Britain's Vickers Wellington bomber^1,2,3
"Wimpey"^1,3

Vickers Wellington	Vickers Wellington	Vickers Wellington	Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington Mk VI	Vickers Wellington Mk XVI	Vickers Wellington Mk XVIII

Design

Dr. Barnes Wallis designed the Vickers Wellington.¹ Wallis later created the "Dam Buster" bouncing bomb.¹ The Wellington was to meet a 1932 requirment.²

Fuselage

The fuselage was a unique structure that was made from a geodetic structure.¹

Nickname

The Wellington was nicknamed the "Wimpey" after the cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpey.³

Prototype

On June 15, 1936 the Vickers Type 271 first flew.^1,2,3

Production

Wellingtons were constructed in 16 variants.¹

These were constructed at Weybridge, Chester, and Blackpool.¹

Production ended in October 1945.³

• Prototype: 1³
• Wellington Mk I, Wellington Mk IA, Wellington Mk IC: 3,055³
  • Wellington Mk IC: 2,685³
• Wellington Mk III: 1,519³
• Wellington Mk IV: 220³
• Wellington Mk VI: 64³
• Wellington GR.VIII: 397³
• Wellington Mk X: 3,803³
• Wellington GR.XI: 180³
• Wellington GR.XII: 48³
• Wellington GR.XIII: 844³
• Wellington GR.XIV: 841³
• Wellington T.XVIII: 80³
• Total: 11,461^1,2, 11,462³

Variants

• Vickers Type 271: Prototype.^1,2
• Wellington Mk I: Had Pegasus radial engines.² Fuselage, tail, and tail wheel were redesigned.³
• Wellington Mk IA: Different nose and tail turrets.³
• Wellington Mk IC: Mine layer.² Had a Nash and Thompson nose and tail turrets installed.² Beam guns replaced ventral guns.³ Mainwheels were larger and stuck out slightly from the nacelles when retracted.³
• Wellington DW.Mk I: Had mine exploding loops.² First used in 1940.²
• Wellington Mk II: Had Merlin engines.²
• Wellington Mk III: Had Hercules III or XI engines.²
• Wellington Mk IV: Had Twin Wasp engines.²
• Wellington Mk V: High altitude.^1,3 Could reach 38,000' / 11,600 m.¹ The cabin was pressurised.^1,3 Had Twin Wasp engines.² Had cigar shaped forward fuselage.³ Experimental.³
• Wellington Mk VI: High altitude.^1,3 Could reach 38,000' / 11,600 m.¹ The cabin was pressurised.¹ Had Twin Wasp engines.² Longer wings.³ Never saw operational service.³
• Wellington GR.VIII: Coastal Command version.² Had Pegasus engines.² Had ASV radar.²
• Wellington Mk X: Had Hercules XVIII engines.² Had Hercules XVI engines (1,675 or 1,735 HP).³
• Wellington GR.XI: Coastal Command version.² Had Hercules engines, a Leigh Light, and two torpedoes.² Had Hercules XVI engines (1,675 or 1,735 HP).³ Had radar for day operations.³
• Wellington GR.XII: Coastal Command version.² Had Hercules engines, a Leigh Light³, and two torpedoes.² Had Hercules XVI engines (1,675 or 1,735 HP).³ Was used for night time anti-submarine patrols.³
• Wellington GR.XIII: Had Hercules XVI engines (1,675 or 1,735 HP).³
• Wellington GR.XIV: Had Hercules XVI engines (1,675 or 1,735 HP).³
• Wellington C.XV: Transport.² Converted from the Mk IC.² Unarmed.³
• Wellington C.XVI: Transport.² Converted from the Mk IC.² Unarmed.³
• Wellington T.XVII: Trainer.² Night fighter trainer.³
• Wellington T.XVIII: Trainer.² Navigation trainer.³ Had nose radar.³

GR: General Reconnaissance, T: Trainer

Usage

The Wellingtons were the mainstay of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the early years of World War II.^1,3 A total of 57 RAF squadrons were equipped with Wellingtons.^1,2

Initially the Wellingtons were used in daylight raids, but when heavy losses were incurred they were switched to night bombing raids in 1940.²

First Squadron

The No. 9 Squadron was the first to be equipped with the Wellington Mk I in October 1938.²

First Raid on Germany

The Wellingtons were the first bombers to attack Germany on September 4, 1939.³

Heavy Bombs

A 4,000 lb / 1,814 kg bomb was first dropped by a Wellington on April 1, 1941.²

Cologne

In the 1,000 bomber raid of Cologne in May 1942, Wellingtons made up 1/2 of the bombers.³

Last Raid

The last raid conducted by the Wellingtons was on the night of October 8 - 9, 1943.²

Coastal Command

When the Wellingtons were no longer being used by Bomber Command they were transferred to Coastal Command in 1943.¹

Wellingtons Vs. U-boats

The Wellingtons sank 26³ / 51 U-boats during World War II.¹

Victoria Cross Awarded

The only Wellington crew member to receive a Victoria Cross was New Zealander Sergeant J. A. Ward who was a second pilot in the No. 75 Squadron.¹ He climbed out onto the wing of his aircraft to put out an engine fire.¹

Last Use

The Wellingtons were withdrawn from service in 1953.¹

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
2. Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
3. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

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