1 in stock
£119.99
1 in stock
Corgi Aviation 1/72 scale AA34803: Vickers Wellington MK111 Z1572 in the livery of of 419 Squadron RCAF, based at Mildenhall, Suffolk in May 1942. Limited Edition of 1,600 models. Now sought after and extremely hard to find.
Length 10.25 inches Wingspan 14.25 inches
The Wellington was first flown in 1936 and incorporated Barnes Wallis’ revolutionary ‘Geodetic’ (alloy mesh) construction. This gave the aircraft excellent rigidity and allowed it to absorb astonishing amounts of damage. Nevertheless, the entire body, wings and tail surfaces were covered in Irish linen. As with all fighting machines, it was an amalgam of compromises involving the necessities of defence, offensive capacity (bombs) endurance and speed. An additional, crucial factor for aircraft is altitude.
The greatest mistake and one which would dog Bomber Command and all the air forces of WWII, was the misguided notion that bombers flying in close formation on daylight raids, would be capable of defending themselves and each other in a barrage from their guns. With only two manually operated turrets and more that 100mph slower than the Me109, the Wellington and its six man crew was a sitting duck. Like its brothers, the Whitley and Blenheim, the Wellington was hacked to pieces in daylight raids.
As the Axis forces had also discovered, the RAF found many principles on which so much had rested were false and with virtually no research into night flying aids during the previous decade and the clamour to “Give it them back, only double!”, precision daylight bombing was thrust aside in favour of ‘area’ or ‘carpet’ bombing. In this capacity and as a valuable member of Coastal Command, the Wellington would fly throughout the war and continue in service until 1953.
Weight | 3.3 kg |
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