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Royal Air Force Bomber
Command 60th Anniversary
Bomber Command Aircraft
World War I
De Havilland DH9A
 One
of the most famous of early RAF types, the DH9A entered RAF service
in mid-1918 and remained with the RAF until 1931. The aircraft was a
development of the DH9 day bomber and served with the Independent Force
in France during World War I with a total of four squadrons (Nos 110,
18, 99 and 205). Before the Armistice, DH9As had dropped about 10½ tons
with relatively light losses. During the 1920s, DH9As were refurbished,
prolonging its front-line career until finally replaced by Fairey IIIFs
and Westland Wapitis.
Length: 30ft 0in (9.14m) Span: 46ft 0in (14.02m) Height: 10ft 9in (3.28m)
Max Speed: 114mph (183km/h) Engine: One 400hp Liberty 12A Bombload:
450lb (204kg) Armament: One Vickers gun facing forward and one Lewis
gun facing aft.
De Havilland DH10 Amiens
 The
type made its first flight in March 1918 and some 1,300 were ordered
as night bombers for the RAF, but only 260 were complete by November
1918, with 8 actually being on the strength of No 104 Squadron. Only
one operation was flown (on 10th November) when a single aircraft attacked
Sarrebourg airfield. Post-war operations with the DH10 continued mainly
in the Middle East on mail runs, but some were used in colonial 'policing'
duties in India during 1920 and 1922.
Length: 39ft 71/2in (12.08m) Span: 65ft 6in (19.97m) Height: 14ft 6in
(4.42m) Max Speed: 112mph (180km/h) Engines: Two 400hp Liberty 12 Bombload:
900lb (409kg) Armament: Single Lewis gun in nose and midship positions.
Handley Page V/1500
 The
last of the British heavy bombers to be developed during the First World
War, the V/1500 was designed to reach Berlin from bases in the UK. The
type's designation results from its original name of the Type V and
the total power of its four engines (1500hp). Capable of carry 30 250lb
bombs or a single 3,360lb bomb (the largest of the war), the V/1500
first flew in May 1918 and, despite the loss of the prototype in a crash,
first deliveries to Nos 166 Squadron commenced in October 1918. By the
Armistice, 7 aircraft had been accepted into RAF service and a planned
maiden operation using two aircraft on 9 November was cancelled due
to bad weather and the type was only used in anger once when a single
aircraft carried out an attack on Kabul, Afghanistan in May 1919. In
addition to No 166 Squadron, No 167 was also equipped with V/1500s but
both were disbanded in March 1919 and the aircraft handed over to No
274 Squadron. Although 213 aircraft were ordered, this was reduced to
41 and those aircraft which survived after the Great War went on to
set many distance records before retiring in January 1920.
Length: 64ft 0in (19.50m) Span: 126ft 0in (38.41m) Height: 23ft 0in
(7.01m) Max Speed: 99mph (159km/h) Engines: Four 375hp Rolls Royce Eagle
VIIIs Bombload: 7,500lb (3,405kg) Armament: One or two nose-mounted
Lewis guns.
Vickers Vimy
 The
Vimy was designed and flown for the first time in a mere four months
following an urgent proposal for a heavy bomber from the Air Ministry
issued in July 1917. Delays with acquiring and fitting suitable engines
for the Vimy delayed its entry into service somewhat and the first aircraft
were not issued to home-based squadrons (No 100 being the first) until
March 1922, although some units in the Middle and far East units received
Vimys from 1920 onwards. By this time however, the Vimy had achieved
great fame by carrying Alcock and Brown across the Atlantic for the
first non-stop flight in 1919. Vimys were eventually retired from front-line
service in 1927 when No 7 Squadron received the Vickers Virginia.
Length: 43ft 61/2in (13.27m) Span: 67ft 2in (20.47m) Height: 15ft 3in
(4.65m) Max Speed: 103mph (165km/h) Engines (Vimy Mk.IV: Two 360hp Rolls
Royce Eagle VIII Bombload: 2,476lb (1,124kg) Armament: One Lewis gun
in nose position and another mid-upper.
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