VICKERS WELLESLEY MK.I (AFRICAN CAMPAIGN) BRITISH LONG RANGE BOMBER

The Vickers Wellesley was a British low-wing light bomber with a retractable landing gear from the Second World War. The drive was provided by a single engine Bristol Pegasus XX with a power of 925 hp. The prototype flight took place in 1935. In the course of serial production, which lasted in the years 1936-1938, 177 examples of this aircraft were produced. They were armed with two 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns and a load of up to 907 kg of bombs. Vickers Wellesley was developed on the basis of an experimental biplane from the Vickers group - the 253 model. However, the reason for its creation was the demand reported by the RAF in the early 1930s for a new multi-role aircraft, which was primarily to be a light bomber, but also a reconnaissance, liaison plane and even ... torpedo! After the first unsuccessful attempts, the 253 model was thoroughly redesigned: first of all, a single airfoil was used, the wingspan was significantly increased, the shape of the fuselage and rear tail were interfered with, or a landing gear retracted in flight was introduced. As a result of these changes, Vickers Wellesley was created, which, despite not meeting all the criteria set by the RAF, was introduced to the line. Two versions of the aircraft appeared in the course of production. The first - Vickers Wellesley Mk. I - had two separate crew cabins, while the Wellesley Mk. II already had one large crew cabin. In the course of the service, the aircraft of this type did not gain much popularity. First of all, they had very little maneuverability, the machine was difficult to perform most of the maneuvers, in relation to their size they were characterized by a low load capacity of the bombs, and the defensive armament was far from sufficient. At the outbreak of the war, these planes were actually obsolete. For this reason, virtually all aircraft of this type served in Africa and the Middle East, where they took part in the battles against Italian troops in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. However, they were quickly moved to auxiliary tasks, and in 1944 they were completely withdrawn from the line.