June 15, 1936

The Vickers Wellington medium bomber prototype makes its first flight at Brooklands, England. With its unique geodetic structure and cloth covering, the Wellington (or “Wimpy” as crews came to call it) was fairly lightweight for a bomber but was quite strong. It later serves in several other roles, including aerial detonation of sea mines. More than 11,400 aircraft will be built, forming the backbone of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command for the first two years of World War II.