Type 292 of the Long-Range Development unit. Unlike production Wellesleys, the engine cowling is blended with the fuselage profile.
Role
General purpose bomber
Type of aircraft
Manufacturer
Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd
Designer
Rex Pierson
First flight
19 June 1935
Introduction
1937
Retired
1944
Primary users
Royal Air Force Royal Egyptian Air Force South African Air Force
Produced
1936–1938
Number built
177
The Vickers Wellesley was a medium bomber that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey. It was one of two aircraft to be named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the Vickers Wellington.
The Wellesley was developed during the early 1930s in response to Specification G.4/31. The biplane Vickers Type 253 was effectively an early incarnation of the aircraft, sharing its radical geodesic airframe and many other features. The Type 253 was determined to be the best submission received by the Air Ministry, thus an order for 150 production aircraft was issued. As a private venture, Vickers had also developed the monoplane Type 256; following flight testing of this aircraft, the order placed for the Type 253 was converted for the Type 256 instead.
The vast majority of the Wellesley's production run were supplied to the Royal Air Force (RAF), a total of six squadrons under RAF Bomber Command operated the type at its peak. A high-profile demonstration of the aircraft's capabilities was conducted during early November 1938 via a flight of three Wellesleys that flew non-stop for two days from Ismailia, Egypt to Darwin, Australia, a distance of 7,162 miles (11,526 km), setting a world distance record in the process. While the type was considered to be obsolete by the start of the Second World War and thus unsuited to the European air war, the Wellesley was operated overseas in the desert theatres of East Africa, Egypt and the Middle East. The final Wellesley-equipped unit, 47 Squadron, ended its use of the type as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, during September 1942.
The VickersWellesley was a medium bomber that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge...
one of two bombers named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the VickersWellesley. A larger heavy bomber aircraft designed...
the airfield; among aircraft operated were Curtiss Tomahawks and VickersWellesleys. Reportedly the OTU had at one stage 50 Harvards and 20 Hurricane...
, Founded in November 2013, Wellesley provides asset-backed loans secured on residential property. The VickersWellesley, 1930s single-engine medium bomber...
most used for maritime reconnaissance and air-sea rescue VickersWellesley (RAF) Vickers Wellington (RAF) Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (RAF) Avro Anson...
aircraft with Townend rings include the Boeing P-26 Peashooter, the VickersWellesley, the Fokker D.XVI and the central engine on the Junkers Ju 52/3m....
chief designer at Vickers. Wallis had worked on the VickersWellesley and Vickers Wellington bombers and while working on the Vickers Windsor, he had also...
The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers...
1939-? 1 Vickers Type 264 Valentia UK Transport 1940–1943 11 VickersWellesley UK Bomber 1940–1941 ? Vickers Wellington UK Bomber ?-? 24 Vickers Warwick...
January–December 1938". www.rafweb.org. 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-31. "The mystery of Wellesley K7734". Aviation Research Group of Orkney & Shetland. 2010. Archived from...
(first pilots) + crew of two (also qualified pilots) in each aircraft VickersWellesley From Ismailia, Egypt, to Darwin, Northern Territory, in Australia;...
Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland Vickers Vildebeest United Kingdom 1933 406 New Zealand VickersWellesley United Kingdom 1937 177 VL Kotka Finland...
with the letter "V". Vickers' submission had initially been rejected as not being as advanced as the Victor and the Vulcan, but Vickers' chief designer George...
C Flt of No. 9 Squadron operating the Hawker Audax and later the VickersWellesley. The term of residence of No. 148 Squadron was brief being replaced...
1930s. He flew the prototype of Barnes Wallis's geodetic aircraft the VickersWellesley bomber in June 1935. He was landing this aircraft on 23 July when...
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee...
designer and chief designer at Vickers Limited later Vickers-Armstrongs Aircraft Ltd. He was responsible for the Vickers Vimy, a heavy bomber designed...
The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at...
Global Information