The Wellington was a british twin-engine bomber which entered
service in 1938 and served throughout the war. It used an unusual
geodesic frame structure which reduced weight but was stronger than
conventional construction. It took part in the RAF's first air raid on
Germany and -- in the same raid -- became the first RAF bomber to be
shot down by the Germans. They also constituted the majority of the
bombers used in the first thousand-plane raid. Losses in daylight
bombing quickly racked up due
to a poor top speed and a weak defensive armament (only five 7.7mm guns
initially, with none firing to the top or sides). The Wellingtons were
moved to night-bombing missions and performed well there until finally
replaced in 1943 in the European Theare. However, they continued in
combat service in the CBI Theatre until the end of the war. They also
served through the North Africa campaign and in anti-submarine patrols
with Coastal Command around England and in the Mediterranean.
Some 11,500 of the Wimpy (as it was called by it's crews, after
comic strip character J. Wellington Wimpy). were built (some 1,500 of
the Mark II version). It was in production throughout the war.
Apart from the British, Wellingtons were used by all Commonwealth
forces. Apart from it's role as a long range bomber and ASW platform,
many were converted for use as trainers and transports.
The Wellington B.Mk III has a crew of six: pilot, radio operator,
navigator/bombardier, observer/nose gunner, tail gunner and waist
gunner.
The Wellington B.Mk III uses 101 gallons of aviation fuel
per
hour at routine
usage.
Subassemblies: Heavy Fighter-Bomber chassis +4, Light
Bomber
Wings +3, 2xSmall AFV Engine Pods +2, three retractable wheels +1.
Powertrain: 2x1,119-kW aerial HP gasoline
engines [Pods] with 2x1,119-kW props, and 750-gallon standard
fuel tanks [Wings], 8,000-kw batteries
Occupancy: 6 CS Cargo: 21 Body.
Armor
Body/Wings: 2/2 C
All: 2/3
Equipment
Body: Large radio receiver and transmitter, navigation
instruments,
autopilot., bombsight, casemate/universal mounts for F and B
machineguns,
4,500-lb bomb bay.
Statistics
| Size: 65'x86'x17' | Payload: 5.9 tons | Lwt: 14.7 tons |
| Volume: 640 |
Maint.: 26 hours | Price: $60,300 |
HT: 9.
HP: 525 [body], 600 [each wing], 120 [each pod], 50 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 255 |
aAccel: 5 |
aDecel: 29 |
aMR: 7.25 |
aSR: 2 |
Stall: 80 |
Design Notes
Design speed was 273 mph. The historical speed has been used, as well
as the actual wing area (840 square feet).
To simplify the design, the nose and tail turrets were built as body
mounts with the casemate and universal options. GMs may instead
tret them as limited rotation Small Weapon turrets with universal
mounts for the guns. (with 75 HP each)