VICKERS WELLESLEY: The Basket-Weave Bomber That Cracked Enigma

The Vickers Wellesley was Barnes Wallis's first masterpiece—before the bouncing bombs, before the Dambusters fame. Built with revolutionary geodesic construction (a basket-weave metal lattice), it looked bizarre but worked brilliantly. In November 1938, two Wellesleys flew 7,175 miles non-stop from Egypt to Australia, setting a world record. Then Britain declared it obsolete and sent it to fight in East Africa. On June 11, 1940, nine Wellesleys raided Italian fuel depots at Massawa and destroyed 11,000 tons of fuel in one strike. Italy's East African offensive ground to a halt. For two years, Wellesleys protected Britain's oil supply through the Suez Canal in a forgotten campaign. Then on August 30, 1942, a Wellesley spotted U-559's periscope, leading to the capture of Enigma code sheets that helped crack German naval codes. One raid crippled Italy. One world record proved geodesic construction. One periscope sighting cracked Enigma. The Wellesley: Barnes Wallis's forgotten first, fighting a war nobody remembers, achieving results history overlooked. #VickersWellesley #BarnesWallis #Enigma #EastAfrica #WWII #BritishBombers #ForgottenWar #GeodesicConstruction 📺 RELATED PLAYLISTS: • British WWII Aircraft:    / watchv=qimhvv6pre8&list=plcehin6dhwilpwagz...   • WWII German Aircraft:    / watchv=__drphxfkww&list=plcehin6dhwil2f8ui...   • WWII Japanese Aircraft:    / watchv=8s5thv6nzo&list=plcehin6dhwikpqf9eg...   • B-17 Flying Fortress Stories:    • Frankenstein B17G bomber with jet engines,...   🔔 Subscribe for more stories about the forgotten, unusual, and overlooked aircraft of WWII. Copyright Disclaimer: - Under section 107 of the copyright Act 1976, allowance is mad for FAIR USE for purpose such a as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statues that might otherwise be infringing. Non- Profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of FAIR USE