Role | Medium bomber anti-submarine aircraft |
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Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs |
First flight | 15 June 1936 |
Introduction | October 1938 |
Retired | March 1953 |
Primary users | Royal Air Force Royal Australian Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Fleet Air Arm |
Produced | 1936–1945 |
Number built | 11,461 or 11,462 |
Developed into | Vickers Warwick Vickers VC.1 Viking |
A larger heavy bomber aircraft designed to Specification B.1/35, the Vickers Warwick, was developed in parallel with the Wellington; the two aircraft shared around 85% of their structural components. Many elements of the Wellington were also re-used in a civil derivative, the Vickers VC.1 Viking.
In October 1932, the British Air Ministry invited Vickers to tender for the recently issued Specification B.9/32, which sought a twin-engine medium daylight bomber. In response, Vickers conducted a design study, led by Chief Designer Rex Pierson. Early on, Vickers' chief structures designer Barnes Wallis proposed the use of a geodetic airframe, inspired by his previous work on airships and the single-engined Wellesley light bomber. During structural testing performed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, the proposed structure demonstrated not only the required strength factor of six, but reached 11 without any sign of failure, proving the geodetic airframe to possess a strength far in excess of normal levels. This strength allowed for the structure design to be further developed to reduce the size of individual members and adopt simplified standard sections of lighter construction..
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In late 1960, the People's Republic of China had begun negotiations with Vickers for as many as 40 Viscounts, but negotiations were protracted due to political tensions
BEA, and its nationalised successor British Airways (BA), vigorously operated the Viscount on Britain's domestic routes
The first airline in Latin America to operate the Viscount was Cubana de Aviación. Cubana's −755D Viscounts, delivered in 1956,