Vickers Vimy
Vickers Vimy
Description
Role	Heavy Bomber
Crew
First Flight	30 November 1917
Entered Service	1918
Manufacturer	Vickers
Dimensions
Length	43 ft 6.5 in	13.27 m
Wingspan	68 ft 1 in	20.75 m
Height	15 ft 7.5 in	4.76 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	7,104 lb	3,222 kg
Loaded	lb	kg
Maximum takeoff	10,884 lb	4,937 kg
Powerplant
Engines	2 × Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII
Power	360 hp	270 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	103 mph	165 km/h
Combat range	900 miles	1,448 km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	7,000 ft	2,135 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Armament
Guns	0.303 in (7.7 mm) machinegun in Scarff ring mounting in front and mid positions
Bombs	1,123 kg

The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the World War I era. Designed by R.K. Pierson to be capable of attacking targets in Germany, and produced by the Vickers Company, it first flew on 30 November 1917. Only token numbers arrived in France before the end of the war and production was cancelled. It was named after the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

The Vimy served with Royal Air Force in the Middle East from 1919 until 1925, when it was replaced by the Vickers Virginia, and in Northern Ireland until 1929. A civilian version, the Vimy Commercial, with a larger diameter fuselage, was produced in 1919, mainly for foreign purchasers.

The Vimy was used in many pioneering flights, including the first non-stop east to west crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by Alcock and Brown (their aircraft is preserved in the London Science Museum); the first England to Australia flight of Ross and Keith Smith and crew (this aircraft is preserved in Australia); and the attempted first England to South Africa flight of van Rynevald and Brand.

Vimy replica

In 1969 a Vimy replica was built by the Vintage Aircraft Flying Association at Brooklands (this aircraft is now displayed at the RAF Museum, Hendon, London). A second flyable Vimy replica was built in 1994 by an Australian/American team and in the 1990s this aircraft recreated two of the three great pioneering Vimy flights - England to Australia and England to South Africa. It is planned to recreate the non-stop Atlantic crossing in 2005.

External links

• RAF Museum (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/vickers-vimy.htm)
• Alcock and Brown's aeroplane at the London Science Museum (http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/collections/treasures/vimy.asp)