Warwick
Multipurpose Aircraft
Vickers
Warwick, naval reconnaissance, anti-submarine patrol and rescue aircraft. Flight tests of the aircraft began on August 13, 1939, when M. Summers made a short flight from Weybridge with one observer on board, but the results were discouraging, the characteristics were poor, the controllability was poor and the aircraft could hardly fly on one engine. Slightly better results were obtained on the second prototype with other engines, the Centaurus turned out to be more reliable than the Walcher, but the Centaurus was not yet mass-produced. The Saber, also seen as an alternative, was urgently required for the Typhoon Hawker fighters.
Delays in the engines led to the fact that the production of "Warwick" began only in the first months of 1941, but was suspended in September. The first production prototype got to flight tests only in April 1942. This plane crashed on August 28 and burned down due to the stripping of the linen skin from the wing. The second plane crashed when its engine caught fire during takeoff from the Farnborough airfield.
The decision of the management, approved on January 21, 1943, to use the Warwick as a transport and naval patrol and rescue aircraft completely killed the hopes of using it as a bomber. Of the 250 aircraft of the first order, only 17 appeared in the original form of a bomber.
Only 219 of the 250 aircraft of the first order actually ended up in the British Air Force, where they were used in the naval patrol and rescue service. Another 14 were used as transport vehicles by the BOAS company. The official decision to adapt the Warwick to carry troops, passengers or cargo was made in early 1943 and led to the final transport option for the Air Force. However, the BOAC was ahead of these events by about a year. A plane was required for the trans-African line from the river port of Bathurst in the Gambia (where flying boats from the UK flew in) to Cairo. In 1942, Vickers received an order from the BOAS for 14 aircraft, which were being developed as the "Type 456".
B Mk I with the same engines "Double Wasp" S1A4-G with 1850 hp became the basis for the BOAS machines. The nose, upper, rear and lower turrets were removed, and fairings were installed in the forward and aft ends of the fuselage. Windows were made in the cockpit. Additional fuel tanks, flame arresters for night flights and a reinforced cargo floor were designed. The first aircraft, made according to this model, took off on February 5, 1943. With a take-off weight of 19,050 kg, the transport aircraft carried a payload of 4355 kg. They were used by BOAS mainly for the transport of mail and cargo on routes in the Middle East and Africa in 1943. These aircraft were converted from B Mk I and had civil designations from G-AGEX to G-AGFK. In 1944, BOAC returned these aircraft to the Air Force and were returned to their original military serial numbers. They served in the 525th, and then in the 167th Squadron of the Transport Command, where they were called "Warwick" C Mk I.
The aircraft was withdrawn from service in June 1946, a total of 358 aircraft were produced.
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