Corgi AA34802 Vickers Wellington Mk X Diecast Model RAF No.99 Sqn

Corgi AA34802 Vickers Wellington Mk X Diecast Model RAF No.99 Sqn

Two squadrons stand out in the operations conducted by Wellingtons over the India-Burma front. These were Nos.99 and 215 Squadrons, which were sent to the theatre in early 1942 when sufficient aircraft were being produced for home and Middle East needs. Initially based in India in several separate detachments, No.99 Squadron, the first to become operational, was eventually based at Pandaveswar and later in October 1942 at Digri, where they were actively integrated into full operations against the Japanese. They later moved again, this time with 215 Squadron as 175 Wing to Jessore in May 1943. Providing a night strategic bombing force over Burma, the Wing attacked Japanese communications by road, rail and river as well as moving freight for the army.

Vickers Wellington Mk X
Designed to meet a British Air Ministry specification for a two-engine bomber, the Wellington was first flown on June 15th, 1936. Used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, the Wellington defended itself with machine guns: two in the front turret, four in the rear turret and an additional two in beam positions. Later in the war, the Wellington served as maritime patrol, anti-submarine. Equipped with radar and used as an Early Warning and Control aircraft, it operated at an altitude of some 4,000 ft over the North Sea, controlling Mosquito fighters intercepting He 111 bombers.