To me the question of how aircraft should be displayed depends very much on the story the museum is trying to tell, but also related to how many other survivors of the type exist.
We are lucky enough to have a great number of surviving Supermarine Spitfires comprising the vast majority of marks and models, including many with interesting combat histories. So it’s very encouraging and fascinating to see these wonderful machines restored in a huge variety of appropriate colour schemes, with many owners going to great lengths to restore their aircraft (both static and airworthy) back to their original, historically accurate specifications.
But just imagine a hypothetical alternative reality where only two Spitfires survive, and (simply by virtue of numbers built) these comprise a Mk. IX and Mk. V, neither with interesting combat histories, and both of which have been substantially restored since their wartime service. Now we have a different situation, because for many people the Spitfire is synonymous with the Battle of Britain. There would be an enormous temptation to paint at least one of the survivors in a Battle of Britain scheme, even though it is totally inappropriate for that aircraft. Why? Because the Spitfire’s association with the Battle of Britain in particular is such an important story that it deserves to be told, even if it comes at the cost of presenting the artefact in a more accurate, but less historically interesting colour scheme: because there are so few survivors in this case it’s more important to use them to tell the most historically significant story.
So getting back to the Wellington, I think that with just two survivors, it is important to use the Hendon Wellington to tell the most important story the Wellington was involved in: the early war bombing raids on German cities. Sure, it’s a late version with Hercules engines and doesn’t actually look much like a 1940-era Wellington Ic, but nonetheless, configured as a bomber, and painted in a representative scheme (or even as an OTU aircraft-this is a really nice idea) it’s going to tell the story of those inefficient, dangerous and unsung early bombing missions much better than if it was painted silver with yellow bands.
Sure, if you had ten surviving Wellingtons I’d say paint one as a trainer, but at the end of the day a major aim of a museum should be to tell a story with its artefacts, and leave the viewer with a better understanding of history. Leave it as it is.
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