Vickers Vampire
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| F.B.26 Vampire | |
|---|---|
| Type | Fighter |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Vickers |
| Maiden flight | May 1917[1] |
| Status | Prototype |
| Number built | 4 |
The Vickers F.B.26 Vampire was a British single seat biplane pusher scout design built by Vickers during the First World War.
Four were built by Vickers at Bexleyheath, one of these was subsequently modified to become the F.B.26A.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
The design harked back to the earlier Vickers Gunbus; it was a single bay biplane with a nacelle for the pilot and armament of two Lewis guns. Behind this was a water-cooled 200 hp Hispano-Suiza engine driving the propeller. The tailplane was a boom mounted single rudder.
From an initial two Lewis guns the planned effectiveness of the armament was increased; firstly by adding flexibility in elevation then by addition of an extra gun. With three guns capable of firing at 45 degrees of elevation the FB.26 ought to be able to engage enemy bombers from below. The FB.26 was passed to Martlesham Heath for evaluation and then to No. 141 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps in February 1918 with the service name "Vampire". From their evaluation, it was concluded that it was unsuitable as a fighter for Home Defence. Plans were made to try it as a ground attack aircraft, the Vampire II with a 230 hp Bentley rotary engine but the war ended before work was completed.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (F.B.26 Vampire I)
Data from Vickers Aircraft since 1908 [2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 23 ft 5 in (7.14 m)
- Wingspan: 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
- Height: 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)
- Wing area: 267 ft² (24.8 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,467 lb (667 kg)
- Loaded weight: 2,030 lb (923 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Hispano-Suiza 8 water cooled V-8, 200 hp (149 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 105 knots (121 mph, 195 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
- Service ceiling 20,500 ft (6,250 m)
- Wing loading: 7.60 lb/ft² (37.2 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.099 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)
- Endurance: 3 hours
- Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 10 min
Armament
- Guns: 2 x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ British Aircraft Directory Accessed 4th April 2008
- ^ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.75
[edit] Bibliography
- Andrews, C.F and Morgan, E.B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London:Putnam, Second edition 1988. ISBN 0 85177 815 1.
- Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
[edit] External links
- British Aircraft Directory Accessed 4th April 2008
- Aviastar.org Accessed 4th April 2008
- Profile of the Vampire and Vampire II
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