VICKERS WELLESLEY 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
BOMBERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 41Left
Wellesley L2697 of 14
Squadron, based at
Amman, Transjordan,
1938.
© ANDY HAY http://www.
fl yingart.co.ukBelow left
Manhandling L2639 of
the LRDU at Ismailia,
Egypt, prior to the
epic fl ight, November- KEC
tanks, the Wellesley carried a
detachable, streamlined pannier under
each wing for up to 2,000lb (907kg)
of bombs. These were needed because
the ‘egg shell’ nature of the geodetic
structure prevented large interruptions
- such as bomb bays – an egg is very
tough, provided it keeps its shape.
By the time Wallis designed the
Wellington, also a geodetic airframe,
he had overcome this problem.
On June 18, 1937 a Soviet aircraft
approached US air space from over
the North Pole – two decades later
this would be the stuff of Cold
War nightmares. With a giant wing
spanning 111ft 6in the ANT-25
had been specially created by Andrei
Tupolev’s design bureau to wave the
flag for the USSR. It touched down
at Portland in Washington State – an
1938, three LRDU Wellesleys took
off, determined not to land until they
reached Australia. One aircraft, low
on fuel, had to drop out at Kupang in
Timor, but that was still exceptional
aviating.
The other two made it all the way to
Darwin, Northern Territory, touching
down at midday on the 7th after 48
hours in the air. They had flown 7,158
miles, a vitally important 13 miles
more than the ANT-25!
Setting the record was the overt
aim of LRDU, but it had a much
more important task, hence the
word Development in its title. Before
it disbanded on January 23, 1939,
LRDU had immeasurably improved
Bomber Command’s knowledge
of automated boost and mixture
controls, superchargers, flying
clothing, navigation techniques,
leadless fuel and crucially the
behaviour of three-axis auto-pilots.
Behind the sensational headlines,
LRDU was readying the next
generation of bombers for all-out war.AFRICAN WARPLANE
There is a myth that by the start
of World War Two, the Wellesley
was out of service, or relegated to
second-line duties. Italy entered the
war on June 10, 1940 and conflict
immediately erupted in North and
East Africa. Wellesleys were in action
from the start, bombing the Eritrean
port of Massawa.
On August 18 Wellesleys attacked
the Abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa.
An Italian air strike on the forward
base at Gedaref in the Sudan on
October 16 caught 47 Squadron
unawares and eight Wellesleys were
destroyed on the ground.
Last to fly the Wellesley operationally
was 47 Squadron, which retired them
from coastal patrols off the Libyan
coast in March 1943. But the type was
still not finished, it was not until July
12, 1944 that the Khormaksar Station
Flight in Aden gave up and struck
K7726 off charge. Not bad for a big-
winged aircraft that was ‘only’ used for
record breaking.incredible feat, but Soviet leader Stalin
expected better.
Twenty-five days later, the ANT-25
took off from an airfield near Moscow
and landed at San Jacinto, California.
It had been in the air for 62hrs
17mins and had travelled 7,145 miles
(11,498km) to set a new world record.
Perhaps as a direct consequence of
this feat, at Upper Heyford a special
RAF unit was established on New
Year’s Day 1939. It was the Long
Range Development Unit (LRDU)
under the command of Wg Cdr
Oswald Gayford DFC AFC. He had
flown Fairey Long Range Monoplane
K1991 non-stop from Cranwell to
Walvis Bay, South Africa, in February
1932, a distance of 5,410 miles.
In the still, cool air of pre-dawn at
Ismailia in Egypt on November 5,1938, three LRDU Wellesleys tookType: Two-seat bomber / general purpose
First fl ight: June 19, 1935, entered service April 1937
Powerplant: One 925hp (690kW) Bristol Pegasus XX radial
Dimensions: Span 74ft 7in (22.73m), Length 39ft 3in (11.96m)
Weights: Empty 6,369lb (2,888kg), All-up 12,500lb (5.670kg)
Max speed: 206mph (331km/h) at 20,000ft (6,096m)
Range: 1,335 miles (2,148km)
Armament: One machine gun, fi ring through propeller arc, another in rear
position. Up to 2,000lb (907kg) of bombs in under-wing panniers
Replaced: Fairey Gordon, Hawker Audax, HP Heyford from mid-1937
Taken on charge: 176
Replaced by: Fairey Battle and HP Hampden from 1939VICKERS WELLESLEY