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Vickers Vimy
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==Operational history== ===RAF service=== [[File:Alcock-Brown-Clifden.jpg|thumb|Alcock and Brown's Vimy at [[Clifden]], Ireland on 15 June 1919, having landed in a bog]] [[File:Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU, first flight from England to Australia, 1919.jpg|thumb|Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU, flown by [[Ross Macpherson Smith]] and his brother [[Keith Macpherson Smith]] from England to Australia in 1919]] [[File:Vickers Vimy 1920 (Brand and van Ryneveld).jpg|thumb|(L-R) Lt Col [[Pierre van Ryneveld|van Ryneveld]] with First Lt [[Quintin Brand]], February 1920, in front of Vickers Vimy ''Silver Queen'', before their England to South Africa flight]] On 12 June 1918, according to ''[[Flight International]]'', the Air Board were to initially deploy the first production Vimy units as [[maritime patrol aircraft]], equipped for anti-submarine warfare, and once this requirement had been satisfied, subsequent aircraft would be allocated to performing night bombing missions from bases in France.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=6}} This had been due to a recently introduced policy under which the number of land-based aircraft allocated to anti-submarine patrols was to be vastly expanded, from 66 landplanes in November 1917 to a projected force of 726 landplanes, in which the newly available Vimy would be a key aircraft due to its long-range capabilities. During August 1918, the application of [[Float (nautical)|floats]] to the Vimy was studied, but it is not known if any aircraft were ever so fitted.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=6}} Throughout the 1920s, the Vimy formed the main heavy bomber force of the RAF; for some years, it was the only twin-engine bomber to be stationed at bases in Britain.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=8}} On 1 April 1924, [[No. 9 Squadron RAF|No. 9 Squadron]] and [[No. 58 Squadron RAF|No. 58 Squadron]], equipped with the Vimy, stood up, tripling the home-based heavy bomber force. On 1 July 1923, a newly formed Night Flying Flight, based at [[RAF Biggin Hill]], equipped with the Vimy, was formed; during the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|general strike of 1926]], this unit performed aerial deliveries of the [[British Gazette]] newspaper throughout the country.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=8}} Between 1921 and 1926, the type formed the backbone of the [[airmail]] service between [[Cairo]] and [[Baghdad]].{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=8}} The Vimy served as a front line bomber in the [[Middle East]] and in the United Kingdom from 1919 until 1925, by which point it had been replaced by the newer [[Vickers Virginia]].{{sfn|Mason|1994|page=98}} Despite the emergence of the Virginia, which numerous Vimy squadrons were soon re-equipped with, the Vimy continued to equip a Special Reserve bomber squadron, [[No. 502 Squadron RAF|502 Squadron]], stationed at [[Aldergrove, County Antrim|Aldergrove]] in [[Northern Ireland]] until 1929.{{sfn|Mason|1994|page=98}}{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=8}} The Vimy continued to be used in secondary roles, such as its use as a training aircraft; many were re-engined with [[Bristol Jupiter]] or [[Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar]] [[radial engine]]s.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=9}} The final Vimys, used as target aircraft for [[searchlight]] crews, remained in use until 1938.{{sfn|Andrews|Morgan|1988|page=93}} ===Long-distance flights=== The most significant of the Vimy's many pioneering flights was the first non-stop crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean]], made by [[Alcock and Brown]] in June 1919. An example was specially constructed for the attempt, with additional fuel tanks to extend its range and a revised undercarriage. Only one such aircraft was built; it is preserved and displayed in the [[London Science Museum]].{{sfn|Bruce|1965|pages=9–10}}{{sfn|Jackson|1988|page=201}} In 1919, the Australian government offered £10,000 for the first All-Australian crew to fly an aeroplane from [[England to Australia flight|England to Australia]]. [[Keith Macpherson Smith]], [[Ross Macpherson Smith]] and mechanics Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers completed the journey from [[Hounslow Heath Aerodrome]] to [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] via [[Singapore]] and [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] on 10 December 1919. Their aircraft [[Aircraft registration|G-EAOU]] is preserved in a purpose-built, climate-controlled museum in the grounds of the airport in Smith's home town [[Adelaide]], Australia;<ref>{{cite web|title=Aviation Heritage |publisher=Adelaide Airport Limited |url=https://www.adelaideairport.com.au/corporate/environment/aviation-heritage/ |access-date=16 July 2019 }}</ref>{{sfn|Jackson|1988|page=202}}{{sfn|Bruce|1965|pages=10–12}} "The trip from Darwin to Sydney took almost twice as long as the flight to Australia."<ref name="DC Vickers Vimy">[http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/aviation/crossing_oceans/vimy/index.html "Vickers Vimy."] ''Discover Collections: State Library of NSW.'' Retrieved: 4 December 2012.</ref> Vickers Vimy Reserve in Northgate, a suburb of Adelaide, is named in honour of the place the plane landed on its return to South Australia in 1920.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/anzac-centenary/shilling-fund-set-up-to-help-honour-semaphore-aviator-sir-ross-smith/news-story/ec30d93c1ef155580eeb0a45bcf59562 |title=Shilling fund set up to help honour Semaphore aviator Sir Ross Smith |first=Kurtis |last=Eichler |work=Adelaide Now |date=10 February 2015 |access-date=16 February 2019}}</ref> In 1920 [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Pierre van Ryneveld]] and Major [[Quintin Brand]] attempted the first England to South Africa flight. They left [[Brooklands]] on 4 February 1920 in Vimy G-UABA, named ''Silver Queen''. They landed safely at [[Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)|Heliopolis]], but as they continued the flight to [[Wadi Halfa]] they were forced to land due to engine overheating with {{Convert|80|mi|km}} still to go. A second Vimy was lent to the pair by the RAF at Heliopolis, and named ''Silver Queen II''. This second aircraft reached [[Bulawayo]] in [[Southern Rhodesia]], where it was badly damaged when it failed to take off.{{sfn|Jackson|1988|page=202}} Van Ryneveld and Brand then used a [[South African Air Force]] [[Airco DH.9]] to continue the journey to [[Cape Town]]. The South African government awarded them £5,000 each.{{sfn|Bruce|1965|page=12}} ===Vimy Commercial=== [[File:Vickers Vimy Commercial in flight.jpg|thumb|Vickers Vimy Commercial in flight]] [[File:Vickers Vimy Commercial on ground.jpg|thumb|Vickers Vimy Commercial on the ground]] [[File:Vickers Vimy Commercial cabin 120220 p191.jpg|thumb|Airliner cabin]] The '''Vimy Commercial''' was a civilian version with a larger-diameter fuselage (largely of [[spruce]] plywood), which was developed at and first flew from the [[RAF Joyce Green|Joyce Green airfield]] in [[Kent]] on 13 April 1919. Initially, it bore the interim civil registration ''K-107'',{{sfn|Andrews|Morgan|1988|page=95}} later being re-registered as ''G-EAAV''.{{sfn|Jackson|1988|page=202}} The prototype entered the 1920 race to Cape Town; it left Brooklands on 24 January 1920 but crashed at [[Tabora]], [[Tanganyika (territory)|Tanganyika]] on 27 February.{{sfn|Jackson|1988|page=202}} In 1919, the Chinese Government placed a large order for aircraft with Vickers, including 100 Vimy Commercials, which was cut to 40 Vimy Commercials when the final contract was signed in 1920.{{sfn|Andersson|2008|page=14}} A Chinese order for 100 is particularly noteworthy; forty of the forty-three built were delivered to China, but most remained in their crates unused, and only seven were put into civilian use. Five [[Napier Lion]]-powered air ambulance versions of the Vimy Commercial were built for the RAF as the Vimy Ambulance.{{sfn|Andrews|Morgan|1988|pp=37–98, 510}} Fifty-five more bomber-transport versions of the Vimy Commercial were built for the RAF as the [[Vickers Vernon]].{{sfn|Andrews|Morgan|1988|pp=98, 511c}} ====Role in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War==== After the [[First Zhili–Fengtian War]], 20 Vimy Comercial were secretly converted into bombers under the order of the [[Zhili clique]] warlord [[Cao Kun]], and later participated in the [[Second Zhili–Fengtian War]].<ref name="second zhili-fengtian war">[http://cwlam2000hk.sinaman.com/caf05.htm "我國最早航運機隊主力 -商用維美運輸機"(Vickers Vimy Commercial in Chinese language)] ''sinaman.com.'' Retrieved: 15 March 2008.</ref> During the war these bombers were initially highly successful due to the low-level bombing tactics used, with the air force [[Chief of staff (military)|chief-of-staff]] of the Zhili clique, General [[Zhao Buli]] (趙步壢) personally flying many of the missions. However, on 17 September, returning from a successful bombing mission outside [[Shanhai Pass]], General Zhao's aircraft was hit by ground fire from the [[Fengtian clique]] in the region of Nine Gates (Jiumenkou, 九門口) and had to make a forced landing. Zhao made a successful escape back to his base, but the bombers subsequently flew at much higher altitude to avoid ground fire, which greatly reduced their bombing accuracy and effectiveness.<ref name="second zhili-fengtian war"/> After numerous battles between Chinese [[Warlord Era|warlords]], all of the aircraft fell into the hands of the Fengtian clique, forming its ''First Heavy Bomber Group''.<ref name="second zhili-fengtian war"/> These were in the process of being phased out at the time of the [[Mukden Incident]] and therefore were subsequently captured by the Japanese, who soon disposed of them.
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