Vickers Warwick
Encyclopedia

The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 aircraft used during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (RAF) as a transport, air-sea rescue
Air-sea rescue
Air-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships...

 and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...

 (BOAC).

Design and development

The Warwick was designed to meet Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 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
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

, both being derived from the Vickers Type 271 design to Specification B.9/32.

Vickers-Armstrongs completed two prototypes. The first, (serial K8178) powered by Rolls-Royce Vulture
Rolls-Royce Vulture
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 liquid-cooled "X" engines
X engine
An X engine is a piston engine comprising twinned V-block engines horizontally opposed to each other. Thus, the cylinders are arranged in four banks, driving a common crankshaft. Viewed head-on, this would appear as an X...

 flew from Brooklands on 13 August 1939,. The second prototype (L9704), originally designed with a Napier Sabre powerplant, was fitted with the Bristol Centaurus
Bristol Centaurus
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7*Gunston, Bill. Development of Piston Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 2006. ISBN 0-7509-4478-1...

 radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...

 flew on 5 April 1940. The Vulture engine proved unreliable, and while the Centaurus-powered prototype was more promising, its development was at an early stage, and use of the American Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial was proposed. The second prototype was converted to use the R-2800-S14A4-G engines and first flew in this form in July 1941.

The Warwick used Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...

' geodesic airframe construction pioneered in the Wellesley
Vickers Wellesley
The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force...

 and Wellington. In this system, a network of intersecting structural members made from duralumin
Duralumin
Duralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...

 were covered by wired-on fabric. The load was distributed amongst the structure, providing great redundancy in the event of damage, at the expense of complexity of construction.

An initial production order for 250 Warwicks, consisting of 150 Double Wasp-powered Mk Is and 100 Centaurus-powered Mk IIs was placed on 28 December 1940. A total of 219 Warwick Mark Is were built, the last 95 with 2000 hp R-2800-47 engines.

Operational history

Production Warwick Mk Is started to be delivered to the RAF for testing in July 1942. Only 16 aircraft were delivered as bombers, as by this time more capable four-engined heavy bombers such as the Short Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...

 and Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...

 were in service.

Testing showed the Warwick to be under-powered and with severe handling problems especially flying single engined. The version of Double Wasp fitted to early models proved extremely unreliable with many in flight failures. Later versions fitted with Bristol Centaurus engines had better performance but the handling problems were never resolved.

The Warwick was subsequently considered for transport and air-sea rescue roles and BV243 was successfully converted into a transport to serve as a trial aircraft, an additional 13 Mk Is were converted on the production line as C Mk 1 transports for use by BOAC
Boac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...

, being used briefly on its Middle East services before being transferred back to RAF Transport Command in 1944. One hundred similar aircraft were built for the RAF as Warwick C Mk IIIs, and entered service with 525 Squadron
No. 525 Squadron RAF
No. 525 Squadron was a Royal Air Force transport aircraft squadron that operated during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed on 1 September 1943 at RAF Weston Zoyland to operate the Vickers Warwick in the transport role...

 in June 1944. They were mainly used in the Mediterranean theatre, until they were retired in 1946.

The remainder of the first batch of 250 Warwicks were used by RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...

 for anti-submarine reconnaissance. From 1943 Warwicks were loaded with the 1700 lb Mk IA airborne lifeboat
Airborne lifeboat
Airborne lifeboats were powered lifeboats that were made to be dropped by fixed-wing aircraft into water to aid in air-sea rescue operations. An airborne lifeboat was to be carried by a heavy bomber specially modified to handle the external load of the lifeboat...

 and used for air-sea rescue. The lifeboat, designed by yachtsman Uffa Fox
Uffa Fox
Uffa Fox CBE was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast.-Life:Uffa Fox was born on the Isle of Wight and was raised in East Cowes. He lived for a while in Puckaster on the Isle of Wight.-Work:...

, laden with supplies and powered by two 4 hp motors, was aimed with a bombsight near to ditched air crew and dropped by parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

 into the sea from an altitude of about 700 feet (213.4 m). Warwicks were credited with rescuing crews from Halifaxes
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...

, Lancasters
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

, Wellingtons and Fortresses, and during the Arnhem landings
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....

, from Hamilcar
General Aircraft Hamilcar
The General Aircraft Limited GAL. 49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Tetrarch or M22 Locust light tank...

 gliders, all of which ditched in the English Channel or North Sea.

A production order for 525 Warwick Mk V was placed although only 235 were ultimately completed, most of which went directly into storage in 1944. In early 1945, the variant was issued to 179 Squadron at St. Eval. The Mk V was also used by 17 and 27 Squadrons of the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

.

Variants

Warwick Mark I

  • Warwick B Mk I — original production bomber, of 150 ordered, only 16 aircraft were built. They were used for a variety of tests.
  • Warwick C Mk I or Vickers Type 456 — transport version for BOAC
    Boac
    Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...

    , for use on its Mediterranean and North African routes. 14 built.
  • Warwick B/ASR Mk I — 40 aircraft converted from the Warwick B.Mk I bomber. The Warwick ASRs were used as air-sea rescue aircraft. They could carry two sets of Lindholme lifesaving equipment.
  • Warwick ASR (Stage A) — 10 aircraft converted from the Warwick B Mk 1 bomber. The Warwick ASR (Stage A) was used for air-sea rescue. They could carry one airborne lifeboat and two sets of Lindholme lifesaving equipment.
  • Warwick ASR (Stage B) — 20 aircraft converted from the Warwick B Mk 1 bomber. The Warwick ASR (Stage B) were air-sea rescue aircraft, carrying the same equipment as the Warwick ASRs and ASR (Stage As).
  • Warwick ASR Mk I or Type 462 was an air-sea rescue version, it could carry an airborne lifeboat. The aircraft was powered by two 1,850 hp (1380 kW) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800-S1A4G radial piston engines; 205 built.

Warwick Mark II

  • Warwick B Mk II or Vickers Type 413 — bomber prototype, only one exaple was ever built, converted from a Warwick B Mk I.
  • Warwick GR Mk II or Vickers Type 469 — anti-submarine, general reconnaissance version. It was equipped to carry torpedoes and bombs. It was powered two 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) Bristol Centaurus
    Bristol Centaurus
    |-See also:-Bibliography:*Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7*Gunston, Bill. Development of Piston Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 2006. ISBN 0-7509-4478-1...

     VI radial piston engines; 118 built.
  • Warwick GR Mk II Met — meteorological reconnaissance version of the Warwick GR Mk II; 14 built.

Warwick Mark III

  • Warwick C Mk III or Vickers 'Type 460 — transport version. It had a pannier-like extension below the central fuselage, the normal loaded weight being raised to 45,000 lb (20,400 kg). It could carry 24 equipped troops or eight to 10 passengers in the VIP version. No armament was carried; 100 built.

Warwick Mark IV

  • Warwick ASR Mk VI or Vickers Type 485 — final air-sea rescue version. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-2SBG Double Wasp
    Pratt & Whitney R-2800
    The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp is a two-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial aircraft engine with a displacement of 2,804 in³ , and is part of the long-lived Wasp family....

     radial piston engines; 94 built.

Warwick Mark V

  • Warwick GR Mk V or Vickers Type 474 — anti-submarine, general reconnaissance aircraft. It was powered by two Bristol Centaurus
    Bristol Centaurus
    |-See also:-Bibliography:*Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7*Gunston, Bill. Development of Piston Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 2006. ISBN 0-7509-4478-1...

     VII radial piston engines, armed with 7 machine guns and could carry 6000 pounds (2,721.6 kg) of bombs, mines or depth-charges. A Leigh light
    Leigh light
    The Leigh Light was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.It was a powerful carbon arc searchlight of 24 inches diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force's Coastal Command patrol bombers to help them spot surfaced...

     was fitted ventrally. The first operational sortie was carried out by 179 Squadron on 4 December 1944; 210 built.

Military Operators

  • Polish Air Forces in exile in Great Britain
    Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain
    The Polish Air Forces was a name of Polish Air Forces formed in France and the United Kingdom during World War II. The core of the Polish air units fighting alongside the allies were experienced veterans of Invasion of Poland of 1939 and they contributed to Allied victory in the Battle of Britain...

    • No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron
      No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron
      No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Pomerania" was a Polish World War II bomber unit. It was fighting alongside the Royal Air Force and operated from airbases in the United Kingdom and Italy.-History:...

    • No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron
      No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron
      No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron was a Polish World War II bomber unit. It fought alongside the Royal Air Force under their operational Command and operated from airbases in the United Kingdom, serving as a bomber unit in RAF Bomber Command, as an anti-submarine unit in RAF Coastal Command and as a...



 South Africa
  • South African Air Force
    South African Air Force
    The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

    • No. 17 Squadron SAAF
    • No. 27 Squadron SAAF


  • Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

    • No. 38 Squadron RAF
      No. 38 Squadron RAF
      No. 38 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a bomber squadron formed in 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1967.-World War I :...

    • No. 167 Squadron RAF
      No. 167 Squadron RAF
      No. 167 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that formed just after the end of World War I. It was one of only three to be equipped with the Handley Page V/1500 heavy bomber....

    • No. 179 Squadron RAF
      No. 179 Squadron RAF
      No. 179 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare unit in World War II.-Formation in World War II:...

    • No. 251 Squadron RAF
      No. 251 Squadron RAF
      No. 251 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Squadron which operated during the First World War and the Second World War. Its badge was a Weathercock and its motto was: "However wind blows." The Squadron was disbanded in 1945 and remains inactive to this day....

    • No. 269 Squadron RAF
      No. 269 Squadron RAF
      No. 269 Squadron RAF was a maritime patrol unit of the Royal Air Force that saw service in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.-World War I:...

    • No. 275 Squadron RAF
      No. 275 Squadron RAF
      No. 275 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron that served between 1941 and 1959.-History:No. 275 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Valley on 15 October 1941 for air-sea rescue duties in the Irish sea, the first aircraft being Lysanders Mk.IIIa's...

    • No. 276 Squadron RAF
      No. 276 Squadron RAF
      No. 276 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an air-sea rescue unit in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed at RAF Harrowbeer, Devon on 21 October 1941 equipped with the Lysander and Walrus...

    • No. 277 Squadron RAF
      No. 277 Squadron RAF
      No. 277 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an air-sea rescue unit in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed at Stapleford Tawney on 22 December 1941 equipped with the Lysander and Walrus...

    • No. 278 Squadron RAF
      No. 278 Squadron RAF
      No. 278 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an air-sea rescue unit in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed at RAF Matlaske on 22 December 1941 equipped with the Lysander, Walrus and then the Anson. Spitfires were then supplied for spotting downed aircrew...

    • No. 279 Squadron RAF
      No. 279 Squadron RAF
      No 279 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed on 16 November 1941 and disbanded on 10 March 1946.-History:...

    • No. 280 Squadron RAF
      No. 280 Squadron RAF
      No. 280 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron during the second world war.-History:No. 280 Squadron was formed at RAF Thorney Island, England on the 10 December 1941 as an air-sea rescue squadron. The squadron was equipped with the Avro Anson and was responsible for air-sea rescue...

    • No. 281 Squadron RAF
      No. 281 Squadron RAF
      No. 281 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron during the second world war.-History:No. 281 Squadron was formed at RAF Ouston, England on the 29 March 1942 as an air-sea rescue squadron. The squadron was equipped with the Supermarine Walrus and the Avro Anson...

    • No. 282 Squadron RAF
      No. 282 Squadron RAF
      No. 282 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron during the second world war.-History:No. 282 Squadron was formed at RAF Castletown, Scotland on 1 January 1943 as an air-sea rescue squadron. The squadron was equipped with the Supermarine Walrus and the Avro Anson...

    • No. 283 Squadron RAF
      No. 283 Squadron RAF
      No. 283 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that served during the Second world war in the air-sea rescue mission role whilst flying Supermarine Walruses and both in ASR and the anti-submarine patrol role whilst flying Vickers Warwicks.-History:...

    • No. 284 Squadron RAF
      No. 284 Squadron RAF
      -History:No. 284 Squadron was formed at RAF Gravesend, England on the 7 May 1943 from detachments of other air-sea rescue squadrons as an air-sea rescue squadron. The squadron moved to RAF Hal Far, Malta in July 1943. The squadron was equipped with the Supermarine Walrus and was responsible for...

    • No. 292 Squadron RAF
      No. 292 Squadron RAF
      No. 292 Squadron RAF was an air-sea rescue squadron of the Royal Air Force operating in the Bay of Bengal during the Second World War.-History:...

    • No. 293 Squadron RAF
      No. 293 Squadron RAF
      No. 293 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron. During the second world war the unit operated search and rescue missions for Allied aircraft operating over Italy.-History:...

    • No. 294 Squadron RAF
      No. 294 Squadron RAF
      No. 294 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air search and rescue squadron active under RAF Middle East Command. During the second world war the unit operated rescue missions for Allied aircraft and aircrew over the eastern Mediterranean and later the Persian Gulf and Arabian sea.-History:No...

    • No. 353 Squadron RAF
      No. 353 Squadron RAF
      No. 353 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active during World War II in the patrol and transport role.-History:No. 353 Squadron was formed on 1 June 1942 at Dum Dum, British India from 62 Squadron RAF and 103 Flight, Indian Air Force. The squadron was engaged in coastal patrols over the...

    • No. 520 Squadron RAF
      No. 520 Squadron RAF
      No. 520 Squadron RAF was a meteorological squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed at RAF Gibraltar on 20 September 1943 from 1403 Flight. Equipped with Lockheed Hudsons, it was tasked with collecting meteorological data from both the...

    • No. 525 Squadron RAF
      No. 525 Squadron RAF
      No. 525 Squadron was a Royal Air Force transport aircraft squadron that operated during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed on 1 September 1943 at RAF Weston Zoyland to operate the Vickers Warwick in the transport role...

    • No. 621 Squadron RAF
      No. 621 Squadron RAF
      No. 621 Squadron RAF was a reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II, flying from Somaliland and Aden. It was after the war stationed in Egypt and Palestine and tasked with air-sea rescue and was also active in Operation Sunburn, looking for illegal immigrants.-History:No...


Specifications (Warwick ASR Mk I)

See also

External links

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