Machines - Wellington
The Wellington, like the Whitley, was a medium bomber pressed into service in 1938, at a time when it was already becoming obvious it was inadequate for the job. The world had changed too rapidly and Britain, a fundamentally pacifist nation in the interwar years, found itself confronting an increasingly militant -- and well-armed -- Nazi Germany. Yet if the Wellington was not the bomber that would win the war, it was versatile and well-designed. It would prove more valuable and enduring than the Witney and Hampdem, and did valuable service to the end of the war. Although designed to the same specifications as the Whitney, the Wellington was notably different. It was the brain-child of Barnes Wallis, an engineer most famous for his innovative bombs such as the bouncing bombs used on the Ruhr dams and the massive "earth-quake" bombs used at the end of the war. His major contribution to the Wellington was the use of a geodetic air frame, which is based on the concept of ...