Vickers Warwick
| Warwick | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Warwick B/ASR Mk I BV285 | |
| Role | Maritime reconnaissance, air-sea rescue, transport |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs |
| First flight | 13 August 1939 |
| Primary users |
RAF Polish Air Force in exile BOAC |
| Number built | 842 |
| Developed from | Vickers B.9/32 |
The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second World War. Designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs, it was intended to serve as a larger counterpart to their Wellington bomber, sharing similar construction and design principles.
Due to a protracted development, the Warwick was made effectively redundant by rapid aircraft development by rival firms. It was put into operational use by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform. The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) also operated the Warwick in a civil capacity.
As with other RAF heavy bombers of the time it was named after a British city or town, in this case Warwick.
The Warwick was designed to meet Air Ministry specification B.1/35 for a two-engined heavy (by the standards of the day) bomber. It was designed in parallel with the smaller Wellington, both being derived from the Vickers Type 271 design to Specification B.9/32.
B.1/35 was drawn up for a twin-engined heavy bomber in January 1935; it was intended to make use of more powerful engines then being developed and thus be both faster and carry a heavier bombload than the B.3/34 specification which would be met by the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. By the end of July, the Air Ministry was able to consider eight designs. The Vickers 284 with Bristol Hercules engines was placed first and a prototype ordered along with prototypes of the designs by Armstrong Whitworth (AW.39 a developed Whitley) and Handley Page (HP.55). Before the last two had been built they were cancelled - both Handley Page and Armstrong Whitworth preferring to work on the new specifications for medium (P.13/36) and heavy (B.12/36) bombers. Vickers chose to continue but construction was slowed by work on the Wellington, lack of engines and official expectation that the design would be surpassed by later aircraft.
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