World War II Bomber Aircraft

Home
World War II Aircraft

Bomber Aircraft

de Havilland 98 (Mosquito)

Avro 679 Manchester Mk IA

Avro Lancaster

Armstrong Whitworth AW-38 (Whitley)

Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Blenheim

Fairey Battle

Handley Page Halifax

Handley Page Hampden

Short Stirling

Vickers Wellesley

Vickers Wellington

Canadian World War II Bomber Aircraft

de Havilland 98 (Mosquito)

Back to Top
The de Havilland Mosquito was a British combat aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during the Second World War. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, uses of the Mosquito included: low to medium altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used as the basis for a single-seat heavy fighter, the de Havilland Hornet. The aircraft served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and many other air forces during the Second World War and postwar (see Operators below). The Mosquito was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also known as "The Wooden Wonder" or "The Timber Terror" as the bulk of the aircraft was made of laminated plywood.

The Mosquito inspired admiration from all quarters, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring. Göring was due to address a parade in Berlin in the morning of 30 January 1943, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' being voted into power. Three 105 Squadron Mosquito B Mk. IVs launched a low-level attack on the main Berlin broadcasting station, keeping Göring off the air for more than an hour.

The Reichsmarschall was not amused:

“

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy.

The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that?

”

— Hermann Göring, January 1943

The Mosquito inspired a conceptually similar German aircraft, the Focke Wulf Ta 154 Moskito, which, like its namesake, was constructed of wood.

The bulk of the Mosquito was made of custom plywood. The fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell built by forming up plywood made of 3/8" sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch. These were formed inside large concrete moulds, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. While the casein-based glue in the plywood dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into their edges while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue was completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric completed the unit.

The wings were similar but used different materials and techniques. The wing was built as a single unit, not two sides, based on two birch plywood boxes as spars fore and aft. Plywood ribs and stringers were glued and screwed to form the basic wing shape. The skinning was also birch plywood, one layer thick on the bottom and doubled up on the top. Between the two top layers was another layer of fir stringers. Building up the structure used an enormous number of brass screws, 30,000 per wing. The wing was completed with wooden flaps and aluminum ailerons.

When both parts were complete the fuselage was lowered onto the wing, and once again glued and screwed together. The remainder consisted of wooden horizontal and vertical tail surfaces, with aluminum control surfaces. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. The total weight of castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lbs.

The glue used was initially casein-based. After a series of unexplained crashes of aircraft operating in tropical climates, this was changed to a formaldehyde-based adhesive better able to resist deterioration in high humidity conditions. De Havilland also developed a technique to accelerate drying of the glue by heating it using microwaves.

About 5,000 of the 7,781 Mosquitos made contained parts made in High Wycombe. In Canada, fuselages were built in the Oshawa, Ontario plant of General Motors of Canada Limited. These were shipped to De Havilland of Canada in Toronto for mating to fuselages and completion. De Havilland Australia started construction in Sydney. These production lines added 1,134 from Canada and 212 from Australia.

The Mosquito is often described as having been faster than enemy fighters, although this is not completely true. On its introduction to service, the aircraft was about as fast as the front-line German fighters that opposed it, the BF 109F and Fw 190A. Nonetheless the fighters' speed advantage was slim enough that by the time those aircraft could reach interception altitude, the Mosquito would have completed its bombing run and would be racing for home. Advancements in German fighters eventually outpaced performance improvements in the Mosquito, but it was always an elusive target even in daylight.

At night, however, no Luftwaffe aircraft even came close. At the time the Mosquito was introduced, most of the dedicated night fighter groups were equipped with aircraft like the Bf 110 or Junkers Ju 88 of much lower performance. Although there were several attempts to address this by introducing a new night fighter of greatly improved performance, a variety of problems from engine troubles to the intensifying Allied bombing campaign meant that they never matured. The Heinkel He 219 and Junkers Ju 388, that were technically the Mosquito's equal, simply did not enter large-scale production. Their tiny numbers meant they were never a serious threat, and in the night bombing role, the Mosquito went largely unopposed for the entire war.

With the introduction of the nitrous oxide boosted Bf 109s and the jet-powered Me 262 late in the war, the Luftwaffe had interceptors with a clear speed advantage over the Mosquito. The PR Mk 32 photo reconnaissance version of the Mosquito attempted to counter this with long-span wings, special high-altitude superchargers and the elimination of as much weight as possible, raising its cruising altitude to 42,000 ft (13,000 m). Even with these changes, the Mosquito was not totally safe; in December 1944, one was intercepted at maximum altitude.

The first bomber squadrons to receive the Mosquito B IV used it for several low-level daylight raids. One of the first was the Oslo raid on 25 September 1942, carried out by four aircraft of 105 Squadron, after which the Mosquito was publicly revealed for the first time.

Another notable daylight mission was carried out in the morning of 30 January 1943, against a Nazi rally in Berlin, giving the lie to the speaker's (Reichmarschall Hermann Göring's) claim that such a mission was impossible. Not content with this, Mosquitos from 139 Squadron also went to Berlin in the afternoon of the same day and tried to interrupt an important speech by Joseph Goebbels, Germany's Propaganda Minister.

Mosquito bomber versions were used as part of Bomber Command; the Pathfinders in No. 8 Group and the Light Night Strike Force (LNSF). The LNSF carried out high speed night raids with precision aiming and navigation. Their mission was twofold: they targeted small but vital installations; and acted as a diversion from the raids of the heavy bombers, simulating large formations through the use of chaff. On nights when no heavy bomber raid was planned, the LNSF would often strike to deny the German air defences a rest.

As part of 8 Group Mosquitos took part in many bombing operations as pathfinders, marking targets accurately with flares for later attack by massive formations of heavy bombers. Bomber Command Mosquitos flew over 28,000 operations, dropping 35,000 tons of bombs, and losing just 193 aircraft in the process (a loss rate of 0.7%, compared to a 2.2% loss rate for the four engined heavies). It has been calculated that a Mosquito could be loaded with a 4,000 lb. "cookie" bomb, fly to Germany, drop the bomb, return, bomb up and refuel, fly to Germany again and drop a second 4,000 lb bomb and return, and still land before a Stirling (the slowest of Bomber Command's four-engined bombers) which left at the same time armed with a full bomb load, could strike Germany.

General characteristics

Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator
Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
Empty weight: 13,356 lb (6,058 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,700 lb (8,028 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 18,649 lb (8,549 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 21/21 or 23/23 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,480 hp (21 & 23) (1,103 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 318 knots (366 mph, 610 km/h) at 21,400 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 782 nm (900 mi, 1,500 km) 410 gallon fuel load at 20,000 ft
Service ceiling 29,000 ft (8,839 m)
Rate of climb: 1,740 ft/min (8.8 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft² (195 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)

Armament

Guns: 4× 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon (fuselage) and 4× .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (nose)

Avro 679 Manchester

Back to Top
The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engined heavy bomber developed during the Second World War by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. The Manchester was a failure due to its under-developed, under-powered and unreliable engines, but was the forerunner to the famous Avro Lancaster, one of the most successful bombers of the war.

The Manchester was originally designed to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 which was the same specification that Handley Page followed in their design of the Halifax bomber. The specification called for a twin-engined "medium bomber" for "worldwide use", which was to be capable of carrying out shallow (30 degrees) dive bombing attacks, and carry heavy bombloads (8,000 lbs) or two 18 inch torpedoes. The design used the Rolls-Royce Vulture 24 cylinder X-block engine, which was essentially two Rolls-Royce Peregrine Vee cylinder blocks mounted one on top of the other, the bottom one inverted to give the "X" shape. When developed in 1935, the engine had promise — it was rated at 1,760 hp — but it proved woefully unreliable and had to be derated to between 1,480 and 1,500 hp. Avro's prototype Manchester L7246 first flew at Manchester's Ringway Airport on 25 July 1939, with the second aircraft following on 26 May 1940. The Rolls-Royce engine was chosen by Vickers and not stipulated by the Air Ministry as is sometimes said.

While the Manchester was designed with twin tails, the first production aircraft, designated the Mk I, had a central fin added and a total of 20 aircraft with this configuration were completed. They were succeeded by the Mk IA which reverted to the twin-fin system but using enlarged, taller fin and rudders and this configuration carried over to the Lancaster.

Avro built 177 and Metropolitan-Vickers completed 32 aircraft. Plans for Armstrong Whitworth and Fairey at Stockport/Ringway to build the Manchester were abandoned.

Handley Page's response to the engine's faults was to switch the Halifax to four of the less powerful but more reliable Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines. Avro however persisted with the Vulture and the Manchester went into production, entering service with No. 207 Squadron of RAF Bomber Command in November 1940, flying its first operational mission on 24 February 1941 in a raid on the French port of Brest. Eventually 209 Manchesters entered service, before production finished in November 1941 equipping eight bomber squadrons, serving with two others and also being used by Coastal Command.

The Mk III Manchester, BT308, which first flew on 9 January 1941, was essentially the first Lancaster, being powered by four Merlin engines and with increased wingspan, although initially retaining the three fins and twin outboard rudders (the central fin had no movable control surface) of the Manchester I. BT308 received the "Lancaster" name immediately after its first flight. The second prototype Lancaster DG595 featured the twin, enlarged fins and rudders of the Manchester IA. Manchester production continued until November of that year but some aircraft still in production were completed as Lancasters.

The 193 operational Manchesters flew 1,269 operations with Bomber Command, dropping 1,826 tons of bombs and losing 63 aircraft in action, flying its last operation against Bremen on 25 June 1942. Of the 78 aircraft lost 45 were non-operational losses of which 30 involved engine failure.

408 Squadron RCAF

No. 408 Squadron's history dates back to June 24, 1941, when RAF Bomber Command's directive called for the formation of 408 Squadron as part of No. 5 Group RAF. It was to be the second Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) bomber squadron formed overseas. Goose Squadron, as it was to become known, was initially based at Lindholm in Yorkshire, England, and equipped with Handley Page Hampdens. During the war, the Goose Squadron changed from the Hampden aircraft to Halifax, to Lancaster (in August 1943), to Halifax, and back to Lancaster aircraft.

It flew 4,610 sorties and dropped 11,340 tons of bombs. A total of 170 aircraft were lost and 933 personnel were killed, listed as missing in action (MIA) or prisoners of war (POW). Squadron members won two hundred decorations, and 11 battle honours for its wartime operations.

On September 5, 1945, 408 Squadron was officially disbanded.

420 Squadron RCAF

No. 420 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force existed from late December 1941 forwards.

Number 420 Squadron was formed at Waddington, Lincolnshire, England December 19, 1941 as the RCAF's 18th (and fourth Bomber) squadron formed overseas. During the Second World War, the unit ultimately flew Manchester, Hampden, Wellington, Halifax, and Lancaster aircraft on strategic and tactical bombing operations. From June to October 1943, it flew tropicalized Wellington aircraft from North Africa in support of the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In April of 1945, the Squadron was converted to Lancasters, and after hostilities in Europe concluded, it was selected as part of Tiger Force slated for duty in the Pacific, and returned to Canada for reorganization and training. The sudden end of the war in the Far East resulted in the Squadron being disbanded at Debert, Nova Scotia September 5, 1945.

General characteristics

Crew: 7
Length: 70 ft (21.34 m)
Wingspan: 90 ft 1 in (27.46 m)
Height: 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Empty weight: 31,200 lb (14,152 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (22,680 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Vulture I 24-cylinder X-type, 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 250 mph (402 km/h)
Range: 1,200 miles (1,930 km)
Service ceiling 19,500 ft (5,852 m)

Armament

Guns: 8 x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, (in Nash & Thomson nose (2), dorsal (2) and tail (4) turrets)
Bombs: 10,350 lb (4,695 kg) bomb load

Avro Lancaster

Back to Top

The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within RAF Bomber Command. The "Lanc" or "Lankie," as it became affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams.

The origins of the Lancaster lie in a twin-engined bomber design submitted to meet Specification P.13/36, which was for a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers for "worldwide use", the engine specified as the Rolls-Royce Vulture. The resulting aircraft was the Avro Manchester, which, although a capable aircraft, was troubled by the unreliability of the Vulture. Only 200 Manchesters were built and they were withdrawn from service in 1942.

Avro's chief designer, Roy Chadwick, was already working on an improved Manchester design using four of the more reliable but less powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines on a larger wing. The aircraft was initially designated Avro Type 683 Manchester III, and later re-named the Lancaster. The prototype aircraft BT308 was assembled by Avro's experimental flight department at Manchester's Ringway Airport from where test pilot H.A. "Bill" Thorn took the controls for its first flight on Thursday, 9 January 1941. The aircraft proved to be a great improvement on its predecessor, being "one of the few warplanes in history to be 'right' from the start." Its initial three-finned tail layout, a result of the design being adapted from the Manchester I, was quickly changed on the second prototype DG595 and subsequent production aircraft to the familiar twin-finned specification also used on the later Manchesters.

In a standard Lancaster as used in the war, the crew were accommodated as follows: starting at the nose, the bomb aimer had two positions to man. His primary location was lying prone on the floor of the nose of the aircraft, where he had access to the controls for the bombsight head in front, with the bombsight computer on his left and bomb release selectors on the right. He would also use his view out of the large transparent perspex nose cupola to assist the navigator with map reading. To man the Frazer Nash FN5 nose turret, he simply had to stand up and he would be in position behind the triggers of his twin Browning .303 guns. The bomb aimer's position contained the nose parachute exit in the floor.

Moving backwards, on the roof of the bomb bay the pilot and flight engineer sat side-by-side under the expansive canopy, with the pilot sitting on the left on a raised portion of the floor. The flight engineer sat on a collapsible seat (known as a "second dicky seat") to the pilot's right, with the fuel selectors and gauges on a panel behind him and to his right.

Behind these crew members, and behind a curtain fitted to allow him to use light to work, sat the navigator. His position had him facing to port with a large chart table in front of him. An instrument panel showing the airspeed, altitude and other details required for navigation was mounted on the side of the fuselage above the chart table.

The radios for the wireless operator were mounted on the left-hand end of the chart table, facing towards the rear of the aircraft. Behind these radios, facing forwards, on a seat at the front of the main spar sat the wireless operator. To his left was a window, and above him was the astrodome, used for visual signalling and also by the navigator for celestial navigation.

While eight .303 in machine guns were the most common Lancaster armament, twin .50 turrets were later available in both the tail and dorsal positions. A Preston-Green mount was available for a .50 cal mounted in a ventral blister, but this was mostly used in RCAF service. This blister was later the location for the H2S radar. A Nash & Thomson FN-64 periscope-sighted twin .303 ventral turret was also available but rarely fitted as it was hard to sight. (Similar problems afflicted the ventral turret in the North American B-25C and other bombers). Some unofficial mounts for .50 cal or even 20 mm guns were made, firing through ventral holes of various designs.

An important feature of the Lancaster was its extensive bomb bay, at 33 feet (10.05 m) long. Initially the heaviest bombs carried were 4,000 lb (1,818 kg) "Cookies". Bulged doors were added to allow the aircraft to carry 8,000lb and later 12,000lb "Cookies". Towards the end of the war, attacking special and hardened targets, the B I Specials could carry the 21 foot (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,448 kg) "Tallboy" or 25.5 foot (7.77 m) long 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) "Grand Slam" "earthquake" bombs: the Lancaster was able to deliver the heaviest bombs made. To carry the "Grand Slam" extensive modifications to the aircraft were required which led to them being redesignated as B I (Specials). The modifications included removal of the mid-upper turret, two guns from the rear turret, removal of all of the cockpit armour plating and installation of Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk 24 Engines which had better take-off performance. The bomb-bay doors were removed and the rear end of the bomb bay cut away to clear the tail of the bomb. Later the nose turret was also removed to further improve performance.

The first RAF squadron to convert to the Lancaster was No. 44 Squadron RAF in early 1942.

Lancasters flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 608,612 tons of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and was scrapped in 1947.

A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The mission was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. The story of the mission was later made into a film, The Dam Busters. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship.

Lancasters from Bomber Command were to have formed the main strength of Tiger Force, the Commonwealth bomber contingent scheduled to take part in Operation Downfall, the codename for the planned invasion of Japan in late 1945, from bases on Okinawa.

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: 7: pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid-upper and rear gunners
Length: 69 ft 5 in (21.18 m)
Wingspan: 102 ft (31.09 m)
Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
Wing area: 1,300 ft² (120 m²)
Empty weight: 36 828 lb (16,705 kg)
Loaded weight: 63,000 lb (29,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V12 engines, 1,280 hp (954 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 240 knots (280 mph, 450 km/h) at 15,000 ft (5,600 m)
Range: 2,700 NM (3,000 mi, 4,600 km) with minimal bomb load
Service ceiling 23,500 ft (8,160 m)
Wing loading: 48 lb/ft² (240 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.082 hp/lb (130 W/kg)

Armament

Guns: 8× 0.303 in (7.70 mm) Browning machine guns in three turrets, with variations
Bombs: Maximum normal bomb load of 14,000lbs or 22,000lb single bomb with modifications to bomb bay.

Armstrong Whitworth AW-38 (Whitley)

Back to Top

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War. It took part in the first RAF bombing raid on German territory, and remained an integral part of the early British bomber offensive until the introduction of four-engine "heavies". Its front line service included performing maritime reconnaissance duties with Coastal Command, while also being employed in the second line roles of glider-tug, trainer and transport aircraft.

The aircraft was named after Whitley, a suburb of Coventry where one of Armstrong Whitworth's plants was located.

The Whitley was developed by John Lloyd, the chief designer of Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft from the Armstrong Whitworth AW.23 bomber-transport to meet Air Ministry Specification B.3/34 issued in 1934 for a heavy night bomber. The Whitley carried a crew of five and was the first aircraft serving with the RAF to have a monocoque (stressed skin) fuselage, which resulted in a slab-sided structure and eased production. As Lloyd was unfamiliar with the use of flaps on a large heavy monoplane, they were initially omitted. To compensate, the mid-set wings were set at a high angle of incidence (8.5 deg) to confer good takeoff and landing performance. Although flaps were included late in the design stage, the wing remained unaltered. As a result, the Whitley flew with a pronounced nose-down attitude, resulting in considerable drag. This "nose down" attitude was first seen in the design of the Armstrong Whitworth Ensign pre-war airliner.

The Whitley first entered service with No. 10 Squadron in March 1937, replacing Handley Page Heyford biplanes, and by the outbreak of the Second World War, seven squadrons were operational with the Whitley. The majority were flying Whitley IIIs or IVs as the Whitley V had only just been introduced.

Along with the Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington, Whitleys bore the brunt of the early fighting, and saw action on the first night of the war when they dropped leaflets over Germany. Amongst the many aircrew who flew the Whitley in operations over Germany was the later to be famous Leonard Cheshire who spent most of his first three years at war flying Whitleys. However, unlike the Hampden and Wellington – which met specification B.9/32 for a day bomber – the Whitley was always intended for night operations, and so did not share the early heavy losses received in attempted daylight raids on German shipping early in the war. Along with Hampdens, the Whitley made the first bombing raid on German soil on the night of 19/20 March 1940, attacking the Hornum seaplane base on the Island of Sylt. Whitleys also carried out the first RAF raid on Italy in 11/12 June 1940.

General characteristics

Crew: 5
Length: 70 ft 6 in (21.49 m)
Wingspan: 84 ft (25.60 m)
Height: 15 ft (4.57 m)
Wing area: 1,137 ft² (106 m²)
Empty weight: 19,300 lb (8,768 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 33,500 lb (15,196 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin X liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,145 hp (855 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 200 knots (230 mph, 370 km/h) at 16,400 ft (5,000 m)
Combat radius: 1,430 nm (1,650 mi, 2,650 km)
Ferry range: 2,100 nm (2,400 mi, 3,900 km)
Service ceiling 26,000 ft (7,900 m)
Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)
Max wing loading: 29.5 lb/ft² (143 kg/m²)
Minimum power/mass: 0.684 hp/lb (112 W/kg)

Armament

Guns:
- 1× .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in nose turret
- 4× .303 in Browning machine guns in tail turret
Bombs: Up to 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) of bombs in the fuselage and 14 individual cells in the wings, typically including
- 12× 250 lb (110 kg) and
- 2× 500 lb (230 kg) bombs
- Bombs as heavy as 2,000 lb (907 kg) could be carried

Bristol Type 152 Beaufort

Back to Top

The Bristol Type 152 Beaufort was a British large twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from the earlier Blenheim light bomber.

Beauforts were most widely used, until the end of the war, by the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific theatre. Most of these planes were manufactured under licence in Australia. Beauforts also saw service with the Royal Air Force's Coastal Command — including Commonwealth squadrons serving with the RAF — and then the Fleet Air Arm from 1940, until they were withdrawn in 1944.

The Beaufort spawned a long-range heavy fighter variant called the Beaufighter, which proved very successful.

The Beaufort came from Bristol's submission to meet Air Ministry Specifications M.I5/35 and G.24/35 for a land-based twin-engined torpedo-bomber and general reconnaissance aircraft. With a production order to Specification 10/36, the Bristol Type 152 was given the name Bristol Beaufort. The competing torpedo bomber entry from Blackburn was also ordered as the Blackburn Botha. In an unprecedented step both designs were ordered straight off the drawing board, an indication of how urgently the RAF needed a new torpedo bomber. 320 Beauforts were ordered: initially, because of their commitment to the Blenheim Bristol were to build 78 at their Filton factory, with the other 242 being built by Blackburn. These allocations would be changed later.

Although the design looked similar in many ways to the Blenheim, it was in fact somewhat larger, with an 18-inch increase in wingspan. With the fuselage being made longer in the nose and taller to accommodate a fourth crew member, it was also considerably heavier. The larger bomb-bay was designed to house a semi-recessed torpedo, or it could carry an increased bomb load. Because of the increased weight the Blenheim's Mercury engines were to be replaced by the more powerful, sleeve valve, Bristol Perseus. It was soon determined that even with the Perseus, the Beaufort would be slower than the Blenheim and so a switch was made to the larger Taurus engine, also a sleeve valve design. For these engines chief designer Roy Feddan developed special low-drag NACA cowlings which exhausted air through vertical slots flanking the nacelles under the wings. Air flow was controlled by adjustable flaps.

A total of 1,013 Taurus powered Mark Is were produced and a number of changes were introduced into the line:

The original curved perspex bomb aimers nose panels were replaced by flat, non-distorting panels from the 10th production aircraft.
Successive Marks of Taurus engines were installed: starting with the Taurus III the more reliable Taurus IIs were used whenever possible. The Taurus IIs were modified to IIA, which became the Taurus VI. All of these versions produced 860/900 hp (641/671 kW). The final marks of Taurus engines used were the more powerful 1,130 hp (843 kW) XII and XVIs. The Taurus engines drove de Havilland Type DH5/19 constant speed propellers.
Extra .303 Vickers G.O machine guns were fitted; two on a gimbal mounting in the forward nose and single guns on pivots on either beam.
A remotely controlled .303 Browning machine gun was fitted, firing to the rear under the nose. Housed in a clear blown transparency, it was found to be of little use and most operational units soon discarded them.

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
Height: 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
Wing area: 503 ft² (46.73 m²)
Empty weight: 13,107 lb (5,945 kg)
Loaded weight: 21,230 lb (9,629 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Bristol Taurus VI 14-cylinder radial engines (late production Mk Is), 1,130 hp (843 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 271.5 mph (236 knots, 420 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,981 m). With Mk XII torpedo 263 mph (228 knots, 423 km/h.)
Cruise speed: 255 mph at 6,500 ft (221 knots, 410 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,981 m). With Mk XII torpedo 225 mph (195 knots, 362 km/h.)
Range: 1,600 mi (1,400 nm, 2,600 km)
Service ceiling 16,500 ft (5,030 m)
Wing loading: 42.2 lb/ft² (206 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.106 hp/lb (175 W/kg)

Armament

Guns:
- Initially 3× .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers G.O machine guns (two in dorsal turret, one in port wing). See British Beauforts for later armament fit.
- 1× .303 in Browning machine gun in rear-firing chin blister
Bombs:
- 1× 1,605 lb (728 kg) 18 inch (45.72 cm) Mk XII torpedo or.
- 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs or mines.

Bristol Blenheim

Back to Top
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was later adapted into a successful long-range fighter and night fighter. A Canadian-made variant named the Bolingbroke was used as an anti-submarine and training aircraft. It was one of the first British aircraft to have all-metal stressed skin construction, to utilise retractable landing gear, flaps, powered gun turret and variable-pitch propellers.

The aircraft was all-metal with two Bristol Mercury VIII air-cooled radial engines, each of 860 hp (640 kW). It carried a crew of three – pilot, navigator/bombardier and telegraphist / air gunner. Armament comprised a single forward-firing 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun outboard of the port engine and a 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Lewis gun in a semi-retracting Bristol Type B Mk.I dorsal turret firing to the rear. From 1939 onwards, the Lewis gun was replaced by the more modern Vickers VGO machine gun of the same calibre. A 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb load could be carried in the internal bay.

To achieve its relatively high speed, the Blenheim had a very small fuselage cross-section. Pilot's quarters on the left side of the nose were so cramped that the control yoke obscured all flight instruments while engine instruments eliminated the forward view on landings. Most secondary instruments were arranged along the left side of the cockpit with essential items like propeller pitch control actually placed behind the pilot where they had to be operated by feel alone. Like most contemporary British aircraft, the bomb bay doors were kept closed with bungee cords and opened under the weight of the released bombs. Because there was no way to predict how long it would take for the bombs to force the doors open, bombing accuracy was consequently poor.

The aircraft was ordered directly from the drawing board with the first production model, known at the time as the Bolingbroke (pronounced Bolling-brook), serving as the only prototype. The name then became Blenheim Mk I with subsequent deliveries started in March 1937, with 114 Squadron being the first squadron to receive the Blenheim. The aircraft would prove to be so successful that it was licensed by a number of countries, including Finland and Yugoslavia. Other countries bought it outright, including Romania, Greece and Turkey. Total production of the Blenheim Mk I in England amounted to 1,351 aircraft.

The Blenheim was regarded as a pleasant aircraft to fly, although it did have some characteristics which could catch even experienced pilots by surprise. Unfortunately, with the rapid advances in technology which had taken place in the late 1930s by the start of the Second World War the Blenheim was obsolescent. The aircraft had become heavier as extra service equipment was installed; much of this was found to be needed through operational experience. This, coupled with the rapid performance increases of fighters, had eclipsed the Blenheim's speed advantage. ^[4]

Although the rear gunner was housed in a turret, the turret could only traverse a total of 180 degrees, leaving the forward arc open to attack. The light armament of one .303 calibre Vickers VGO in the turret and one .303 Browning machine gun in the port wing was seldom able to deter fighter opposition. Squadrons were forced to use several different improvisations in an attempt to provide better defensive armament, until officially sanctioned modifications were able to be introduced in early 1940. The Blenheim also proved to be vulnerable to flak, especially around the rear fuselage. Flexible, self-sealing liners had been fitted to the fuel tanks but they were still not fully protected against the 20 mm MG/FF cannon carried by the Luftwaffe's Bf 109s and Bf 110s.

After France fell to Germany in June 1940, the Free French Air Force was formed at RAF Odiham in the form of Groupe Mixte de Combat (GMC) 1, consisting of a mixed bag of Blenheims and Westland Lysander liaison/observation aircraft, which eventually went to North Africa and saw action against the Italians and Germans.

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 42 ft 7 in (12.98 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)
Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m)
Wing area: 469 ft² (43.6 m²)
Empty weight: 9,790 lb (4,450 kg)
Loaded weight: 14,400 lb (6,545 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Bristol Mercury XV radial engine, 920 hp (690 kW) each
Propellers: Three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 266 mph (231 knots, 428 km/h)
Range: 1,460 mi (1,270 NM, 2,351 km)
Service ceiling 27,260 ft (8,310 m)
Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 30.7 lb/ft² (150 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (.21 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns:
- 1× .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in port wing
- 1 or 2× .303 in Browning guns in rear-firing under-nose blister or Nash & Thomson FN.54 turret
- 2× .303 in Browning guns in dorsal turret
Bombs:
- 4× 250 lb (110 kg) bombs or
- 2× 500 lb (230 kg) bombs internally and 8× 40 lb (18 kg) bombs externally

Fairey Battle

Back to Top
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engined light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters, high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load. Despite being a vast improvement on the aircraft that preceded it, by the time it saw action it was slow, limited in range and highly vulnerable to attack. During the Battle of France in 1940, the Fairey Battle recorded the first RAF aerial victory of the Second World War. Despite this claim, it sustained terrible casualties and was eventually pulled from the front lines, in 1941.

The original Battle was designed to Specification P.27/32 as a two-seat day bomber, to replace the ageing Hawker Hart and Hawker Hind biplane bombers. The prototype Battle first flew on 10 March 1936.^[2] When the RAF embarked on the pre-war expansion programme the Battle became a priority production target with 2,419 ordered and an initial production order placed for 155 Battles built to Specification P.23/35. The first of these aircraft was completed in June 1937 at Fairey's Stockport factory and tested at their Manchester (Ringway) facility.

Production Battles were powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin I, II, III and V, and took their Mark numbers from the powerplant (for example, a Battle Mk II was powered by a Merlin II). Subsequently the Austin Motors "Shadow Factory" at Longbridge manufactured 1,029 aircraft to Specification P.32/36.

The Battle's standard payload of four 250 lb (110 kg) bombs was carried in cells inside the wings and an additional 500 lb of bombs could be carried on under-wing racks. Having replaced the RAF's Hawker Harts and Hinds when it entered service in 1937 the Battle was even then obsolescent as fighter technology had outstripped the modest performance gains that the light bomber possessed over its biplane antecedents.

The first RAF squadron to be equipped with the Battles was No. 63 Sqn. in June, 1937. The Battle had the distinction of becoming the first operational aircraft to enter service with a Merlin engine, beating the Hawker Hurricane's service début by a few months.

The Battle was obsolete by the start of the Second World War but remained a front line RAF bomber due to a lack of a suitable replacement. On 2 September 1939, during the "Phoney War", ten Battle squadrons were deployed to France to form a vanguard of the Advanced Air Striking Force. On 20 September 1939 a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 was shot down by Battle gunner Sgt. F. Letchard during a patrol near Aachen, marking the RAF's first aerial victory of the war.

Nonetheless, the Battle was hopelessly outclassed by Luftwaffe fighters, being almost 100 mph slower than the contemporary Bf 109 at 14,000 feet. The Battle's defence consisted of a single .303 Vickers K machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit and a single forward-firing .303 Browning machine gun in the starboard wing.

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 42 ft 2 in (12.85 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Height: 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Wing area: 422 ft² (39.2 m²)
Empty weight: 6,647 lb (3,015 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,792 lb (4,895 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin II liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (770 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 257 mph (223 knots, 414 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
Range: 1,000 mi (870 nm, 1,600 km)
Service ceiling 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Rate of climb: 920 ft/min (4.7 m/s)
Wing loading: 25.6 lb/ft² (125 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.095 hp/lb (157 W/kg)

Armament

Guns:
- 1× .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in starboard wing
- 1× .303 in Vickers K machine gun in rear cabin
Bombs:
- 4× 250 lb (110 kg) bombs internally
- 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs externally

Handley Page Halifax

Back to Top
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engine heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and Polish Air Force.

Handley Page produced the H.P.56 design to meet Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a twin-engine medium bomber for "world-wide use". Other candidates for the specification were the Avro Manchester and a Vickers Warwick development; all used twin Rolls-Royce Vulture engines. The introduction of the successful P.13/36 candidates were delayed by the necessity of ordering more Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley and Vickers Wellington bombers first.

Performance with the Vulture was found to be lacking. Modifications resulted in the definitive H.P.57 which upon acceptance gained the name "Halifax" following the practice of naming heavy bombers after major towns; in this case Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The H.P.57 was enlarged and powered by four 1,280 hp (950 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines. Such was the promise of the new model that the RAF had placed their first order for 100 Mk I Halifaxes "off the drawing board" before the first prototype even flew. The maiden flight of the Halifax took place on 24 September 1939 from RAF Bicester, 21 days after the UK declared war on Germany.

The Halifax production subsequently began at English Electric's site at Samlesbury, Lancashire with over 2,000 bombers being built at the factory during the war.

The Halifax entered service with No. 35 Squadron RAF at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in November 1940 and its first operational raid was against Le Havre on the night of 11-12 March 1941.

In service with RAF Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations, dropped 224,207 tons of bombs and lost 1,833 aircraft. In addition to bombing missions, the Halifax served as a glider tug, electronic warfare aircraft for No. 100 Group RAF and special operations such as parachuting agents and arms into occupied Europe. Halifaxes were also operated by RAF Coastal Command for anti submarine warfare, reconnaissance and meteorological roles.

Postwar, Halifaxes remained in service with the RAF Coastal Command and RAF Transport Command and the Armée de l'Air until early 1952. The Pakistan Air Force which inherited the planes from the RAF continued to use the type until 1961.

A number of former RAF Halifax C8s were sold from 1945 and used as freighters by a number of mainly British airlines. In 1948 the air freight market was in decline but 41 civil aircraft were used in the Berlin Air Lift operating a total of 4,653 freight sorties and 3,509 sorties carrying bulk diesel fuel. Nine aircraft were lost during the airlift but as the aircraft returned to England most civil Halifaxes were scrapped.

General characteristics

Crew: 7
Length: 71 ft 7 in (21.82 m)
Wingspan: 104 ft 2 in (31.75 m)
Height: 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Wing area: 1,190 ft² (110.6 m²)
Loaded weight: 54,400 lb (24,675 kg)
Powerplant: × Bristol Hercules XVI radial engine, 1,615 hp (1,205 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 282 mph (454 km/h) at 13,500 ft (4,115 m)
Range: 1,860 mi (3,000 km) combat
Service ceiling 24,000 ft (7,315 m)
Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s)
Wing loading: 45.7 lb/ft² (223.1 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.12 hp/lb (195 W/kg)

Armament

Guns: 8 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (4 in dorsal turret, 4 in tail turret), 1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in nose
Bombs: 13,000 lb (5,897 kg) of bombs

Handley Page HP-52 Hampden

Back to Top
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden, known as the "Flying Suitcase" because of its cramped crew conditions, was still unsuited to the modern air war and, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942.

Handley Page designed the Hampden to the same specification as the Wellington (Air Ministry Specification B.9/32) and the first prototype flew on 21 June 1936. The first production batch of 180 Mk I Hampdens was built to specification 30/36.

The Mk I had a crew of four: pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, radio operator and rear gunner. Conceived as a fast, manoeuvrable, "fighting bomber", the Hampden had a fixed .303 in Vickers K machine gun in the forward fuselage. To avoid the weight penalties of powered-turrets, the Hampden had a curved Perspex nose fitted with a manual .303 inch Vickers K gun and two more single Vickers K installations in the rear upper and lower positions. The guns were thoroughly inadequate for defence, consequently, by 1940, the single guns had been replaced by twin Vickers K guns.

A total of 1,430 Hampdens were built: 500 by Handley Page, 770 by English Electric at Samlesbury in Lancashire; and in 1940–41, 160 in Canada by the Canadian Associated Aircraft consortium (although some were retained in Canada, 84 were shipped by sea to the United Kingdom).

No. 49 Squadron received the first Hampdens in September 1938. Flight Lieutenant Rod Learoyd of this squadron was awarded the Victoria Cross for the attack that he lead on the Dortmund-Ems aqueduct on 12 August 1940. Sergeant John Hannah was the wireless operator/air gunner of an 83 Squadron Hampden; he was awarded the Victoria Cross on 15th September 1940 when he fought the flames of the burning aircraft allowing the pilot to return it to base.

A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use the Hampden was no match for Luftwaffe fighters. Consequently its career as a day bomber was brief, but Hampdens continued to operate at night on bombing raids over Germany, and mine-laying (code-named "gardening") in the North Sea.

Almost half of the Hampdens built – 714, were lost on operations, taking with them 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; one became the victim of a German barrage balloon; 263 Hampdens crashed due to "a variety of causes", and 214 others were classed as "missing". Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night. Guy Gibson spent most of the first two years of his wartime service flying Hampdens, and his book Enemy Coast Ahead gives a strong flavour of the trials and tribulations of taking these aircraft into action.

After being withdrawn from Bomber Command in 1942, it operated with Coastal Command through 1943 as a long-range torpedo bomber (the Hampden TB Mk I with a Mk XII torpedo in an open bomb-bay and a single 500 lb [227 kg] bomb under each wing) and as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. No. 144 Squadron RAF and No. 455 Squadron RAAF were involved in the escort of Convoy PQ-18 operating out of Soviet airbases and left their 23 aircraft in the USSR afterwards. These were then used by the 3rd Squadron of the 24 MTAP (Anti-shipping Wing) of the Soviet Navy until at least 1943. The Hampden was also used by the RCAF and the RNZAF.

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 53 ft 7 in (16.33 m)
Wingspan: 69 ft 2 in (21.08 m)
Height: 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
Wing area: 688 ft² (63.9 m²)
Empty weight: 11,780 lb (5,344 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,756 lb (8,508 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engine, 980 hp (730 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 265 mph (410 km/h) at 15,500 ft (4,724 m)
Range: 1,095 miles (1,762 km)
Service ceiling 19,000 ft (5,790 m)
Rate of climb: 980 ft/min (300 m/min)
Wing loading: 27.3 lb/ft² (133 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.104 hp/lb (0.172 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns: 4 to 6 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine guns: one flexible and one fixed in the nose, one or two each in dorsal and ventral positions
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bombs or 1 x 18 in torpedo or mines

Short Stirling

Back to Top
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941. The Stirling was fated to have a relatively brief operational career being relegated to second line duties from 1943 onwards when other four-engined RAF bombers, specifically the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster, took over its role.

Throughout the 1930s, the Royal Air Force was interested primarily in twin-engine bombers. These designs put limited demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were already stretched with the introduction of so many new types into service. However, the limitations in terms of power were so serious that the British invested heavily in development of huge engines in the 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW) class in order to improve performance. Meanwhile the U.S. and USSR were developing bombers with four smaller engines, which proved to have excellent range and fair lifting capacity, so in 1936 the RAF also decided to investigate the feasibility of the four-engined bomber.

Operational status was not reached until January 1941, by No. 7 Squadron RAF. The first three Stirlings flew a mission on the night of 10/11 February 1941 against fuel storage tanks at Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, and from spring of 1942 the bomber started to be used in greater numbers. From May 1943, air raids on Germany started with over a hundred Stirlings at once.

Despite the "disappointing performance" at maximum altitude, Stirling pilots were delighted to discover that, due to the thick wing, they could out-turn the Ju 88 and Me 110 nightfighters they faced. Its handling was much better than that of the Halifax and some preferred it to the Lancaster. Based on its flight characteristics, Pilot Murray Peden of No. 214 RAF Squadron flatly described the Stirling as "one of the finest aircraft ever built".

Another consequence of the thick wing however was a low ceiling and many missions were flown as low as 12,000 ft (4,000 m). This was a disadvantage on many raids, notably if crews were attacking Italy and had to fly through (rather than "over") the Alps. When Stirlings were on combined operations with other RAF bombers which could fly at higher altitudes, the Luftwaffe concentrated on the low-flying Stirlings. Within five months of being introduced, 67 out of the 84 aircraft delivered had been lost to enemy action or written off after crashes.

The Stirling's maximum bomb load was only able to be carried for relatively short distances of around 590 miles. On typical missions deep into Germany or Italy a smaller 3,500 lb (1,590 kg) load was carried, consisting of seven 500 lb (227 kg) bombs. This was the sort of load being carried by the RAF's medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington and, by 1944, by the de Havilland Mosquito. Perhaps the biggest problem with the design was that the bomb bay had two structural dividers running down the middle, limiting it to carrying nothing larger than the 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb. As the RAF started using the 4000 lb (1,815 kg) "cookies" and even larger "specials," the Stirling became less useful. The Handley-Page Halifax and especially the Avro Lancaster offered better performance (the Lancaster could carry twice the Stirling's bombload over long distances, and was at least 40 mph faster while having an operating altitude of about 4,000 ft higher), so when they became available in greater numbers from 1943, it was decided to withdraw Stirlings to secondary tasks.

General characteristics

Crew: 7
Length: 87 ft 3 in (26.6 m)
Wingspan: 99 ft 1 in (30.2 m)
Height: 28 ft 10 in (8.8 m)
Wing area: 1,322 ft² (122.8 m²)
Empty weight: 44,000 lb (19,950 kg)
Loaded weight: 59,400 lb (26,940 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 70,000 lb (31,750 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Bristol Hercules II radial engine, 1,375 hp (1,030 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 255 mph (410 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Range: 2,330 mi (3,750 km)
Service ceiling 16,500 ft (5,030 m)
Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4 m/s)
Wing loading: 44.9 lb/ft² (219.4 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.093 hp/lb (0.153 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns: 8 x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns: 2 in powered nose turret, 4 in tail turret, 2 in dorsal turret
Bombs: Up to 18,000 lb (8,164 kg) of bombs

Vickers Wellesley

Back to Top

The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs for the Royal Air Force. While it was obsolete by the start of the Second World War, and unsuited to the European air war, the Wellesley was successfully used in the desert theatres of East Africa, Egypt and the Middle East.

The design originated from the Air Ministry Specification G.4/31 which called for a General Purpose aircraft, capable of carrying out level bombing, army co-operation, dive bombing, reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and torpedo bombing. The Vickers Type 253, which used a radical geodesic airframe construction that was derived from that used by Barnes Wallis in the airship R100, was tested against the specification along with the Fairey G.4/31, Westland PV-7, Handley Page HP.47, Armstrong Whitworth A.W.19, Blackburn B-7, Hawker P.V.4 and the Parnall G.4/31. The Type 253 was declared the winner, with 150 being ordered.

The Vickers Type 246 monoplane, which used the same geodetic design principles for both the fuselage and wings, was then built as a private venture, first flying on 19 June 1935 and offered to the RAF. This had superior performance, but did not attempt to meet the multi-role requirements of the specification, being designed as a bomber only. An initial order for 96 Type 246s was substituted for the Type 253 order. The RAF ultimately ordered a total of 176 as the Wellesley, to a newly written specification 22/35, with a 14-month production run starting in March 1937.

The Wellesley was a single-engined monoplane with a very high aspect ratio wing, and a manually operated, retractable undercarriage. As it was not known how the geodetic structure could cope with being disrupted by a bomb bay, the Wellesley's bomb load was carried in two streamlined panniers under the wings. The Wellesley Mk I had two separate cockpits, but this was changed in the Wellesley Mk II to a single-piece cockpit canopy covering both the pilot and navigator positions.

The RAF received its first Wellesleys in April 1937, serving with No.76 Squadron at Finningley, and eventually equipped six RAF Bomber Command squadrons in the UK. Five aircraft with provisions for three crew members were modified for long-range work with the RAF Long-Range Development Flight. Additional modifications included the fitting of Pegasus XXII engines and extra fuel tanks. On 5 November 1938, three of them under command of S/L R. Kellett flew non-stop for two days from Ismailia, Egypt to Darwin, Australia (7,162 miles, 11,525 km) setting a world distance record. All three aircraft succeeded in breaking the existing record, but No. 2 aircraft landed in West Timor, 500 miles short of the final objective. The Wellesley's record remained unbroken until November 1945.

The primary use of the Wellesley during the Second World War was in overseas theatres of operation, mainly in the Middle East, with only four examples remaining in Britain at the start of the war. Among its significant wartime operations was the bombing of Addis Ababa in August 1940, remaining in the region until 1941 performing maritime reconnaissance duties.

While the Wellesley was not a significant combat aircraft, the design principles that were tested in its construction were put to good use with the Wellington medium bomber that became one of the main types of Bomber Command in the early years of the European war.

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
Wingspan: 74 ft 7 in (22.73 m)
Height: 15 ft 3½ in (4.67 m)
Wing area: 630 ft² (58.5 m²)
Empty weight: 6,760 lb (3,066 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,048 lb (5,011 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 12,500 lb (5,670 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Bristol Pegasus XX radial piston engine, 925 hp (690 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 228 mph (198 knots, 369 km/h) at 19,700 ft (6,000 m)
Cruise speed: 180 mph (157 knots, 290 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (57% power)
Range: 1,220 miles (1,963 km)
Service ceiling 25,500 ft (7,772 m)
Wing loading: 18 lb/ft² (86 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.08 hp/lb (0.14 kW/kg)
Climb to 15,000 ft (4,600 m): 17.8 min

Armament

Guns:
- 1 x .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun in right wing
- 1 x .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in rear cockpit
Bombs: 2,000 lb (908 kg) of bombs

Vickers Wellington

Back to Top
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range 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. The Wellington was one of two bombers named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (Victor over Napoleon), the other being the Vickers Wellesley.

The Wellington used a geodesic construction method, which had been devised by Barnes Wallis inspired by his work on 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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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. 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.

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 Mark XVIII radial engine, 1,050 hp (783 kW) each