The Vickers Vernon was a British biplane troop carrier used by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. It entered service in 1921, and was the first dedicated troop transport of the RAF. The Vernon was a development of the Vickers Vimy Commercial, a passenger variant of the famous

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

, and was powered by twin

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...

engines or

Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...

VIII engines. 55 were built. In February 1923, Vernons of Nos. 45 and 70 Squadrons RAF airlifted nearly 500 troops to Kirkuk, Iraq after the civilian area of that town had been overrun by Kurdish forces. This was the first-ever strategic airlift of troops. Vernons of No. 45 Squadron had bomb racks and sights fitted. In May 1924 the squadron was officially designated No. 45 (Bombing) Sqdn. Vernons were replaced by

Vickers Victoria The Vickers Type 56 Victoria was a British biplane freighter and troop transport aircraft used by the Royal Air Force. The Victoria flew for the first time in 1922 and was selected for production over the Armstrong Whitworth Awana. Design and ...

s from 1927.

Variants

;Vernon Mk I : military transport aircraft powered by two V-12

VIII piston engines. ;Vernon Mk II : military transport aircraft powered by two W-12

II piston engines. ;Vernon Mk III : military transport aircraft powered by two high compression W-12 Napier Lion III piston engines.

Operators

; *

No. 45 Squadron RAF Number 45 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron, which was established on 1 March 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps, currently provides flying training using Embraer Phenom T1s and operates under the command ...

** No. 70 Squadron RAF

Specifications (Vernon)

References

* * * * * * * {{Vickers aircraft 1920s British military transport aircraft Vernon Biplanes

Variants

Operators

Specifications (Vernon)

See also

References