RAF Coastal Command Vickers Warwick ASR

A Vickers-Armstrongs Warwick air-sea rescue aircraft over the North Sea in late 1944.

This picture was made to commemorate Warwick number BV233 of 279 Squadron RAF, coded RL-J, an early ASR type which carried two sets of inflatable dinghies in the bomb bay. The aircraft stalled and crashed at low-level during a training sortie near RAF Thornaby in the north-east of England on 7 January 1945, killing all six crew.

The Warwick somewhat resembles a 'stretched' Wellington but they were developed in parallel. The Warwick was superseded by four-engined heavy bombers but found a successful niche in Coastal Command service.