Page 45 - WWII Aircraft Built at Brooklands.

WWII Aircraft Built at Brooklands, Weybridge.

The following WW2 aircraft were built at Brooklands Weybridge, most were also produced at other sites such was the demand, and the need to keep production scattered.

                            

                  

                             Hawker Hurricane, seen here at Brooklands.

 Britain’s most successful fighter aircraft of this era was the Hawker Hurricane designed by Sydney Camm at nearby Kingston. It was assembled and first flown in prototype form at Brooklands in November 1935.  Altogether, 3,012 Hurricanes were produced at Brooklands – one fifth of the total built.  When the Battle of Britain was fought in the summer of 1940 it was due to the tremendous production and test flying effort at Brooklands and other factories and to the skills of the RAF pilots that the Hurricane became the chief victor of this decisive engagement.  At the time, Hurricanes equipped no less than two-thirds of RAF single fighter squadrons. A Brooklands-built Hurricane was recovered from Russia in 1997 and is now on display in the Brooklands Aircraft Hangar.  The above information was gained from the Brookland Museum site.

                                            Hawker Hurricane MK 6.

The Vickers Wellington was a twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a bomber by the larger four-engine "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster. The Wellington continued to serve throughout the war in other duties, particularly as an anti-submarine aircraft. It was the only British bomber to be produced for the entire duration of the war.

A Staggering 11,464 Wellington bomber was built between 1936 – 1945 for the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and the Polish Air Force.

The Wellington used a geodesic airframe construction first developed for the early Airships and later used on the Vickers Warwick. The fuselage was constructed from Aluminium Alloy with W-shaped beams formed into a larger framework. Wood battens were screwed to the alloy frame then covered with Irish Linen; the linen was then treated to many layers of dope to form the outer skin of the aircraft.

The resultant aircraft was very durable capable of taking lots of damage, also its good weight power ratio gave it relatively high pay-loads for a two engine bomber. 

                                          Vickers Wellington Bomber.

                  Damaged rear fuselage.        Geodesic Fuselage Section.

The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose aircraft used during the Second World War. Built by Vickers Armstrong Brooklands, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Force (RAF) as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The Warwick first flight was on the 13^th August 1930, being a larger version of the Vickers Wellington with some 842 built for the RAF, Polish Air Fore in exile and BOAC.

                                         The Vickers Warwick.

The Vickers Windsor was a four engine prototype aircraft produced 1943-1944 of which only three were built.  The fact that only tree prototypes were built was due to refinements in the existing Lancaster bomber, rendering it suitable for the role for which the Windsor had been designed. The first prototype flew in 23 October 1943, second on 15 February 1944, third on 11 July 1944 and all three were built at Vickers secret dispersed Foxwarren Experimental Department between Brooklands and nearby Cobham. The two latter prototypes were tested till the end of the Second World War, when further development and production were cancelled.

                                     The Vickers Windsor.  



The Vickers Wellesley was a 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force. While it was obsolete by the start of the Second World War, and unsuited to the European air war, the Wellesley was successfully used in the desert theatres of East Africa, Egypt and the Middle East.

                                           The Vickers Wellesley.