Vickers Wellington MkVlll - HX379 : WN-A, No.172 Squadron, Coastal Command , late 1942, model wingspan 360mm

In April 1942 the Wellington GR Mk.Vllll entered service with 172 squadron of Coastal Command.On the 3/4th June 1942 the first attack on a surfaced submarine at night using a Leigh Light, was carried out by a Vickers Wellington of 172 Squadron.  When illuminated the submarine initially remained on the surface and fired recognition flares beleiving the aircraft to be friendly.The Wellington dropped four Mk8 depth charges damaging the submarine. The first RAF bombing attack of the war was made by Wellingtons of No. 9 and No. 149 Squadrons, along with Bristol Blenheims, on German shipping at Brunsbüttel on 4 September 1939. During this raid, the two Wellingtons became the first aircraft shot down on the Western Front. Numbers 9, 37 and 149 Squadrons saw action on 18 December 1939 on a mission against the Schillig Roads and Wilhelmshaven. Luftwaffe fighters destroyed 10 of the bombers and badly damaged three others; thus highlighting the aircraft's vulnerability to attacking fighters, having neither self-sealing fuel tanks nor sufficient defensive armament. As a consequence, Wellingtons were switched to night operations and participated in the first night raid on Berlin on 25 August 1940. In the first 1000-aircraft raid on Cologne, on 30 May 1942, 599 out of 1046 aircraft were Wellingtons (101 of them were flown by Polish aircrew). With Bomber Command, Wellingtons flew 47,409 operations, dropped 41,823 tons of bombs and lost 1,332 aircraft in action. Coastal Command Wellingtons carried out anti-submarine duties and sank their first enemy vessel on 6 July 1942; and versions fitted with a 48 ft (14.63 m) diameter metal hoop were used for exploding enemy mines by generating a powerful magnetic field as it passed over them. In 1944, Wellingtons of Coastal Command were deployed to Greece, and performed various support duties during the RAF involvement in the Greek Civil War. A few Wellingtons were operated by the Hellenic Air Force. While the Wellington was superseded in the European Theatre, it remained in operational service for much of the war in the Middle East, and in 1942, Wellingtons based in India became the RAF's first long-range bomber operating in the Far East. It was particularly effective with the South African Air Force in North Africa