Vickers Vernon

Vickers Vernon
Type:	Transport plane
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Vickers (Aviation) Ltd.
Commissioning:	1921
Number of pieces:	55

The Vickers Vernon was a Royal Air Force transport aircraft in the 1920s. It was made by Vickers Aviation Ltd. developed from the Vimy Commercial and was able to transport eleven fully equipped soldiers. The Vernon Mk.I had two Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines with 360 hp, the Mk.II and the Mk.III the Napier Lion II engine with 450 hp.

commitment

The Vernon was only used with the 45 and 70 Squadron of the RAF in Mesopotamia from early 1922 to early 1927. It was replaced by the Vickers Victoria . In the 45 Squadron, the Vernon was provided with steel rails under the wings at the instigation of the then commanding officer, Squadron Leader AT Harris, so that the Vernon could also be used as a bomber. In this configuration she carried ten 112 lbs (51 kg) bombs.

The Vernon was used by the RAF as a mail plane on the Cairo-Baghdad route until the end of 1926.

production

Acceptance of Vickers Vernon by the RAF:

version	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	total
Mk.I	10	10				20th
Mk.II		10	15th			25th
Mk.III					10	10
total	10	20th	15th	0	10	55

Technical data (Vernon Mk.III)

Parameters	Data
crew	3 men
Passengers	11 fully equipped soldiers
length	13.00 m
span	20.50 m
height	4.65 m
Wing area	123.5 m²
Empty mass
Takeoff mass
payload	1268 kg
Top speed	190 km / h
Service ceiling
Range	805 km
Engines	two 12-cylinder W-engines Napier Lion II , 331 kW (450 PS)
Armament	without, up to 1123 kg bombs under the wings

literature

Vic Flintham: Truculent Tribes, Turbulent Skies. The RAF in the Near and Middle East 1919–1939 , o. O. 2015

Web links

Commons : Vickers Vernon - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Later Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris
^ Thompson, Dennis: Royal Air Force Aircraft J1 – J9999 , Tonbridge 1987
^ AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft Since 1919 , Volume 3, p. 204; Vic Flintham: Truculent Tribes, Turbulent Skies. The RAF in the Near and Middle East 1919–1939 , o. O. 2015, p. 55

[1] Later Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris

[2] Thompson, Dennis: Royal Air Force Aircraft J1 – J9999 , Tonbridge 1987

[3] AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft Since 1919 , Volume 3, p. 204; Vic Flintham: Truculent Tribes, Turbulent Skies. The RAF in the Near and Middle East 1919–1939 , o. O. 2015, p. 55