Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a twin-engined, long-range medium bomber designed and primarily produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. It was the only British bomber that was produced for the duration of the Second World War, and was produced in a greater quantity than any other British-built bomber. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design. Other aircraft developed to the same specification include the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Handley Page Hampden. During the development process, performance requirements such as for the tare weight changed substantially, and the engine used was not the one originally intended. The Wellington was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. A larger heavy bomber aircraft designed to Specification B.1/35, the Vickers Warwick, was developed in parallel with the Wellington; the two aircraft shared around 85 percent of their structural components. Many elements of the Wellington were also re-used in a civil derivative, the Vickers VC.1 Viking. Despite the original specification, the Wellington was typically used as a night bomber in the early years of the conflict, performing as one of the principal bombers used by Bomber Command. During 1943, it started to be superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster.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 with RAF Coastal Command. It remained first-line equipment through the end of the conflict, although...