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Windsor
Long-range Heavy Bomber
Vickers
 Vickers Windsor, a long-range heavy bomber that remained in the prototype stage and was not mass-produced. According to the British Air Ministry B.5 / 41 specification from 1941, a four-engine bomber with a maximum speed of 555 km / h was supposed to carry up to 3629 kilograms of bombs at a distance of 3218 kilometers.
Of interest is the unusual landing gear of the aircraft - four main landing gear legs with struts in the engine nacelles. The defensive armament consisted of 4 Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in the outer engine nacelles to protect the rear hemisphere.
The first flight of the prototype aircraft (DW506) took place on January 23, 1943. During tests, the aircraft showed a maximum speed of 486 km / h at an altitude of 7620 meters. Based on the test results, the Aviation Ministry ordered a series of 300 aircraft. The power plant of the serial aircraft was supposed to consist of 4 Rolls-Royce Merlin 100 or Griffon engines. This aircraft configuration received the factory designation Type 483 and the military Windsor B.Mk I. The first production aircraft were scheduled to be delivered in the summer of 1945, but due to the end of the war, the order was canceled.
Despite the successful tests of the first prototype, Vickers continued to work on improving the design of the bomber. The second prototype of the aircraft (DW512), designated Vickers Type 457, received 1750 hp Merlin 85 engines. Its first flight took place on February 15, 1944. Another prototype was also built - Vickers Type 461 (registration number - NK136, maiden flight - July 11, 1944, after installing 20 mm cannons on it, it received the designation Type 480). Work on the aircraft continued after the war. Several more variants of the aircraft were proposed, which remained at the prototype stage.
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