Vickers Vimy
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The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the World War I era. Designed by R.K. Pierson to be capable of attacking targets in Germany, and produced by the Vickers Company, it first flew on 30 November 1917. Only token numbers arrived in France before the end of the war and production switched to a passenger variant, called the Vimy-Commercial. It was named after the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The Vimy served with Royal Air Force in the Middle East from 1919 until 1925, when it was replaced by the Vickers Virginia, and in Northern Ireland until 1929. A civilian version, the Vimy-Commercial, with a larger diameter fuselage largely of spruce plywood, was produced in 1919, mainly for foreign customers. A Chinese order for 100 is particularly noteworthy although a failure to pay interest from April 1922 probably led to the order not being completed.
The Vimy-Commercial first flew from Joyce Green airfield in Kent on 13 April 1919 with the military serial K107. It became G-EAAV on the civil register.
The Vimy was used in many pioneering flights, including the first non-stop west to east crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by Alcock and Brown (their aircraft is preserved in the London Science Museum); the first England to Australia flight of Ross Smith and Keith Smith and crew (this aircraft is preserved in Australia); and the attempted first England to South Africa flight of van Rynevald and Brand.
Vimy replica
In 1969 a Vimy replica was built by the Vintage Aircraft Flying Association at Brooklands (this aircraft is now displayed at the RAF Museum, Hendon, London). A second flyable Vimy replica was built in 1994 by an Australian/American team and in the 1990s this aircraft recreated two of the three great pioneering Vimy flights - England to Australia and England to South Africa. It is planned to recreate the non-stop Atlantic crossing in 2005.
Specifications (Vimy)
General characteristics
- Crew:
- Length: 43 ft 7 in (13.27 m)
- Wingspan: 68 ft 1 in (20.75 m)
- Height: 15 ft 8 in (4.76 m)
- Wing area: ft² ( m²)
- Empty: 7,104 lb (3,222 kg)
- Loaded: lb ( kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 10,884 lb (4,937 kg)
- Powerplant: 2x Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII, 360 hp (270 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 103 mph (165 km/h)
- Range: 900 miles (1,448 km)
- Service ceiling: 7,000 ft (2,135 m)
- Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
Armament
- 1x .303 (7.7 mm) machine gun in Scarff ring in nose
- 1x .303 (7.7 mm) machine gun in Scarff ring in mid-fuselage
- 2,476 lb (1,123 kg) of bombs
External links
- RAF Museum (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/vickers-vimy.htm)
- Alcock and Brown's aeroplane at the London Science Museum (http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/collections/treasures/vimy.asp)
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