Haynes Vickers Wellington Manual honour’s Barnes Wallis’s geodetic masterpiece When the Vickers Wellington twin-engine bomber made its first flight in 1936, it used one of the new technologies of the age in its construction – geodetics. The metal ‘basket-weave’ technique developed by Barnes Wallis (later, of bouncing bomb fame) meant the Wellington was simple to mass produce and resilient in combat. This practical guide, in traditional Haynes Manual style, centres on Wellington Mk Ia, N2980 ‘R for Robert’, which is preserved at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey. It is one of only two surviving examples of the Wellington in the world. The ‘Wimpy’ (as it was affectionately dubbed, after the cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy) was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the war, as well as being a capable maritime patrol aircraft and submarine hunter with Coastal Command. It was the mainstay of Bomber Command until replaced by the larger four-engine ‘heavies’ such as the Avro Lancaster, but continued to serve on other duties throughout the war. The Brooklands Museum’s Wellington, N2980 ‘R for Robert’, survived 14 operations before it was ditched into Loch Ness when a training flight went wrong on New Year’s Eve 1940. Flying at 8,000ft the starboard engine cut out and the crew were ordered to bale out over the Loch, which they managed successfully. All but one of the crew survived. The wreck was discovered by chance in 1978 but wasn’t fully recovered until late 1987. The recovery operation was a dramatic one, taking 9 years to locate all remaining parts of the wreckage. ‘R for Robert’ has now been painstakingly restored and takes pride of place at Brooklands Museum. The manual offers a fascinating insight into operating, flying and maintaining Barnes Wallis’ geodetic wonder with the help of many rarely seen photographs and technical illustrations. About the author Iain Murray is a lecturer in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. He is the author of Bouncing Bomb Man: The Science of Sir Barnes Wallis and the Dam Busters Manual. Sales Information The Vickers Wellington Manual will be available from all good bookshops and direct from Haynes at www.haynes.co.uk call 01963 442030, priced £21.99.
