Vickers Wellington

Medium bomber · Vickers-Armstrongs · United Kingdom

Typical crew	6
Engines	2 × Bristol Pegasus or Hercules
First flight	1936
Number built	11,461

Photographs

U-boat Warfare 1939-1945 C3780 — U-boat Warfare 1939-1945 U-boat Losses: U 459, a Type XIV supply submarine known as a "Milch Cow", sinking after being attacked by Vickers Wellington aircraft. Note: The German term "Milchkuh" correctly translates to 'milking cow'

ⓘ licence & credit
Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U-boat_Warfare_1939-1945_C3780.jpgView source & full licence →

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CH17883 — Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. A 4,000-lb GP Bomb is hoisted from its trolley during operational trials at Marham, Norfolk. It entered general service with Bomber Command squadrons in early 1943, but proved inferior to the 4,000-lb HC Bomb in its blast effect and was withdrawn from service by the end of the year. In the background Vickers Wellingtons of No. 115 Squadron RAF can be seen parked at their dispersals.

ⓘ licence & credit
Forward (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH17883.jpgView source & full licence →

RAF Swinderby aerial photograph April 1941 IWM HU 93063 — {{En-gb|IWM caption: Oblique aerial view of RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire, looking south-south-west. Vickers Wellingtons belonging to Nos. 300 and 301 Polish Bomber Squadrons RAF can be seen parked on the and on the circular pans of two three-spurred dispersals constructed across the ( ) in the foreground. On the left, a public road runs eastward from Halfway Houses (lower left) to Lane Moor Lane, dividing the airfield technical site and hangars from the domestic site (off left).}}

ⓘ licence & credit
No. 1 Camouflage Unit / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Swinderby_aerial_photograph_April_1941_IWM_HU_93063.jpgView source & full licence →

RAF Hullavington - Royal Air Force Flying Training Command, 1940-1945. CH11722 — Royal Air Force Flying Training Command, 1940-1945. Aircraft of the Empire Central Flying School lined up for display at RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire. In the front row, right to left: De Havilland Mosquito, Hawker Typhoon, Supermarine Spitfire, Percival Proctor, Grumman Avenger, Hawker Hurricane and three Miles Masters. In the back row, right to left: Avro Anson, Airspeed Oxford, De Havilland Tiger Moth, Avro Lancaster, Miles Magister, Vickers Wellington, Douglas Boston, North American Mitchell, Miles Master and Short Stirling. In the foreground is a GAL Hotspur glider.

ⓘ licence & credit
Goodchild A (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Hullavington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Flying_Training_Command,_1940-1945._CH11722.jpgView source & full licence →

Polski Vickers Wellington Obrony Wybrzeza — RAF Coastal Command aircraft Vickers Wellington of one of Polish Squadrons

ⓘ licence & credit
K. Kobrzyński, K. Koszewski, T. Malinowski, J. Malujdy, ze zbiorów (from collection of): Komisja Historyczna Rady Seniorów Aeroklubu PRL, Muzeum Lotnictwa i Astronautyki w Krakowie, Ośrodek Postępu Technicznego NOT, Wojskowa Agencja Fotograficzna, "Skrzydlata Polska", J. Dembowski, W. Kisielewski, JView source & full licence →

Plate, Wellington Bomber EPH5316 — Plate, Wellington Bomber

ⓘ licence & credit
Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plate,_Wellington_Bomber_EPH5316.jpgView source & full licence →

Jiří Fína - Wellington KX-P after return Berlin 8.11.1941

ⓘ licence & credit
Hugos84 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_F%C3%ADna_-_Wellington_KX-P.jpgView source & full licence →

Castelnuovo - Royal Air Force- Italy, 1942-1945. C3813 — Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Vertical photographic-reconnaissance aerial of a road junction at Castelnuovo, east of Naples, Italy, after its obliteration by Vickers Wellingtons of No. 205 Group on 12 September 1943. This important section of the highway system was one of the main points through which the German Army was directing troops and materiel for counter-attacks against Allied forces at Salerno.

ⓘ licence & credit
Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castelnuovo_-_Royal_Air_Force-_Italy,_1942-1945._C3813.jpgView source & full licence →

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection CH1422 — Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Ministry_Second_World_War_Official_Collection_CH1422.jpgView source & full licence →

455 Squadron RAAF Hampdens at RAF Wigsley WWII AWM SUK10371 — Two Hampden aircraft (left and right) of No. 455 Squadron RAAF on the tarmac at RAF Station Wigsley with a Wellington aircraft (centre). See also : * :File:455 Squadron RAAF Hampden at RAF Wigsley circa 1942 AWM SUK10370.jpg

ⓘ licence & credit
not stated / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:455_Squadron_RAAF_Hampdens_at_RAF_Wigsley_WWII_AWM_SUK10371.jpgView source & full licence →

455 Squadron RAAF Hampden at RAF Wigsley circa 1942 AWM SUK10370 — AWM caption : ENGLAND. C. 1942. A HAMPDEN AIRCRAFT OF NO. 455 SQUADRON RAAF AT RAF STATION WIGSLEY STANDING IN FRONT OF A WELLINGTON BOMBER AT A BOMBER COMMAND BASE EARLY IN 1942. PORTION OF A WHITLEY BOMBER AIRCRAFT MAY BE SEEN BEHIND THE WELLINGTON'S STARBOARD WING. THESE THREE TYPES FORMED THE BACKBONE OF BOMBER COMMAND 1939-42. See also : * :File:455 Squadron RAAF Hampdens at RAF Wigsley WWII AWM SUK10371.jpg

ⓘ licence & credit
not stated / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:455_Squadron_RAAF_Hampden_at_RAF_Wigsley_circa_1942_AWM_SUK10370.jpgView source & full licence →

40 Squadron RAF Wellingtons bombing Reggio di Calabria 1943 IWM C 3639 — IWM caption : Vertical aerial photograph taken during a night raid on Reggio di Calabria, Italy, by Vickers Wellingtons of No. 40 Squadron RAF based at Hani West, Tunisia. Smoke billows from explosion of a 4,000-lb HE bomb ('Cookie') on the railway station and road junction at the port.

ⓘ licence & credit
No. 40 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:40_Squadron_RAF_Wellingtons_bombing_Reggio_di_Calabria_1943_IWM_C_3639.jpgView source & full licence →

37 Squadron RAF Wellington Middle East 1942 AWM P00809.003 — MIDDLE EAST, 1942. 37 SQUADRON RAF WELLINGTON, "W" FOR WILLIAM, AIRCRAFT PREPARING FOR OPERATION.

ⓘ licence & credit
D. MOGG / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:37_Squadron_RAF_Wellington_Middle_East_1942_AWM_P00809.003.jpgView source & full licence →

About

The Vickers Wellington was the backbone of Bomber Command in the war’s early years and the only British bomber to remain in production throughout the conflict. Designed at Brooklands by Rex Pierson, its defining feature was the geodetic fuselage devised by Barnes Wallis — a metal lattice of duralumin members covered in doped fabric. The structure was extraordinarily tough: a Wellington could lose whole sections of framework to flak and still fly home.

The twin-engined “Wimpy” first used Bristol Pegasus radials, with the later Mk III adopting the more powerful Bristol Hercules. It bore much of the night offensive until the four-engined heavies took over, flying more than 47,000 Bomber Command sorties, and went on to serve widely with Coastal Command and overseas. Roughly 11,400 were built — more than any other British bomber — and surviving examples can be seen at Brooklands and the RAF Museum.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Vickers Wellington — RAF Museum (Midlands) and Vickers Wellington — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Engines

Bristol Hercules — 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled sleeve-valve radial, 38.7 litres
Bristol Pegasus — 9-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial

Airframes in this database

Serial	Code	Squadron	Fate
BJ919	OW	426	Lost on operations
BJ973	AS-J	166	Lost on operations
HE531	HD	466	Written off (non-op)
HE865	—	—	Written off (non-op)
L4268	—	9	Lost on operations
LN281	—	—	Written off (non-op)
LN445	—	—	Written off (non-op)
LN553	—	—	Written off (non-op)
MF116	—	—	Written off (non-op)
MF200	—	—	Written off (non-op)
MF509	—	—	Written off (non-op)
N2980	R	149	Written off (non-op)
W5356	—	12	Lost on operations
X9764	NZ	304	Lost on operations