Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, Rex Pierson in response to specification B.9/32. Issued in the middle of 1932, this called for a twin-engined day bomber of higher performance than any previous design. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster.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 duration of the war and was still first-line equipment when the war ended. The Wellington was one of two bombers named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the Vickers Wellesley.

Design and development

The Wellington used geodesic construction, devised by Barnes Wallis inspired by his work on airships, and previously used to build the single-engined Wellesley light bomber. The fuselage was built from 1650 elements, consisting of aluminium alloy (duralumin) W-beams formed into a framework. Wooden battens screwed to the aluminium were covered with Irish linen, which, treated with layers of dope, formed the outer skin of the aircraft. The metal lattice gave the structure strength, because any one stringer could support some of the weight even from the opposite side of the aircraft. Blowing out one side's beams would still leave the aircraft as a whole intact; as a result, Wellingtons with huge areas of framework missing returned home when other types would not have survived; the dramatic effect was enhanced by the doped fabric skin burning off, leaving the naked frames exposed.

Wellington

Wellington (/ˈwɛlɪŋtən/) is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 398,300 residents. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. Wellington is the world's southernmost capital city of a sovereign state.

The Wellington urban area comprises four cities: Wellington city, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about half the population; Porirua on Porirua Harbour to the north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities; Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt are largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley.

The 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world. In 2011 Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 named Wellington as fourth in its Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011, referring to it as the "coolest little capital in the world".

Wellington (disambiguation)

Wellington is New Zealand's capital city.

Wellington may also refer to:

People

Armed forces

Wellington (MBTA station)

Wellington is an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in Medford, Massachusetts, on the Revere Beach Parkway (Route 16), slightly east of its intersection with Route 28. Wellington functions as a park and ride with more than 1,300 spaces, and a bus hub with 10 routes terminating at the station. The Station Landing development, connected to the station by an overhead walkway, includes residential and retail buildings and additional parking.

Wellington Carhouse, the primary repair and maintenance facility for the Orange Line, is located adjacent to the station. The 125,000 square feet (11,600 m²) building can hold three-and-a-half six-car trains.

Station layout

Wellington station consists of two island platforms between the three Orange Line tracks. The western platform serves both inbound and outbound trains, while the eastern platform is used only for outbound trains. It was intended for use by express trains using the third track; however, the planned extension to Reading was cut back to Oak Grove and no express trains were ever run.