WELLINGTON BOMBERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19997, 24 July 1939, Page 14

WELLINGTON BOMBERS

DETAILS ANNOUNCES I HIGH SPEED; LONG PANG LONDON, July •!. Details of the performance of ' Wellington bomber to be supplied tc the R.N.Z.A.F., hitherto kept score! have been released by the Air Ministry. These aircraft are built by Vickers-Armstrong. The absolute maximum speed in level flight is 265 m.p.h. at 17,000 ft.; the normal cruising speed is 215 m.p.h. at 15,000 ft.; the maximum range, with full tanks, is 3200 miles at 180 m.p.h.; the service ceiling. 26,300 ft.; and the time required to climb to 15,000 ft. is 18 minutes. The full complement of crew for the Wellingtons is five, including the pilot, ancl the maximum fuel and oil capacity is 1000 gallons and 47 gallons respectively. Normal flying weight is 24,8501 b. One gun is carried in the forward fuselage and two in the rear. The two Pegasus XVIII engines, built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, are capable of the following performances: International rating, 815 to.h.p. at 4750 ft. and 750 h.p. at 14,750 ft. The maximum h.p. in flight is 885 b.h.p. at 15,500 ft. Geodetic Construction The aircraft are built on the principles of geodetic construction. This form of construction is described as a means 'whereby perfect streamline wings and bodies can be built from a “meccano” of cylindrically curved parts. The most complex surfaces can •thus be formed from parts whicli are easy to make and simple to erect, the final curvature being added automatically and unconsciously by the operator during the process oi assembling the geodetic bars in an erection jig- . . .. This form of construction is therefore peculiarly suitable for the massproduction cf high performance aircraft, a fact which has been demonstrated by the success of the Wellesley long range bomber in gaining the most difficult of all air records—the world’s long distance, and by the outstanding performance of her successor, the Wellington.