Vickers Varsity

Varsity

Varsity T.1 of No.1 Air Electronics School in 1971
Role	military trainer
Manufacturer	Vickers-Armstrongs
First flight	17 July 1949^[1]
Introduction	1951
Primary user	RAF
Number built	160
Developed from	Vickers VC.1 Viking

The Vickers Varsity was a British twin-engined crew trainer operated by the Royal Air Force for 25 years from 1951.

Design and development

The Varsity was developed by Vickers and based on the Viking and Valetta to meet Air Ministry Specification T.13/48 for a twin-engined training aircraft to replace the Wellington T10 and the Valetta T3 and T4.^[2] The main differences were the wider-span wings, longer fuselage and tricycle undercarriage.There was also a ventral pannier to allow a trainee bomb aimer to lie in a prone position and a bomb bay with a capacity for 24 x 25lb smoke & flash bombs.^[2] The prototype Type 668 first flew from Wisley on 17 July 1949.^[2]

A civil version the VC.3 was planned but with the success of the VC.2 Viscount the idea was abandoned.^[2]

Operational history

Varsity T.1 of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1968.

The Varsity was introduced to replace the Wellington T10 trainer. Following deliveries to trials units the first production aircraft were delivered for operational use in 1951 to No. 201 Advanced Flying School at RAF Swinderby, where they were used to train pilots to fly multi-engined aircraft. It also equipped two Air Navigator Schools in 1952, and the Bomber Command Bombing school, with the job of training crews for RAF Bomber-Command's V-bomber crews.^[3]

The Swedish Air Force operated a single Varsity from January 1953 to 1973 mainly for electronic intelligence missions. The Swedish military designation was Tp 82.

The Varsity was withdrawn from service with the RAF in May 1976, its role as a pilot and navigation trainer being taken over by the Scottish Aviation Jetstream T1.

The last flying example (Serial WL679) was operated by the Royal Aircraft Establishment; it was retired into preservation at the RAF Museum in 1992.

Operators

Varsity T1 on display at the Newark Air Museum

Varsity T1 on display at the Newark Air Museum

Jordan

Royal Jordanian Air Force

Sweden

Royal Swedish Air Force

United Kingdom

Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
Royal Air Force
- No. 51 Squadron RAF
- No. 97 Squadron RAF
- No. 115 Squadron RAF
- No. 116 Squadron RAF
- No. 151 Squadron RAF
- No. 173 Squadron RAF
- No. 187 Squadron RAF
- No. 192 Squadron RAF
- No. 204 Squadron RAF
- No. 527 Squadron RAF
- Bomber Command Bombing School RAF
- Central Navigation and Control School
- Royal Air Force College Cranwell
- No. 4 Flying Training School RAF
- No. 5 Flying Training School RAF
- No. 6 Flying Training School RAF
- No. 201 Advanced Flying School RAF later named No. 11 Flying Training School RAF
- No. 1 Air Navigation School RAF
- No. 2 Air Navigation School RAF
- No. 3 Air Navigation School RAF
- No. 6 Air Navigation School RAF
- No. 1 Air Electronics School RAF
- No. 1 Radio School RAF
Royal Aircraft Establishment
Empire Test Pilot's School

Aircraft on display

Germany

Royal Air Force Varsity T1 WF382 at the Allied Museum, Berlin-Tegel.

Sweden

Tp 82 Varsity, c/n 622, SwAF serial 82001, outside the Swedish Air Force Museum, Linköping.

United Kingdom

Varsity T1 WF369 at the Newark Air Museum.^[4]
Varsity T1 WF372 at Brooklands Museum.^[5]
Varsity T1 WJ945 at the Classic Air Force Collection at Newquay, Cornwall^[6]
Varsity T1 WL626 at East Midlands Airport Aeropark.^[7]
Varsity T1 WL679 at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, part of the Transport and Training Collection in Hangar 1.^[8]

Specifications (T Mk 1)

Data from Vickers Aircraft since 1908.^[9]

General characteristics

Crew: four
Length: 67 ft 6 in (20.57 m)
Wingspan: 95 ft 7 in (29.13 m)
Height: 23 ft 11 in (7.29 m)
Wing area: 974 ft² (90.5 m²)
Empty weight: 27,040 lb (12 265 kg)
Loaded weight: 37,500 lb (17,010 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Hercules 264 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,950 hp (1,455 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 250 kn (288 mph, 464 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Range: 2,302 nmi (2,648 mi, 4,263 km)
Service ceiling: 28,700 ft (8,750 m)
Rate of climb: 1,400 ft/min (426.72 m/min)

Armament

Bombs: 600 lb (272 kg) practice bombs in an external pannier

References

Notes

↑ Thetford 1957, p. 448.
1 2 3 4 Martin 1975, p. 9.
↑ Rawlings 1971, pp. 172–173.
↑ Ellis 2008, p. 170.
↑ Ellis 2008, p. 207.
↑ "Vickers Varsity - A New Kind of Wellington", Classic Air Force retrieved 18 December 2013
↑ Ellis 2008, p. 129.
↑ Ellis 2008, p. 175.
↑ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 416.

Bibliography

Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
Ellis, Ken. Wrecks & Relics. Manchester, UK: Crécy Publishing, 21st edition, 2008. ISBN 978-0-85979-134-2.
Martin, Bernard. The Viking, Valetta and Varsity. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1975. ISBN 0851300383.
Rawlings, J.D.R. "Vickers Varsity". Air Pictorial, Vol. 33, No. 5, May 1971, pp. 172–176.
Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Aircraft 1918-57. London: Putnam, 1st edition, 1957.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vickers Varsity.

"Aircrew Trainer," Flight, 30 March 1950, pp. 406–410

Vickers and Vickers-Armstrongs aircraft

By type number	54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 66 67 69 71 72 73 74 76 78 79 81 83 84 85 87 91 94 95 96 99 100 103 105 106 108 112 113 115 116 117 121 123 124 125 127 128 129 130 131 132 134 139 141 142 143 145 146 150 151 160 161 162 163 169 170 172 173 177 192 194 195 196 198 199 203 204 207 209 210 212 214 216 217 220 244 245 246 252 253 255 258 259 262 264 266 271 277 281 285 286 287 289 290 291 292 294 298 299 401 402 406 407 408 410 413 416 417 418 419 421 424 427 428 429 432 435 437 439 440 442 443 445 446 447 449 451 452 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 469 470 474 478 485 486 487 488 490 491 492 495 496 498 559 571 579 581 602 604 607 610 614 615 616 618 619 620 621 623 624 626 627 628 630 632 634 635 636 637 639 641 643 644 648 649 651 660 667 668 674 700 701 702 706 707 708 710 720 723 724 730 733 734 735 736 737 739 742 744 745 748 749 754 756 757 758 760 761 763 764 765 768 769 772 773 776 779 781 782 784 785 786 789 793 794 798 800 801 802 803 804 806 807 808 810 812 813 814 815 816 818 827 828 831 832 836 837 838 839 843 870 950 951 952 953 1000 1100 1101 1103 1106 1151 Type C

Early types	Hydravion Monoplane No.1 Monoplane No.2 Monoplane No.3 Monoplane No.4 Monoplane No.5 Monoplane No.6 Monoplane No.7 Monoplane No.8 Tractor Biplane Tractor Scout HM Airship No. 1 HM Airship No. 9r

Civilian	Merchantman Vimy Commercial Vulture Viget Vagabond Vulcan 170 Vanguard Vellox VC.1 Viking VC.2 VC.3 Viscount Vanguard VC10 Airships: R80 R100

Military	C.O.W. Gun Fighter E.F.B.1 E.F.B.2 E.F.B.3 E.F.B.4 F.B.5 F.B.6 E.F.B.7 E.F.B.8 F.B.9 F.B.11 F.B.12 F.B.14 F.B.16 F.B.19 F.B.23 F.B.24 F.B.25 F.B.26 (Vampire) F.B.27 E.S.1 E.S.2 Vimy Viking Vivid Vixen Valparaiso Venture Wibault Scout 123 Valiant 141 143 161 162 163 177 207 253 581 C Jockey Vespa Wibault Viastra Vellore Virginia Vanox Valentia (flying boat) Valentia (Type 264) Vampire Vanellus Vendace Venom Vernon Victoria Vildebeest V.I.M Vincent Vireo Vulture Wellesley Wellington Warwick Windsor Valetta Varsity Valiant "Victory Bomber"

Military aircraft manufactured in Britain since World War II

Fighters	de Havilland Vampire de Havilland Venom English Electric Lightning Eurofighter Typhoon Gloster Javelin Hawker Hunter Panavia Tornado ADV Supermarine Swift

Naval fighters	BAE Sea Harrier de Havilland Sea Hornet de Havilland Sea Vampire de Havilland Sea Venom de Havilland Sea Vixen Hawker Sea Fury Hawker Sea Hawk Supermarine Attacker Supermarine Scimitar

Strike / Ground attack	BAC Strikemaster BAE Harrier II Blackburn Buccaneer Eurofighter Typhoon Hawker Hunter Hawker Siddeley Harrier Panavia Tornado IDS SEPECAT Jaguar Westland Wyvern (naval)

Bombers	Avro Lincoln Avro Vulcan English Electric Canberra Handley Page Victor Vickers Valiant

Maritime patrol	Avro Shackleton Fairey Gannet Hawker Siddeley Nimrod

Trainers	Avro Athena BAC Jet Provost BAE Hawk Boulton Paul Balliol de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk Folland Gnat Handley Page Jetstream British Aerospace Jetstream Percival Provost Percival Prince/Sea Prince Short Tucano Vickers Varsity

Prototype and experimental	Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 Avro 707 BAC TSR-2 BAe EAP Blackburn Firecrest Boulton Paul P.111 Boulton Paul P.120 Bristol 188 Cierva Air Horse Fairey Delta 1 Fairey Delta 2 Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter Folland Midge Handley Page HP.88 Handley Page HP.115 Hawker P.1052 Hawker P.1072 Hawker Siddeley P.1127 Heston JC.6 Hunting H.126 Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig Saro P.531 Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 Saunders-Roe SR.53 Short Seamew Short SB.5 Short SC.1 Short Sperrin Slingsby T.53 Supermarine 508 Supermarine 545 Supermarine Seagull Youngman-Baynes High Lift

Transport	Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Auster AOP.9 Beagle Basset Blackburn Beverley Handley Page Hastings Hawker Siddeley Andover Percival Pembroke Scottish Aviation Pioneer Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer Short Belfast Vickers Valetta

Helicopters	AgustaWestland Apache AgustaWestland Merlin Bristol Belvedere Bristol Sycamore Saro Skeeter Westland Dragonfly Westland Gazelle Westland Lynx Westland Scout Westland Sea King Westland Wasp Westland Wessex Westland Whirlwind

Gliders	Slingsby Grasshopper Slingsby Prefect

Swedish Air Force military aircraft designations 1940–present

1-25	B/S/T/Tp 16 Sk 16 B/S 17 B/S/T 18 J 19 J 20 A/J 21 A/J 21R J/S 22 J 23 B/J 24 Tp 24 Sk 25

26-50	Sk 26 B/S 26 J/S 26 J 27 A/J/Sk 28 A/J/S 29 J 30 S 31 A/J/S 32 J 33 J 34 J/S/Sk 35 A 36 AJ/JA 37 A/Sk 38 JAS 39 Tp 45 Tp 46 Tp 47 Sk 50

51-100	Fpl 51 Tp 52 Tp 53 Fpl 54 Tp 54 Tp 55 Sk 60 Sk/Fpl 61 Tp 78 Tp 79 Tp 80 Tp 81 Tp 82 Tp 83 Tp 84 Tp 85 Tp 86 Tp 87 Tp 88 Tp 89 Tp 91

100-	Tp 100 Tp 101 Tp 102 Tp 103

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