AHC: Keep Wellington Flying!

[Gunnarnz]

The Vickers Wellington was a British medium bomber, designed in the 1930s, which served well during World War 2. It had a reputation for being very durable and versatile, and over 11,000 were produced.
Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to keep the Wellington (or some recognisable derivation thereof) flying for as long after WW2 as possible. This does not have to be in front-line military service, although if you can manage that in some military backwater that would be great, but ideally it would be filling some military role in greater than one-off numbers. Can you keep them airborne into the 1960s? The 1980s? Longer..?

 

[Just Leo]

Vickers Viking, Valetta and Varsity fill the bill OTL easily. I did once see an ultralight that looked like a Piper Cub built from what looked like popsicle sticks in geodetic form, but that was quite a while ago.

 

[fastmongrel]

It was kept in service as a trainer till 1954 which isnt bad for a 1932 specification design which was obsolescent by 1942. Maybe modified to use a pair of RR Dart turboprops it could have lasted as a trainer till the end of V Bomber force.

 

[jsb]

Why would the RAF want something with doped fabric skin post 54? Apart from the extra work to look after it by then its probably the only aircraft that inst going all metal?

 

[Just Leo]

The last Avro Anson was retired from RAF service in 1968.

 

[fastmongrel]

The last Avro Anson was retired from RAF service in 1968.

They were still in civilian use till the 1970s.