Warplanes of the UK: Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document Warplanes from the Second World War preserved in the United Kingdom.  Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these aircraft to provide and update the data on this website.  Photos are by the author unless otherwise credited.  Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Warplane Survivors of the Second World War in the United Kingdom would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at [email protected].

Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in the UK, including captured German and Japanese warplanes, are listed on separate pages on this web site.

(IWM Photo, HU 104762)

Vickers Wellington Mk. I medium bomber, 1940.

The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It 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. 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.

Despite the original specification, the Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, 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 During 1943, it started to be superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster.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.

The Wellington was the only British bomber that was produced for the duration of the war, and was produced in a greater quantity than any other British-built bomber. The Wellington remained as first-line equipment when the war ended, although it had been increasingly relegated to secondary roles. The Wellington was one of two bombers named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the Vickers Wellesley.

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% of their structural components. Many elements of the Wellington were also re-used in a civil derivative, the Vickers VC.1 Viking. (Wikipedia)

(IWM Photo, CH 5)

Vickers Wellingtons of No. 9 Squadron RAF flying in formation during the war.

(IWM Photo HU 107810)

Vickers Wellington Mk. I (Serial No. P9249), overhead view, ca 1940.

(IWM Photo HU 107812)

Vickers Wellington Mk. IC bombers of No. 149 Squadron in flight, circa August 1940.

(IWM Photo HU 107786)

Vickers Wellington Mk. IC, with aircrew from No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron at Feltwell, UK, October 1941.

(Neiltipton Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photos)

Vickers Wellington Mk. IA (Serial No. N2980), "R-for-Robert", built in 1939 at Brooklands.  This aircraft flew with 149 Squadron and later 37 Squadron, Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. This aircraft took part in the RAF's daylight bombing raids on Germany early in the Second World War but later lost power during a training flight on 31 December 1940 and ditched in Loch Ness.  Most of the aircrew survived except for the rear gunner, who was killed when his parachute failed to open. The aircraft was recovered from the bottom of Loch Ness in September 1985 and restored in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Vickers Wellington Mk. T10 (Serial No. MF628).  This Wellington was delivered to RAF No. Maintenance Unit (18 MU) for storage at RAF Tinwald Downs' Dumfries, as a Wellington B Mk. X, on 11 May 1944.  In March 1948 the front gun turret was removed and it was converted to a T.10 for its role as a postwar aircrew trainer; the RAF Museum later refitted the front gun turret in keeping with its original build as a B Mk. X (wartime mark numbers used Roman numerals, Arabic numerals were adopted postwar).  In Autumn 2010, this aircraft was taken to the RAF Museum's site at Cosford for restoration.  It is currently on display in the Royal Air Force Museum London, Hendon.