ADF-SERIALS
Australian & New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History
RAAF Vickers Wellesley Mk.I

Vickers Wellesley Image Gallery

The aircraft type selected for these flights was the Vickers Wellesley which 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 Wallis in coming up with the Wellesley's design and winning the contract for Air Ministry Spec G4/31 for a general purpose torpedo bomber.

An ill fated trial flight was conducted on 24 February 1938 by Flt Lt Gardner (an RAAF trained Australian from Newcastle, NSW) and his crew who went missing after twelve hours aloft in Vickers Wellesley K7734. This was Gardners first experience in the Wellesley and the wreckage was later located on 22 March 1938 near Karmo island, to the north of Stravanger, Norway.

A further and more successful attempt was mounted on 05 November 1938 with three LRDU Wellesley's departing from Ismalia, Egypt.

The crews and aircraft involved were:

L2638: (LR1) Squadron Leader Richard Kellett (16177), Flight Lieutenant R. Jethis, Pilot Officer Maurice Larwood Gaine (36120).

L2639: (LR2) Flight Lieutenant Henry Algernon Vickers Hogan (26181), Flying Officer Rowland Gascoigne Musson, Sergeant Thomas David Dixon.

L2680: (LR3) Flight Lieutenant Andrew Nicholson Combe (26258), Flight Lieutenant Bryon Kenyon Burnett (36010), Sergeant Hector Bertram Gray.

Also, it appears that Wellesley L2681 crewed by Flight Lieutenant Patrick Hunter Dunn (34018), Flight Lieutenant Arthur Thomas Drake Sanders, and Sergeant Bernard Norman Phillips flew from Cranwell to Ismalia, but did not undertake the flight to Australia.

Hogan and crew in L2639 had to land at Kupang, Timor (500 mils short of Darwin) to refuel but the other two aircraft continued on and arrived at Darwin at 4am GST on 7th November 1938, having cover 7,350 miles in just over 48 hours. The record was ratified by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (recorded as 7157.7 Miles). The record stood until beaten by a B-29 on November 20, 1945 on a flight from Guam to Washington.

On 13 November 1938, the three Wellesleys left Darwin for a round Australia tour and were escorted by four RAAF Avro Ansons (A4-23, A4-28, A4-30 & A4-45) under command of the then Flt Lt Patrick George Heffernan.

L2638 lost power on take off from Richmond, NSW flown by Flt Lt Richard Templeton Gething (05240) RAF who had replaced Sqn Ldr Kellet due to illness and force landed 2 miles from Windsor. The date of this incident has been reported as on 16 December 1938 (but newspaper articles such as the Sydney Morning Herald of 29/11/1938 report this as already having occurred). The aircraft was dismantled for shipping back to England while the remaining two aircraft continued the tour.

L2639 also suffered an oil line fracture and force landed 130 Miles NE of Derby in Western Australia . Owing to the difficulty in recovering this aircraft, it was sold in situ by tender by the Air Ministry to Mr H. Falconer of Broome, who had the aircraft salvaged during September and October 1939. In August 1940, Falconer sold the Airframe to the RAAF who used it as an Instructional Airframe at the Engineering School, Melbourne. This became the only Wellesley taken on charge by the RAAF. (See details below).

L2680 went on to Pearce, and was subsequently shipped to Port Said, Egypt aboard the SS Jervis Bay.

Wellesley Airframe Structure

Wellesley L2638 prepared for return by sea to the UK