Vickers Vernon Troop Transport

Entering service in 1921, the Vickers Vernon was a development of the Vickers Vimy Commercial, itself a development of the Vimy bomber. Serving with 45 and 70 squadrons RAF, it was the first dedicated troop transport operated by the Royal Air Force.

Bomb racks were added under the wings to deter local uprisings. In February 1923, Vickers Vernon’s of Nos. 45 and 70 Squadrons RAF airlifted nearly 500 troops to Kirkuk in Iraq, after the civilian area of that town had been overrun by Kurdish forces. This was the first-ever recorded strategic airlift of troops during conflict. Vickers Vernon’s were also used to evacuate troops suffering from dysentery from outlying detachments in Iraq, carrying them for treatment at hospitals in Baghdad. Some 161 patients were transported within fifteen months during 1924 – 25.

Vernons were replaced by Vickers Victorias from 1927.