Home

» Equipment

» Aircraft

» Wellington





Wellington

Country United Kingdom Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs, Limited Primary Role Medium Bomber Maiden Flight 15 June 1936

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Wellington twin-engine medium bombers were designed by R. K. Pierson in the mid-1930s. The design proved to be tough even when damaged in battle, but it was complex enough that it hampered production somewhat. The first Royal Air Force bombing involving Wellington bombers took place on 4 Sep 1939, where Wellington bombers from No. 9 and No. 149 Squadrons, along with Blenheim bombers, attacked German shipping at BrunsbÃ¼ttel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. On 25 Aug 1940, they participated on the first night raid on Berlin. On 30-31 May 1942, Wellington bombers made up 599 of the 1,046 aircraft sent to attack Cologne; in that raid, 2,000 tons of high explosives were delivered in a 90-minute window, destroying 250 factories as well as downtown Cologne, killing countless civilians and leaving 45,000 homeless. As they were replaced by more modern designs, Wellington bombers were transferred to the Middle East and Asia. During the design's production life, 11,464 were built.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jul 2007

Wellington Timeline

16 Oct 1941 RAF Pilot Officer A. J. Heyworth was able to return hom to Britain after his Wellington bomber suffered serious damage while bombing Mannheim, Germany. He flew most of the way on only one engine while the other was aflame. 4 Jun 1942 Shortly after midnight the Italian submarine Luigi Torelli bound for a patrol area off Puerto Rico was attacked by Squadron Leader Jeaff Greswell's (No. 172 Squadron RAF) Leigh Light equipped Wellington bomber. The attack (the first to be made using a Leigh light) caused extensive damage to the Italian submarine, which was forced to abort her mission and return to port for repairs. 6 Jul 1942 The British RAF Coastal Command scored its first enemy vessel sunk with the newly equipped Wellington bombers. 13 Oct 1945 The last of 11,461 Vickers Wellington aircraft to be built rolled off the production line.

SPECIFICATIONS

Mk IC



Machinery Two Bristol Pegasus Mk. XVIII radial engines rated at 1,050hp each Armament 2x7.7mm nose turret Browning machine guns, 4x7.7mm tail turret Browning machine guns, 2x7.7mm waist Browning machine guns, 2,000kg of bombs Crew 6 Span 26.27 m Length 19.69 m Height 5.33 m Wing Area 78.40 m² Weight, Empty 8,417 kg Weight, Maximum 12,927 kg Speed, Maximum 378 km/h Rate of Climb 5.70 m/s Service Ceiling 5,486 m Range, Normal 2,905 km

Photographs

Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB: RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.