Vickers Vimy IV

Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1917 · bomber

The Vickers Vimy was a twin-engined biplane heavy bomber developed for the RFC during the First World War, arriving too late to serve operationally but achieving lasting fame through record-breaking pioneer flights in the early 1920s. It became the RAF's standard strategic bomber of the immediate postwar period.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Tandem open cockpits in nose of deep fabric-covered fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Large two-bay biplane heavy bomber with twin Rolls-Royce Eagle engines
Twin tail fins and rudders
Tandem open cockpits in nose of deep fabric-covered fuselage

The large twin-boom tail with two fins and rudders, massive two-bay biplane wings, and twin Eagles in neat nacelles between the wings are the most obvious recognition features.

Specifications

The Vickers Vimy IV has a length of 13.27 m (44 ft).
It has a wingspan of 20.75 m (68 ft).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in November 1917, the Vimy arrived just as the war ended and equipped RAF bomber squadrons from 1919. In June 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in a modified Vimy, flying from Newfoundland to Ireland. Ross and Keith Smith subsequently flew a Vimy from England to Australia.

Variants

The Vimy Commercial was a passenger-carrying civil derivative with an enclosed fuselage; the Vernon was a dedicated troop transport; the IV designation refers to the standard production bomber configuration.

Where you'll see it

Vimys served with RAF squadrons in the Middle East through the mid-1920s, including operations in Iraq; they were replaced by the Vickers Virginia heavy bomber as the decade progressed.

Related aircraft

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