Vickers Windsor
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Vickers Windsor
I'm reading Barnes Wallis' biography at them moment, its very interesting if lacking a bit on the technical side.
He spent some considerable time in the 1940s designing a 4 engined bomber which would outperform the trio of Lancaster, Halifax & Stirling - this was the Vickers Windsor.
The book says (and I quote from memory here) "the Vickers Windsor, of which only three ever flew........ "
Now, I was under the impression that the Windsor never made it off the drawing board, no mock-up, no prototypes. I've only ever seen an artist's impression of what it looked like.
Can anyone shed any more light on the Windsor?
He spent some considerable time in the 1940s designing a 4 engined bomber which would outperform the trio of Lancaster, Halifax & Stirling - this was the Vickers Windsor.
The book says (and I quote from memory here) "the Vickers Windsor, of which only three ever flew........ "
Now, I was under the impression that the Windsor never made it off the drawing board, no mock-up, no prototypes. I've only ever seen an artist's impression of what it looked like.
Can anyone shed any more light on the Windsor?
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I was going to say "yes, definitely" cos I've seen a picture of it inverted with (I think) John Jordan at the pole, but I realise that was more likely to have been a Vickers Warwick...
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Vickers Windsor
At last someone's asked a question I know something about !!!!
Three were definitely built ( if someone would Email me how to do it, I'll put a picture of it on here )
It looked a bit like a Stirling with a "bubble" cockpit and a very high single fin. Constructed using the famous geodetic and fabric system of Barnes Wallis, it had four engines (merlins) with an undercarriage in each nacelle - 50 foot track- making taxi-ing on standard RAF peritracks a bit of a problem.
It also featured 20mm cannon in the rear of the inboard nacelles remotely controlled by the gunner in the rear tail-cone (similar to B29)
The prototype crashed - on fire, I think - in Wales. The project was abandoned in 1946.
Lots more information available if anyone wants it.
Three were definitely built ( if someone would Email me how to do it, I'll put a picture of it on here )
It looked a bit like a Stirling with a "bubble" cockpit and a very high single fin. Constructed using the famous geodetic and fabric system of Barnes Wallis, it had four engines (merlins) with an undercarriage in each nacelle - 50 foot track- making taxi-ing on standard RAF peritracks a bit of a problem.
It also featured 20mm cannon in the rear of the inboard nacelles remotely controlled by the gunner in the rear tail-cone (similar to B29)
The prototype crashed - on fire, I think - in Wales. The project was abandoned in 1946.
Lots more information available if anyone wants it.
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A few more pictures
From an article in Aircraft Illustrated Jan 72
The first Windsor's (DW506) first flight was on 23 Oct 1943 and only clocked up 44 Hrs before being written off after a crash landing that was a result of a prop refusing to feather.
From an article in Aircraft Illustrated Jan 72
The first Windsor's (DW506) first flight was on 23 Oct 1943 and only clocked up 44 Hrs before being written off after a crash landing that was a result of a prop refusing to feather.
