Vickers Vimy Commercial

Vimy
Role	Heavy bomber
Manufacturer	Vickers Limited
Designer	Reginald Kirshaw Pierson
First flight	30 November 1917
Introduction	1919
Retired	1933
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Variants	Vickers Vernon

The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" Pierson, Vicker's chief designer.

Only a handful of aircraft had entered service by the time that the Armistice of 11 November 1918 came into effect, thus the type was not used in active combat operations during the conflict. Shortly thereafter, the Vimy became the core of the RAF's heavy bomber force throughout the 1920s. The Vimy achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, the latter using the Vimy Commercial model of the type. A deciated transport derivative of the Vimy, the Vickers Vernon, became the first dedicated troop transport aircraft to be operated by the RAF.

During the interwar period, the Vimy set several notable records for long-distance flights; perhaps the most celebrated and significant of these was the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which was performed by Alcock and Brown in June 1919. Other record-breaking flights were flown using the type from the United Kingdom to destinations such as South Africa and Australia. The Vimy continued to be operated after the conflict as late as the 1930s in both military and civil capacities.

Throughout the First World War, both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers made increasingly sophisticated use of new technologies in their attempts to break through the effective stalemate of trench warfare. One key area of advancement during the conflict was in the use of fixed-wing aircraft, which were at that time rapidly advancing in capability and ability, for combat purposes. On 23 July 1917, in response of an bombing raid performed by German bomber aircraft upon the city of London, the Air Board, having determined that existing projects were not ambitious enough, decided to cancel all orders for experimental heavy bombers then underway. One week later, following the heavy protests of the Controller of the Technical Department, the Air Board placed an order for 100 Handley Page O/100 bombers, which was accompanied by orders for prototype heavy bombers being placed with both Handley Page and Vickers Limited.

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