CORGI AA34804 Vickers Wellington Mk VIII Diecast Model RAF No.221 Sqn Special Duties Flight

Corgi AA34804 Vickers Wellington Mk VIII RAF No.221 Sqn Special Duties Flight

The strategic location of Malta made it critical to the Allied forces in the Middle East. It is situated midway along the Mediterranean and halfway between Italy and North Africa, making it an ideal base for attacking Axis shipping heading to Libya. Whenever Axis' attacks on the island intensified, Axis' fortunes in North Africa improved. Allied forces, working with the Royal Navy, relied on increasing numbers of RAF bombers such as Wellingtons, Blenheims, Beauforts and attack aircraft like the Beaufighter to attack enemy shipping. The plane with the registration number HX604:X was part of the No.221 Sqn, Special Duties Flight from late 1941 and was painted in Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey upper surfaces and Night underside specifically for this theatre of operations.

The Vickers Wellington Mk VIII was designed to meet a British Air Ministry specification for a two-engine bomber. It first flew on June 15th, 1936, and was initially used as a night bomber during the early years of the Second World War. Equipped with machine guns, it had two in the front turret, four in the rear turret and an additional two in beam positions for defense. The Wellington later served as maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft. Equipped with radar, it operated at an altitude of around 4,000 ft over the North Sea, controlling Mosquito fighters intercepting He 111 bombers. The Flying Mule, Inc. owns the copyright for this information from 2003 to 2024.

Corgi's 1:72 scale Wellington series is notable for replicating the "geodesic" type construction, similar to the construction method used to build airships. This construction method is replicated on the simulated fabric stretched wings and tail surfaces, which are visible through the windows on the fuselage. Releases with configurable bomb load subassemblies have open bomb bay doors that expose the internal bomb load. The metal landing gear is robust and quick and easy to install for ground display. Each release features a 90-degree rotating gunner's turret, and some include an array of delicate photo-etched metal antennas.