IC into unarmed transport aircraft. Able to carry up to 18 troops.

Trainer variants

Type 487 Wellington T Mk XVII

Service conversions of the Wellington bomber into training aircraft. Powered by two Bristol Hercules XVII radial piston engines.

Type 490 Wellington T Mk XVIII

Production version. Powered by two Bristol Hercules XVI radial piston engines. 80 built, plus some conversions.

Wellington T Mk XIX

Service conversions of the Wellington Mk X used for navigation training. Remained in use as a trainer until 1953.

Type 619 Wellington T Mk X

Postwar conversions of the Wellington Bomber into training aircraft by Boulton Paul in Wolverhampton.^[2] For navigation training the front turret was removed and replaced by a fairing and the interior re-equipped.^[2] Some were sold to France and Greece.

Wolverhampton is a city in the historic county of Staffordshire and metropolitan county of the West Midlands. ...

Experimental and conversion variants

Type 298 Wellington Mk II prototype.

One aircraft L4250. Powered by two 1,145 hp (854 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin inline piston engines.

Type 299 Wellington Mk III prototype.

Two only.

Type 410 Wellington Mk IV prototype.

Serial R1220. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial piston engines.

Type 418 Wellington DWI Mk.I

Conversion of four Wellington Mk IAs to minesweeping aircraft. Fitted with Ford V-8 petrol engine and Maudsley electrical generator to induce magnetic field in a 48 ft (14.63 m) diameter loop mounted under fuselage. They had a solid nose with a bracket supporting the loop, which was also supported under the rear fuselage and the wings, outboard of the engines. DWI stood for Directional Wireless Installation – a cover story for the true purpose of the loop. USS Pivot (AM 276) World War II United States Admirable Class Minesweeper shown in the Gulf of Mexico on sea trials 12 July 1944 Image:Hameln Class. ... This article is about machines that produce electricity. ... For the indie-pop band, see The Magnetic Fields. ...

Type 419 Wellington DWI Mk.II

DWI Mk I aircraft upgraded by installation of De Havilland Gipsy engine for increased generation power. At least 11 further aircraft converted to this standard.^[3]

Type 407 and Type 421 Wellington Mk V. Second and first protypes respectively

Three were built, designed for pressurised, high-altitude operations using turbocharged Hercules VIII engines.

Wellington Mk VI

One high-altitude prototype only.

Type 449 Wellington Mk VIG

Production version of Type 431. Two aircraft only.

Wellington Mk VII

Single aircraft, built as a test-bed for the 40 mm Vickers S machine gun turret.

Type 437 Wellington Mk IX

One Mk IC conversion for troop transport.

Type 454 and Type 459 Wellington Mk IX

Prototypes with ASV.Mk II, ASV.Mk III radars, and powered by two Bristol Hercules VI and XVI radial piston engines.

The de Havilland Gipsy Major was a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft in the 1930s including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. ... Turbo redirects here. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Operators

 Australia

• Royal Australian Air Force
  • No. 458 Squadron RAAF Code letters "FU"
  • No. 460 Squadron RAAF Code letters "UV" and "AR"
  • No. 466 Squadron RAAF Code letters "HD"

 Canada

• Royal Canadian Air Force

 Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovakian Air Force in exile in Great Britain
  • No. 311 (Czecho-Slovak) Squadron Code letters "KX"

Free France

• Free French Air Force
  • No. 326 Squadron RAF
  • No. 344 Squadron RAF
• Aeronavale (Postwar)

 Germany

• Luftwaffe (captured)

 Greece

• Hellenic Air Force (Postwar)

 Poland

• Polish Air Forces in exile in Great Britain
  • No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Masovia" Code letters "BH"
  • No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Pomerania" Code letters "GR"
  • No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Silesia" Code letters "NZ" and "2"
  • No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Greater Poland" Squadron Code "SM"

 South Africa

• South African Air Force

 United Kingdom

Royal Air Force Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... Squadron Motto: Strike and Return Aircraft operated: Vickers Wellington, Avro Lancaster 460 Squadron RAAF was raised at RAF Breighton, and operated as part of RAF Bomber Command for the duration of WWII. It was disbanded at RAF Binbrook in 1945 In a speech he made in 2003, Chief of the... No. ... “RCAF” redirects here. ... 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron (abbreviated 407 MP Sqn) is a maritime patrol squadron of the Canadian Forces. ... 419 City of Kamloops Squadron is an Air Force unit with the Canadian Forces. ... No. ... I am seeking information about 431 sqn RCAF during 1944 - or 434 sqn RCAF - both of which were stationed at Croft airfield in England ... No. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Czechoslovakia. ... The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Czech Army. ... No. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Free_France_1940-1944. ... The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres in French) were French fighters who decided to go on fighting against Germany after the Fall of France and German occupation and to fight against Vichy France in World War II. General Charles de Gaulle was a member of the French Cabinet in... Free French Air Forces Logo The Free French Air Force (French: ) were the air arm of Free French Forces during the Second World War. ... The Aviation Navale (Naval Air Force) of the French Navy includes 162 airplanes (138 of them combat-capable) and 6 800 men, both civilians and military personel. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ...   (German IPA: ) is a generic German term for an air force. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978). ... Hellenic Air Force ensign The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) (Greek: (ΠΑ), Polemikí Aeroporía) is the air force of Greece. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... The Polish Air Forces (Polskie SiÅ‚y Powietrzne) was a name of Polish Air Forces formed in France and the United Kingdom during World War II. The core of the Polish air units fighting alongside the allies were experienced veterans of Polish September Campaign of 1939 and they largely contributed... The No. ... No. ... No. ... The No. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa_1928-1994. ... The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... RAF redirects here. ...

Fleet Air Arm No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... [[[[No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ...

Survivors

Wellington Mk.IA N2980 on display at Brooklands

There are two surviving complete Vickers Wellingtons; both are on display in the United Kingdom.^[2] Some other substantial parts also survive.^[2]

• Wellington IA Serial Number N2980 is on display at the Brooklands Museum of Motor Sport and Aviation at Brooklands, Surrey - This aircraft lost power on a training flight in 1940 and ditched in Loch Ness. All the crew survived, and the aircraft was recovered from the bottom of Loch Ness in September 1985.^[4][5]
• Wellington T Mk X Serial Number MF628 is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum,^[6] London. It was delivered to RAF No.18 MU (Maintenance Unit) at RAF Tinwald Downs, Dumfries, as a Wellington Mk X, on 11 May 1944.^[2] In March 1948 the front gun turret was removed in its conversion to a T Mk X for its role as a trainer aircraft; however, the museum has refitted the front gun turret in keeping with its original build as a Mk X.^[2][6]

Brooklands was a motor racing circuit built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. ... For other uses, see Loch Ness (disambiguation). ... An Avro Lancaster in the main hangar of the RAF Museum Hendon The Royal Air Force Museum (RAF Museum) is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the British Royal Air Force in particular. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is on the Scottish town. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Specifications (Wellington Mk IC)

Orthographic projection of the Wellington Mk.Ia, with profile views of Mk.I (Vickers turrets), Mk.II (Merlin engines), Mk.III (Hercules engines, 4-gun tail turret), GR Mk.VIII (maritime Mk.Ic, metric radar) and GR Mk.XIV (maritime Mk.X, centimetric radar)

Data from^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

• 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)
• Wing area: 840 ft² (78.04 m²)
• Empty weight: 18,556 lb (8,417 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 28,500 lb (12,927 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Bristol Pegasus Mk. XVIII radial engine, 1,050 hp (783 kW) each

Performance The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft can achieve flight. ... Bristol Pegasus piston engine The Pegasus was a 9 cylinder one_row radial aircraft engine designed as the follow-on to the Bristol Aeroplane Companys very successful Bristol Jupiter, following lessons learned in the Mercury effort. ...

• 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)
• Wing loading: 34 lb/ft² (168 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.08 hp/lb (0.13 kW/kg)

Armament
V speeds are speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft, or cross-country speed and environmental conditions in unpowered aircraft. ... In aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditons The service ceiling attempts to capture the maximum usable altitude of an aircraft. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ...

• Guns: 8x .303 Browning machine guns:
  • 2 in nose turret
  • 2 in tail turret^[7]
  • 2 in waist positions ^[8]
• Bombs: 4,500 lb (2,041 kg) bombs

.303 cartridge The . ... The Browning M1919 was a . ...

See also

Related development

• Vickers Warwick
• Vickers VC.1 Viking
  

Comparable aircraft The Vickers Warwick was a transport, anti-submarine patrol and air-sea rescue aircraft of the RAF during World War II. Vickers Warwick The Warwick was designed in response to Air Ministry specification B.1/35 for a two-engined heavy (by the standards of the day) bomber to replace... Note: this is an artice about the Post World War Two twin-engined Vickers Viking airliner. ...

• Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
• Handley Page Hampden
  

Related lists The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three twin-engine, front-line medium bombers in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of World War II. // Developed from the A.W.23 bomber-transport to meet Air Ministry Specification B.3/34 and manufactured by... The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force that was one of the main front-line bombers at the start of World War II. Along with the Whitley and Wellington bombers, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war...

• List of aircraft of the RAF
• List of aircraft of the RNZAF
  

Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. ... This is a list of aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Royal New Zealand Navy. ...

References

Notes

is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Category:Vickers Wellington

• Example of durability of Vickers Wellington
• Wellington Bomber Crews and Their Experiences