https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_Warwick
The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second
World War. Designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs, it was intended to
serve as a larger counterpart to their Wellington bomber, sharing similar
construction and design principles.
Due to a protracted development, the Warwick was made effectively redundant by
rapid aircraft development by rival firms. It was put into operational use by
the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime
reconnaissance platform. The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) also
operated the Warwick in a civil capacity.
As with other RAF heavy bombers of the time it was named after a British city or
town, in this case Warwick.
The Warwick was designed to meet Air Ministry specification B.1/35 for a
two-engined heavy (by the standards of the day) bomber. It was designed in
parallel with the smaller Wellington, both being derived from the Vickers Type
271 design to Specification B.9/32.
The Warwick used Barnes Wallis' geodesic airframe construction pioneered in the
Wellesley and Wellington. In this system, a network of intersecting structural
members made from duralumin were covered by wired-on fabric. The load was
distributed amongst the structure, providing great redundancy in the event of
damage, at the expense of complexity of construction.
An initial production order for 250 Warwicks, consisting of 150 Double
Wasp-powered Mk Is and 100 Centaurus-powered Mk IIs was placed on 28 December
1940. A total of 219 Warwick Mark Is were built, the last 95 with 2,000
horsepower (1,500 kW) R-2800-47 engines.
Role
Maritime reconnaissance, air-sea rescue, transport
Manufacturer
Vickers-Armstrongs
First flight
13 August 1939
Primary users
RAF
Polish Air Force in exile
BOAC
Number built
842
Developed from
Vickers B.9/32
The first production Warwick B Mk I was delivered to the RAF for testing at the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down on 3 July 1942.
Only 16 aircraft were delivered as bombers, as by this time more capable
four-engined heavy bombers such as the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax
were in service.
Testing showed the Warwick to be under-powered and with severe handling problems
especially flying single engined. The version of Double Wasp fitted to early
models proved extremely unreliable with many in-flight failures. Later versions
fitted with Bristol Centaurus engines had better performance but the handling
problems were never resolved.
The Warwick was subsequently considered for transport and air-sea rescue roles
and BV243 was successfully converted into a transport to serve as a trial
aircraft, an additional 13 Mk Is were converted on the production line as C Mk I
transports for use by BOAC, being used briefly on its Middle East services
before being transferred back to RAF Transport Command in 1944.
From 1943 Warwicks were loaded with the 1,700 lb (770 kg) Mk IA airborne
lifeboat and used for air-sea rescue. The lifeboat, designed by yachtsman Uffa
Fox, laden with supplies and powered by two 4 hp (3.0 kW) motors, was aimed with
a bombsight near to ditched air crew and dropped by parachute into the sea from
an altitude of about 700 ft (210 m). Warwicks were credited with rescuing crews
from Halifaxes, Lancasters, Wellingtons and B-17 Flying Fortress, and during
Operation Market Garden, from Hamilcar gliders, all of which ditched in the
English Channel or North Sea.
Specifications (Warwick ASR Mk I)
General characteristics
Crew: six
Length: 72 ft 3 in (22.00 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.6 m)
Empty weight: 28,154 lb (12,797 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 45,000 lb (20,455 kg)
engine, 1,850 hp (1,380 kW each) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 224 mph (195 knots, 361 km/h)
Range: 2,300 miles (2,000 NM, 3,700 km)
Service ceiling: 21,500 ft (6,550 m)
Rate of climb: 660 ft/min (3.35 m/s)
Armament
Guns: 8 x .303 (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in three turrets
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