Vickers Windsor

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Vickers Windsor
Vickers Windsor
Type: heavy bomber
Design country:

United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

Manufacturer:

Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd.

First flight:

October 23, 1943

Number of pieces:

3

The Vickers Windsor (Vickers Type 447) was a four-engine heavy bomber produced by the British Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. After the completion of three prototypes, the project was discontinued by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the mid-1940s. The Windsor was designed by Barnes Wallis and RK Pierson.

history

The Windsor was to be the successor to the four-engine types Avro Lancaster , Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax and was developed under the direction of chief designer Barnes Wallis .

The three prototypes made their maiden flights on October 23, 1943 (Type 447), February 15, 1944 (Type 457) and July 11, 1944 (Type 461). The project was then canceled because the war was drawing to a close and the post-war demand for strategic bombers could be met with the Avro Lincoln, which was newly developed from the Lancaster .

construction

In contrast to the other British bombers, the design was designed as a high-altitude bomber. A notable feature of the Windsor was an enclosed pressurized cabin for the crew. The pilot's cockpit was placed on the fuselage as a glazed cabin. The structure of their cell was similar to the Vickers Wellington developed by Wallis . The four main wheels were sunk into the engine nacelles. The wings were very elliptical in shape. The guns could move the guns remotely. The Windsor used a structure that B. Wallis had already used for the Vickers Wellesley and Vickers Wellington.

Military use

United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 4th
length 23.43 m
span 35.71 m
height 7.01 m
Wing area 116 m²
Wing extension 11.0
Empty mass 17,511 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 24,495 kg
Top speed 510 km / h
Maximum altitude at top speed 7010 m
Range 4650 km
Engines four Rolls-Royce Merlins each with 1,635 PS (approx. 1,200 kW)
Armament four 20 mm cannons in a remote-controlled tail stand
Bomb load 5400 kg

literature

  • CF Andrews, EB Morgan: Vickers Aircraft since 1908. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1988, ISBN 0-85177-815-1 .
  • Leonard Bridgman (Ed.): Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1945-1946. Samson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., London 1946.