page_title: Vickers Warwick
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Vickers Warwick / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: Rear fuselage section of the w:Vickers Warwick showing the geodesic construction of w:duralumin alloy
context_page_description: The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose twin-engined British aircraft developed and operated during the Second World War. In line with the naming convention followed by other RAF heavy bombers of the era, it was named after a British city or town, in this case Warwick. The Warwick was the largest British twin-engined aircraft to see use during the Second World War.
  The Warwick was designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs during the late 1930s. It was intended to serve as a larger counterpart to the Vickers Wellington bomber. The two aircraft share similar construction and design principles but unlike the smaller Wellington bomber, development of the Warwick was delayed by a lack of suitable high-powered engines. The maiden flight occurred on 13 August 1939 but delays to its intended powerplant, the Napier Sabre engine, led to alternatives being explored in the form of the Bristol Centaurus and Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines. By the time adequate engines were available, rapid advances in the field of aviation had undermined the potency of the design in the face of Luftwaffe fighters.
context_section_description: The first production Warwick B Mk I was delivered to the RAF for testing at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down on 3 July 1942. On 28 January 1942, this first aircraft was lost, reportedly due to fabric panels on the wings which had come loose. The second production Warwick promptly took its place in flying trials; on 18 February 1943, it too was destroyed, by a fire which began in the starboard engine.
  Only 16 aircraft were delivered as bombers, as by this time more capable four-engined heavy bombers such as the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax were in service. Those Warwicks that were delivered in the bomber configuration saw little use as such, instead being used to investigate various technical features and issues, including navigational equipment, engine performance, role suitability, and air-deployable lifeboats. It soon became clear that the Warwick, with its spacious fuselage and long range, would be well suited to utility roles. In January 1943, the Air Staff decided that the Warwick would serve as the predominant platform for transport and air-sea rescue.
  Early testing showed the Warwick to be under-powered and with severe handling problems, especially when flown on a single engine. Accordingly, stability and control trials commenced with the third production Warwick, which yielded acceptable handling during single engine operations when outfitted with a new bulged rudder. The version of Double Wasp fitted to early models proved extremely unreliable with many in-flight failures; later versions fitted with the Centaurus engine had better performance but the handling problems were never solved.
  The Warwick was subsequently considered for transport and air-sea rescue roles, and BV243 was successfully converted into a transport to serve as a trial aircraft. An additional 13 Mk Is were converted on the production line as C Mk I transports for use by BOAC. BOAC's Warwicks were used briefly on its Middle East services before being transferred back to RAF Transport Command in 1944. One hundred similar aircraft were built for the RAF as Warwick C Mk IIIs, and entered service with 525 Squadron in June 1944, with three more squadrons operating the Warwick III. They were mainly used in the Mediterranean theatre, as the vulnerability of the fabric skinning to high temperature and humidity stopped plans to operate the Warwick in the Far East, the model remaining in use until retired in 1946.
  The remainder of the first batch of 250 Warwicks were used by RAF Coastal Command for anti-submarine reconnaissance. From 1943, Warwicks were loaded with the 1,700 lb (770 kg) Mk IA airborne lifeboat and used for air-sea rescue. The lifeboat, designed by yachtsman Uffa Fox, laden with supplies and powered by two 4 hp (3.0 kW) motors, was aimed with a bombsight near to ditched air crew and dropped by parachute into the sea from an altitude of about 700 ft (210 m). Warwicks were credited with rescuing crews from Halifaxes, Lancasters, Wellingtons and B-17 Flying Fortress, and during Operation Market Garden, from Hamilcar gliders, all of which ditched in the English Channel or North Sea.
  A production order for 525 Warwick Mk V was placed although only 235 were ultimately completed, most of which went directly into storage in 1944. In early 1945, this stored variant was issued to 179 Squadron, stationed at RAF St Eval. Four Warwick GRVs crashed on test flights from Brooklands during the first half of 1945. The first of these 
  was PN773 which suffered an engine failure on take-off on 2 January, and was skillfully force-landed by test pilot Bob Handasyde close to St Mary's Church in Byfleet and both pilot and flight test observer Bob Rampling escaped unhurt; this aeroplane was later repaired and flown again and a propeller blade from the 1945 accident survives today in the Brooklands Museum collection. The Warwick Mk V was also operated by 17 and 27 Squadrons of the South African Air Force.
caption: A section of the rear fuselage from a Warwick showing the geodetic construction in duralumin. On exhibit at the Armstrong & Aviation Museum at Bamburgh Castle.
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