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The Vickers Vellore was a large biplane designed as a freight and mail carrier, in single-engined and twin-engined versions, which saw limited use as freighters and long-range experimental aircraft. A final variant with a broader fuselage, the Vellox, was completed as an airliner.
The Vellore I, fitted with a Bristol Jupiter IX, flew for the first time on 17 May 1928. It appeared at the RAF Hendon display in June that year, then went on to RAF Martlesham Heath for tests in October. These it passed with flying colours, its performance better than predicted and it demonstrated good reliability. In early 1929 the Vellore was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VI and extra fuel tanks in the freight compartment for a flight to Australia. Leaving Lympne on 18 March 1929 with a full load including the extra fuel, the Vellore II (or Jaguar-Vellore) made Benghazi in stages before engine trouble caused a forced landing. After spares arrived, the flight continued until the engine malfunctioned again over the Timor Sea, and the Vellore was wrecked in trees near the Cape Don lighthouse at the western extremity of the Cobourg Peninsula on the Australian mainland. The two Australian crew were unhurt.
The Vellore III was a twin-engined development that was fitted with a pair of Jupiter XIFs with and mounted in nacelles cowlings midway between the wings.
The lower wing was slightly decreased in span so the outboard interplane struts leaned outwards. The other alteration was to the main undercarriage, which was now mounted under the engines, providing a wide track . The Vellore III could also be operated as a seaplane with single-step floats replacing the wheels. A second twin-engined Vellore was built, differing only in having slightly higher compression Jupiter IX engines and eventually known as the Vellore IV. This aircraft was in use until early 1935, transporting troops and stores between Martlesham and nearby Orfordness.
The last aircraft of the series was based on a partially completed third twin-engined Vellore airframe, fitted with a new, broader fuselage with an enclosed cockpit, and cabin windows for the passenger compartment, and was powered by Bristol Pegasus IM3 radials. This variant was renamed the Vickers Vellox, flying for the first time on 23 January 1934 in the hands of Mutt Summers.
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