Vickers Wellesley    L2639                                       (c/n

                               

                                     The Wellesley was the first aircraft to be constructed entirely on the geodetic principle developed
                                     by B.N. Wallis.  Vickers chief designer Rex Pierson co-operated with the scientist in coming up
                                     with the winner of the Air Ministry Spec G4/31 for a general purpose torpedo bomber.  Having
                                     said that, I always thought that the Wellesey was a particularly ugly design.  Nevertheless some
                                     176 were produced for the RAF of which 100 or so were still operational at the outbreak of
                                     WW II, serving  mainly in the Middle East against Italian forces.  The three pictured above were
                                     part of the RAF Long-Range Development Flight, two of which made history in 1938 when they
                                     established a long distance record with a non-stop flight from Ismailia, Egypt to Darwin Australia,
                                     a distance of 7,158 miles   This world absolute distance record held until 1945.