The slightly less well known

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Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1

The Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1 was a prototype British Night fighter of the First World War.

The first prototype N.E.1 flew on 8 September 1917.It was fitted with a single searchlight in the nose, and with the pilot and gunner sat in tandem, with the pilot seated in front to give a good view. The gunner was to be armed with a 1.59-inch (40-mm) Breech-Loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II—or a 1​1⁄2 lb COW gun, and a radio was fitted.It was powered by a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 engine in a pusher configuration driving a four-bladed propeller. Its three-bay equal span wings were fitted with ailerons on both upper and lower wings.

The first prototype crashed on 14 September 1917, and was rebuilt with a new nacelle with the searchlight removed, and the gunner position was moved to ahead of the pilot. A fixed Lewis gun was mounted externally on the starboard side of the fuselage, to be operated by the pilot. It flew in this form on 4 October 1917.Although testing indicated that the N.E.1 was easy to fly and land, and had excellent field of fire for the gunner, six prototypes were completed, with the second prototype being sent to No. 78 Squadron, while several of the other aircraft were used for trials and did not enter active service.

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Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3

The Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3, also known as the Farnborough Ram, was a prototype British armoured ground attack aircraft of the First World War.

In late 1917, the Royal Aircraft Factory began development of a two-seat, heavily armoured contact patrol aircraft for the RFC, designed to carry out observation in contact with the infantry, a job that required flying at low altitudes over the front line, exposing the aircraft to heavy small-arms fire from the enemy's trenches. Three prototypes of the resulting design, designated A.E.3, were ordered.

It was a single-engined pusher biplane, based on the N.E.1 night fighter,but had a new armoured nacelle constructed completely of armour plate. Two Lewis guns were fitted on an mounting in the front of the nacelle that allowed the guns to be used to attack targets below, while another Lewis gun was mounted on a pillar mounting between the gunner and pilot to defend the aircraft from attack.
It was intended to be powered by the same Hispano-Suiza engine that had powered the N.E.1, but due to shortages of this engine, with over 400 S.E.5A fighters waiting for engines in January 1918,it was decided to use alternative engines, with the Sunbeam Arab being chosen for the first prototype, and the Bentley BR.2 rotary engine for the second.The first A.E.1 flew during April 1918,with the second prototype following on 1 June 1918, while the third prototype, which was powered by an Arab engine, and fitted with face-hardened armour, was finished later that month.
By this time the Royal Aircraft Factory had been renamed the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and the A.E.1 was given the name Farnborough Ram, the only Royal Aircraft Factory designed aircraft to be given an official name, with the Arab powered aircraft being named Ram I and the Bentley powered aircraft Ram II.

The Ram II was sent to France at the end of June, for trials in its suitability for operational use. These were  unsuccessful, with the Ram being considered slow, heavy on the controls and unsuitable for low flying. No further development followed and the project was abandoned.

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Saro Cutty Sark

The Saro A17 Cutty Sark was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, built by the British firm Saunders-Roe (also known as SARO).

In 1928, Sir Alliot Verdon Roe sold Avro and bought an interest in S. E. Saunders, flying boat manufacturers based at Cowes, Isle of Wight. The company was renamed Saunders-Roe. The A17 Cutty Sark was the new company's first design. It was a shoulder-winged twin-engined four-seat amphibian monoplane with an all-metal hull and plywood covered wings. The above-wing pylon-mounted engines had good access for servicing or replacement, and a variety of different engines were used to power Cutty Sarks, including 104 hp Cirrus Hermes Mk 1s and 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy IIs.

The first aircraft flew on the 4th July 1929,Only 12 Cutty Sarks were built, and none lasted long in service, but the type saw service with many users in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, China, Japan and the Dominican Republic.

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Saro London

The Saunders Roe A.27 London was a British military biplane flying boat.

The A.27 London was designed in response to the Air Ministry Specification R.24/31 issued for a "General Purpose Open Sea Patrol Flying Boat ". The London and its contemporary, the Supermarine Stranraer, were the last multi-engine, biplane flying-boats to see service with the RAF. The design used an all-metal corrugated hull and fabric-covered wing and tail surfaces, with two 640hp Bristol Pegasus II radial engines, mounted on the upper wing to keep them clear of spray while taking off and landing.

The first prototype first flew in March 1934 and then went on to serve until 1936 with the RAF. Deliveries of production aircraft began in March 1936 with Pegasus III engines, but from the eleventh aircraft onwards the Pegasus X engine was fitted instead,and the aircraft's designation changed to London Mk.II. Earlier Londons were retrofitted with the Pegasus X and were also given the "Mk.II" designation.At the outbreak of World War II, Londons equipped 201 Squadron RAF, which now stationed at Sullom Voe in Shetland, and 202 Squadron RAF at Gibraltar, as well as 240 Squadron RAF at Invergordon, which had re-equipped with Londons in July 1939. The aircraft carried out patrols over the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Some were fitted with a dorsal fuel tank to increase operational radius.A small number of Londons were transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force. All were withdrawn from front-line duties by the middle of 1941.

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Saunders-Roe SR.A/1

The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 was a prototype flying boat fighter aircraft and it was the first jet-propelled water-based aircraft in the world.

Saunders-Roe presented a proposal of their jet-powered seaplane concept, then designated SR.44, to the Air Ministry during mid-1943. In April 1944, the Ministry issued a spec for the type and supported its development with a contract for three prototypes. Development was protracted by Saunders-Roes' work on other projects, the war having ended prior to any of the prototypes being completed.

Both immediately prior to and during the war, Britain made very little use of seaplane fighters, it relied upon aircraft carriers and land-based fighters as the basis of their military operations.
Proposed seaplane conversions were produced for both the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire to meet operational needs in the Norwegian Campaign, but were largely curtailed following the rapid German victory in this theatre.Saunders-Roe recognised that the newly-developed turbojet engine presented an opportunity to overcome the traditional performance drawbacks and design limitations of floatplanes. By not requiring clearance for a propeller, the fuselage could sit lower in the water and use a flying boat-type hull. The prospective aircraft's performance when powered by Halford H.1 engines was projected to be 520 mph at 40,000 ft.

On 16 July 1947, the first prototype, piloted by Geoffrey Tyson, conducted its maiden flight.Subsequent flight testing with the prototypes revealed that the SR.A/1 possessed a relatively good level of performance and handling. Its agility was publicly displayed when Tyson performed a demonstration of high-speed aerobatics and inverted flight above an international audience at the 1948 SBAC Display. During the flight test programme, two of the three prototypes suffered accidents, leading to an interruption in the trials and modifications being made to the remaining intact aircraft.

Due to a lack of orders, work on the project was suspended, leading to the remaining prototype being placed into storage in early 1950. During November 1950, shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War, interest in the SR.A/1 programme was resurrected,however, it was soon recognised that the concept had been rendered obsolete in comparison to increasingly capable land-based fighters, together with the inability to solve the engine problems, forcing a second and final cancellation. During June 1951, the SR.A/1 prototype (TG263) flew for the last time. It is now in the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton, UK.

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Saro P.531

The Saro P.531 (or Saunders-Roe P.531) is a British all-metal five-seat helicopter from the late 1950`s.

Design of the P.53 began in November 1957 as a private venture development of the company's earlier Skeeter.The first prototypes were powered by a 325 shp Blackburn Turbomeca Turmo 600, a free turbine engine allowing clutchless transmission. The P.531 first flew on 20 July 1958.Three more developed P.531-0s followed and these were delivered to the Royal Navy/Fleet Air Arm for trials and familiarisation. Following evaluation by the Navy a batch of 30 developed aircraft were eventually ordered as the Westland Wasp.

Two militiarised P.531-2s were completed in 1959, powered by the Blackburn Nimbus and the de Havilland Gnome H1000 free-turbine engines, both derated to 635 hp now that the transmission tests had proved such powers acceptable. The engines were mounted, uncowled behind the cabin for easy servicing. There were aerodynamic shape revisions and a floor extension to allow six, rather than five seats. The vision was improved with perspex panels in the doors, fuel tankage was increased and all-metal rotors introduced.

Saro had an order for eight pre-production aircraft from the UK Army Air Corps for evaluation and trials; these would have been known as the Saro Sprite, but the company was taken over by Westland Helicopters and the aircraft became the first Westland Scout A.H.1s.In total six aircraft were completed.

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Siddeley-Deasy R.T.1

The Siddeley Deasy R.T.1 was designed in 1917.

During World War I, car makers Siddeley-Deasy had been one of several manufacturers of the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8. Though this aircraft was produced in large numbers, it was rumoured that the upper wing could fail in dives and that its spinning characteristics were dangerous. The R.T.1, the first of Siddeley Deasy's own designs set out to answer these criticisms in an aircraft of improved performance.
The R.T.1 was a two bay biplane with new equal span constant chord wings, though the lower ones were significantly narrower than the upper. There were only small changes to the R.E.8 fuselage: the decking aft of the gunner, together with his gun-ring were raised, and the fin and rudder were larger and more rounded.

Just three R.T.1s were built, differing chiefly in their engines. The first and third were powered by a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza engine and the second by the 150 hp RAF 4A also used in the R.E.8. The Hispano-Suiza installations differed in their nose and radiator arrangements: the first used a rectangular nose radiator, whereas the third had a rounded nose with a small chin radiator. The ailerons on the third aircraft were extended beyond the wing-tips.

The R.T.1 flew well and one went for service trials on the Front, the other two going to training units, but with the war almost at its end there was no possibility of further orders.

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Sopwith Three-seater

The Sopwith Three-seater was a British aircraft designed and built in 1912.

In 1912, Thomas Sopwith,created the Sopwith Aviation Company, with a factory at Kingston upon Thames. The Three-Seat Tractor Biplane, also known as the Sopwith 80 hp Biplane, was flown on 7 February 1913 before being displayed at the International Aero Show at Olympia, London opening on 14 February.It had two-bay wings, with lateral control by wing warping, and was powered by an 80 hp Gnome Lambda rotary engine. It had two cockpits, the pilot sitting to the rear and passengers sitting side by side in front. Three windows were placed in each side of the fuselage to give a good downwards view.

A further two tractor biplanes were built for the RNAS,delivered in August and September 1913, with the original hybrid being rebuilt to a similar standard. Following tests of a Tractor Biplane fitted with ailerons instead of wing warping for lateral control,a further nine aircraft were ordered for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in September 1913.
The RNAS aircraft were issued to seaplane stations to allow flying to continue when sea conditions were unsuitable for seaplane operation. On the outbreak of war, the RNAS also acquired Sopwith's demonstrator aircraft. Three Sopwith Tractor biplanes went with the Eastchurch wing of the RNAS when it deployed to Belgium.

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Sopwith Gunbus

The Sopwith Gunbus was a British fighter aircraft of the First World War.

In 1913, the Sopwith Aviation Company received an order for six two-seat floatplanes from the Greek Government for the Greek Naval Air Service, which was in the process of being established.
Sopwith's design,was a single-engined pusher biplane powered by a single 100 hp Anzani radial engine, with four-bay wings. It was fitted with dual controls for use as a trainer.
The first of the Greek Seaplanes flew in February 1914, successfully passing trials in March, with all six delivered by the outbreak of WW1. Two more identical trainers were purchased by the RNAS,for use as trainers, these being delivered in May.The Greek machines performed well, despite the limited facilities available at their base, with at first no workshops or hangars available,the two British aircraft were less successful,their engines were plagued with problems,and were withdrawn by Feb 1915.

In March 1914, the Greece ordered six more pusher seaplanes, the Sopwith S PG N, which were similar to their previous aircraft, but rather than being dual control trainers, were to be armed with a machine gun in the nose, and powered by a Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine. Five of these aircraft were taken over by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of war, but had reliability problems, at least two being modified as landplanes. They remained in service until July 1915.

The Royal Navy ordered six modified landplanes based on the S PG N in July 1914, the Sopwith Gunbus was powered by 110 hp  Sunbeam water-cooled V8 engines and armed with a machine gun. The first aircraft flew on 6 October 1914, and was found to be underpowered, so was fitted with a 150 hp  Sunbeam. A further 30 aircraft were ordered from Robey & Co. Ltd. of Lincoln in early 1915, these being fitted with a modified nacelle, with the pilot sitting in the forward cockpit rather than the gunner, and fitted for bombing. Only 17 of these aircraft were completed, with the remaining 13 delivered as spare parts.

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Sopwith Triplane

The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft from the WWI era.

The prototype Triplane performed its maiden flight on 28 May 1916 and was dispatched to the France two months later, where it gained high praise for its exceptional rate of climb and  manoeuvrability. During late 1916, quantity production of the type commenced in response to orders received from the Admiralty. During early 1917, production examples of the Triplane arrived with RNAS squadrons.

The Sopwith Triplane was a single seat fighter aircraft; it shared much of its design features, such as its fuselage and empennage, with those of the earlier Pup.The most distinctive feature of the Triplane is its three narrow-chord wings; these provided the pilot with an improved field of view. These wings had the exact same span as that of the Pup, while being only 21 square feet less in terms of area. Ailerons were fitted to all three wings. The narrow chord and short span wings have been attributed with providing a high level of manoeuvrability.The Triplane was initially powered by the 110 hp Clerget 9Z nine-cylinder rotary engine. However, the majority of production examples were instead fitted with the more powerful 130 hp Clerget 9B rotary.

Between July 1916 and January 1917, the Admiralty issued two contracts to Sopwith for a total of 95 Triplanes, two contracts to Clayton & Shuttleworth Ltd. for a total of 46 aircraft, and one contract to Oakley & Co. Ltd. for 25 aircraft. Seeking modern aircraft for the RFC, the War Office also issued a contract to Clayton & Shuttleworth for 106 Triplanes.
While both Sopwith and Clayton & Shuttleworth successfully fulfilled their RNAS production orders,Oakley, which had no prior experience building aircraft, delivered only three Triplanes before its contract was cancelled during October 1917. For unknown reasons, the RFC Triplane contract issued to Clayton & Shuttleworth was simply cancelled rather than being transferred to the RNAS.Total production of the type amounted to 147 aircraft.

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Sopwith Snark

The Sopwith Snark was a British prototype fighter aircraft designed and built towards the end of the First World War.

In spring 1918, although the Sopwith Snipe had not yet entered service with the RAF, the Air Ministry drew up a spec for its replacement. The specification asked for a fighter capable of operations at high altitude and powered by the ABC Dragonfly engine, which was an air-cooled radial engine which had been ordered in large numbers based on promises of high performance and ease of production.

Sopwith produced two designs, a biplane, the Snapper, and a triplane, the Snark. Sopwith received orders for three prototypes each of the Snapper and Snark, as well as orders for 300 of a Dragonfly powered version of the Snipe, the Sopwith Dragon. The Snark had a wooden monocoque fuselage like that of the Sopwith Snail lightweight fighter, and had equal span single-bay wings with ailerons on each wing.

In addition to the normal two synchronised Vickers guns inside the fuselage, it had four Lewis guns mounted under the lower wings, firing outside the propeller disc. These guns were inaccessible to the pilot, and so could not be reloaded or unjammed in flight.The first prototype was complete by October 1918, but flight-ready engines were not available until March 1919, and the Snark did not make its first flight until July 1919.While it demonstrated reasonable performance and good maneuverability,it quickly became apparent the Dragonfly engine had serious problems, being prone to overheating and severe vibration, and plans for production of the Snark had been abandoned.The three Snarks continued in use for trials purposes until 1921.

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Sopwith Gnu

The Sopwith Gnu was a 1910s British touring biplane from 1919.

Designed for the postwar civil market, the Gnu was a conventional equal-span biplane. It had an open cockpit for a pilot with seating for two passengers under a hinged and glazed roof. Most of the aircraft were powered by a 110hp Le Rhône rotary engine. The enclosed passenger cabin was cramped and unpopular and most production aircraft had an open rear cockpit. One prototype and twelve production aircraft were built. A postwar slump ended production and the company had problems selling the aircraft although two aircraft were sold in Australia.

The United Kingdom-based aircraft were mainly used for leisure flights in the early 1920s. Two aircraft that were used for exhibition and stunt flying in the late 1920s crashed. Most of the production aircraft remained unsold and were dismantled, including four aircraft that remained unsold when the Sopwith Aviation Company folded in 1920. Two Australian aircraft were used by Australian Aerial Services on the Adelaide to Sydney mail route.

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Sopwith Grasshopper

The Sopwith Grasshopper was a British two-seat touring biplane.

The Grasshopper was a conventional two-seat open-cockpit biplane, with a nose-mounted 100 hp Anzani engine which gave the aircraft a top speed of 90mph. Only one aircraft was built, registered G-EAIN, which obtained its Certificate of Airworthiness in March 1920. It passed through a number of private operators until 1929 when the Certificate was not renewed.

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Spartan Arrow

The Spartan Arrow is a British two-seat biplane aircraft of the early 1930s.

The Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce and plywood fuselage. The prototype G-AAWY first flew in May 1930 with a 102hp Cirrus Hermes II engine. The 13 production aircraft that followed used mainly the 120hp de Havilland Gipsy II engine.One aircraft G-ABST was built to test a new air-cooled Napier engine (later knowns as the Javelin). The second prototype G-AAWY was also used by Cirrus Aero Engines as an engine test bed.Two prototypes and 13 production aircraft were built at Weston, Southampton, and after 20 February 1931 at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. Production of the Arrow ended in 1933.

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Spartan Cruiser

The Spartan Cruiser was a 1930s British three-engined transport monoplane for up six or more passengers.

The Saro-Percival Mailplane was a three-engined monoplane designed by Edgar Percival, and built by Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro) at Cowes in 1931, the aircraft first flying early in 1932.When Saro was financially re-organised, Percival sold his interest in the aircraft to Saro, who re-designated it as the Saro A.24 Mailplane.The development of the aircraft was transferred to Spartan, and the aircraft was re-designated again as the Spartan Mailplane. The aircraft was modified to accommodate two passenger seats.

The Mailplane failed to attract orders, so the design was re-worked as a passenger carrier. This re-designed aircraft was designated the Spartan Cruiser, and the prototype first flew in May 1932.
The three-engined low-wing format had been retained, but the plywood fuselage was replaced with an all-metal fuselage to carry six passengers and two crew.The Cruiser was re-designed as the Spartan Cruiser II, featuring a modified fuselage and cockpit. The first Cruiser II flew in February 1933, powered by Cirrus Hermes IV engines.Most Spartan-built Cruiser IIs were powered by three 130hp Gipsy Major engines, but a small number were powered by Walter Major engines. In 1933 and 1934, twelve Cruiser IIs were built by Spartan, five of which were exported. Just one licence-built Cruiser II (YU-SAP) was built in Yugoslavia, by Zmaj aircraft company, in 1935.

Spartan Air Lines Ltd was formed to operate Cruisers between London and Cowes, Isle of Wight. In April 1933, Spartan Air Lines initially operated the one Cruiser I and two Cruiser IIs from Heston Aerodrome.Two Cruiser IIs and one Cruiser III were pressed into RAF service in 1940.

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Supermarine Seagull-1921 Version.

The Supermarine Seagull was a British amphibian biplane flying boat developed from the Supermarine Seal.

Produced from 1922, the production aircraft, the Seagull Mk II, had a Napier Lion III engine, and these were supplied to the Air Ministry and Royal Navy. A total of 25 were built, although some of these were later modified.The Seagull Mk III was the Australian version, built in 1925. These were similar to the Seagull II but with a Napier Lion V engine and radiators modified for tropical use. Six of these were supplied to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1926 and 1927; one other Seagull III was built for Japan.

The type was used operationally as a fleet spotter by 440 Fleet Reconnaissance Flight, operating from HMS Eagle.The Seagull II was the first British aircraft to be catapult launched in 1925. The crew was normally three:Pilot, Observer, and Radio-Operator. The sole armament was a .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun.

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Supermarine S.5

The Supermarine S.5 was a 1920s British single-engined single-seat racing seaplane, designed specifically for the Schneider Trophy competition.

The Supermarine S.5 was designed by Reginald Mitchell for the 1927 Schneider Trophy. Following the earlier loss of the S.4 before the 1925 Schneider Trophy event Mitchell designed a new all-metal monoplane racer. Unlike the S.4's all-wood structure, the S.5 featured composite construction with the semi-monocoque fuselage mainly duralumin including the engine cowlings. The S.5 had a low, braced wing with spruce spars and spruce-ply ribs and a plywood skin. The wing surface radiators made up of corrugated copper sheets replaced the Lamblin type radiators of the S.4. Three aircraft were built, one with a direct drive 900 hp Napier Lion VIIA engine, and the other two with a geared 875 hp  Napier Lion VIIB engine.

The first aircraft flew for the first time on 7 June 1927. The S.5s came 1st and 2nd in the 1927 race held at Venice, the winning aircraft (Serial number N220) was flown by Flight Lieutenant S.N Webster at an average speed of 281.66 mph. Mitchell decided that the Napier engined aircraft had reached its limits of performance due to the powerplant so for the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, he redesigned the aircraft with a new Rolls-Royce engine as the Supermarine S.6. The High Speed Flight entered one S.5 (N219) along with the two S.6s for the race. The S.5 flown by Flight Lieutenant D'Arcy Greig finished third at a speed of 282.11 mph (454.20 km/h), behind the winning S.6 flown by Flying Officer H.R. Waghorn and a Macchi M.52.

The S.5 was the origin of a line of racing aircraft that ultimately led to the Supermarine Spitfire.

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Supermarine Stranraer

The Supermarine Stranraer was a 1930s flying boat designed principally for the RAF.

Designed by R. J. Mitchell as a coastal reconnaissance flying boat for the RAF, it was initially turned down but Supermarine stuck with the type as a private venture first known as the Southampton V. A contract was placed in 1933 for a prototype powered by two 820 horsepower Bristol Pegasus IIIM engines and the type became known as the Stranraer.
Following the flight-test programme, the prototype on 24 Oct 1934 was delivered to the RAF. On 29 August 1935, an order was placed for 17 aircraft. The production version was fitted with the 920 horsepower Pegasus X and first flew in December 1936, entering service operations on 16 April 1937; the last Stranraer was delivered 3 April 1939. An additional order for six aircraft was placed in May 1936, but subsequently cancelled. A total of 40 Stranraers were built in Canada by Canadian Vickers Limited.

Only 17 Stranraers were operated by the RAF 1937–1941 primarily by No. 228, No, 209 and No. 240 Squadrons along with limited numbers at the No. 4 OTU. Generally, the aircraft was not well-received as its performance was considered marginal. The RCAF Stranraers served in anti-submarine and coastal defence capacities on both Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and remained in service until 1946. Following their withdrawal from military service, many Canadian Stranraers were sold off to fledgeling regional airlines and they served in commercial passenger and freighter operation well into the 1950s.

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Supermarine Seagull (1948)

The Supermarine Seagull was a British amphibious, military flying boat and the last to be built by the Supermarine company.

In October 1940, the British Air Ministry issued a specification to Supermarine and Fairey for a catapult-launched, amphibian, reconnaissance and spotter aircraft to replace the Supermarine Walrus and Supermarine Sea Otter. An order for three prototypes of Supermarine's aircraft was issued in March 1943. Delays were caused by the extensive wind tunnel testing that was needed and the change from a Rolls-Royce Merlin to the more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon.

The design specification was changed in 1944 to a new requirement, the role of the aircraft being changed from ship-based reconnaissance and gunnery spotting to land-based Air-sea rescue.This change removed the four-gun turret the design had previously featured.The first prototype - Seagull serial PA143 - first took off on 14 July 1948 from Southampton Water.By the early 1950s, helicopters were taking over the air-sea rescue role. In 1952, the two completed prototypes and the partially built third aircraft, PA152, were scrapped.

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Supermarine Scimitar

The Supermarine Scimitar was a British naval strike aircraft operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

The Scimitar emerged from a number of designs from Supermarine for a naval jet aircraft, for an undercarriage-less fighter aircraft to land on flexible "sprung" rubber decks,which would allow for a lighter and simpler structure. Supermarine's design to meet this requirement was the Type 505, featuring a thin, straight wing and a V-tail (or "butterfly tail") to keep the tail surfaces away from the jet exhausts, and to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets, mounted side-by-side in the fuselage.

The Vickers-Supermarine Type 508 was the first Scimitar ancestor and shared the layout of the Type 505.Pitch control was by moving the whole tail, with elevators for additional pitch control when working in tandem and to replace the rudder on a conventional tail when working differentially. Ailerons were fitted to the wings for lateral control and leading and trailing edge flaps were also fitted to the wings.An order for three Type 508s was placed in November 1947, the first Type 508 made its first flight on 31 August 1951, with the aircraft carrying out carrier trials aboard HMS Eagle in May 1952.

At the time of introduction most of the Royal Navy's carriers were quite small and the Scimitar was a comparatively large and powerful aircraft. Landing accidents were common and the introduction of the type was marred by a fatal accident which took the life of Commander John Russell, commanding officer of 803 Naval Air Squadron, the first squadron to operate the Scimitar. Overall the Scimitar suffered from a high loss rate; 39 were lost in a number of accidents, amounting to 51% of the Scimitar's production run.Although the Scimitar could operate as a fighter, the interceptor role was covered by other aircraft types. The Scimitar itself was replaced by the Blackburn Buccaneer. The Scimitar was kept initially as a tanker to allow the underpowered Buccaneer S.1 to be launched from aircraft carriers with a useful weapons load.

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Vickers R.E.P. Type Monoplane


The Vickers R.E.P. Type Monoplanes were a series of single-engined monoplane aircraft built by Vickers under license before WW1.

The design was redrawn from metric to imperial measurements by Vickers, and made its first flight from Vickers' airfield at Joyce Green, near Dartford in July 1911.The aircraft was a shoulder-winged monoplane, with a narrow fuselage of fabric-covered steel-tube construction, carrying two people in tandem. A single five-cylinder air-cooled R.E.P. "fan" (or "semi-radial") engine of 60 horsepower driving a two-bladed propeller was fitted in the aircraft's nose, while the aircraft had a conventional landing gear, with both wheels and skids. The wings were of wood and steel construction, with lateral control by wing-warping, with the pilot operating a joystick.

The first five monoplanes were basically similar, and were powered by R.E.P engines, with the fifth one having a deeper fuselage. The sixth aircraft, built for the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition was noticeably different, with side-by-side seating for its two crew, a shorter wingspan (35 ft rather than 47 ft 6 in for the earlier aircraft), while a 70 hp Viale radial engine was fitted.
The seventh aircraft had the tandem layout and longer wingspan of the first five aircraft, but replaced the R.E.P. engine with a 100 hp Gnome rotary engine, while the eighth, and final example, was similar to the sixth aircraft, with a 70–80 hp Gnome rotary.

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Vickers F.B.19

The Vickers F.B.19 was a British single-seat fighting scout of the First World War.

The aircraft first flew in August 1916. It was a single-engine, single-bay, equal-span biplane, with a large engine fairing and tall fuselage, which gave it a stubby appearance. It was armed with one synchronised 7.7mm Vickers machine gun, mounted unusually on the left-hand side, to facilitate the installation of the Vickers-Challenger synchroniser gear, also a Challenger design.
The 100-hp Gnome Monosoupape engine gave a relatively slow speed, and the low cockpit position, behind a wide rotary engine and between unstaggered wings, severely limited visibility for the pilot. The clearest view was sometimes said to be upwards, through a transparent section in the upper wing. Modifications were introduced, including a more powerful 110-hp Le Rhône or Clerget engine and staggered mainplanes, culminating in the Mk II design.

Around sixty-five F.B.19s were built. Six early production examples were sent to France in late 1916 for operational evaluation, where the RAF found them unsuitable for the fighting conditions  evolving. Twelve Mk IIs went to the Middle East, five to Palestine and seven to Macedonia; no squadron was fully equipped with the type. They were not popular. A few Mk IIs served as trainers and for air defense over London, but the type had practically been retired before the end of 1917.

The F.B.19 operated in Russia, where it was known as the Vikkers Bullit. One example was sent for evaluation in 1916 and leading pilots regarded it favourably. Russian sources claim that it was fitted with a more powerful 130-hp Clerget engine that provided a maximum speed of around 200 km/h.The Russians procured around twenty or thirty planes, and deployed at least four to front-line units, a number of unarmed planes served as trainers.
After the October Revolution, a number of Bullits found their way into Bolshevik hands. A force of six F.B.19s are said to have been employed in 1918 against the anti-Bolshevik People's Army, and the type remained in service until 1924.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vickers Vampire

The Vickers F.B.26 Vampire was a British single-seat pusher biplane fighter from 1917.

It was a development of the earlier Vickers F.B.12 prototypes;and was a two-bay biplane with a high-mounted nacelle for the pilot and an initial armament of two .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns. Behind this was a water-cooled 200 hp Hispano-Suiza engine driving the propeller. The tailplane was mounted on four booms with a single fin and rudder. After modifications to the radiator layout and wing structure and re-armed with three Lewis guns in a mounting capable of firing up at a 45° angle to engage enemy bombers from below, the FB.26 was passed to the AAEE at Martlesham Heath for evaluation. The prototype was destroyed on 25 August 1917 when, the Vickers test pilot failed to recover from a spin.

Service evaluation was unfavorable: although performance was satisfactory, its handling qualities were poor. A third aircraft, B1485, powered by a 230 hp Bentley rotary engine and modified for ground-attack was built in 1918 but by the time it was built the Sopwith Salamander had already been ordered for production and development was abandoned. Three further aircraft had been ordered and allocated service numbers but it is not known whether any of these were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vickers Vendace

The Vickers Vendace was a 1920s British trainer aircraft from the mid 1920`s.

In October 1924, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 5A/24 for a floatplane trainer. To meet this requirement, Vickers designed a two-seat biplane, the Vickers Type 120 Vendace I. In August 1925, the Air Ministry placed an order for a single prototype, to compete with aircraft from Parnall and Blackburn, (the Parnall Perch and Blackburn Sprat).
The Vendace I was a two-bay biplane with folding wooden wings and a steel tube fuselage, powered by a Rolls-Royce Falcon engine. Its undercarriage could be changed from floats to wheels in ten minutes, while its fuel supply was held in two streamlined tanks above the upper wing.The first Vendace first flew in March 1926, and then underwent successful trials as a landplane, including operation from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious.

In 1927, these were followed by testing in seaplane configuration at the MAEE, Felixstowe. Despite the successful trials, the RAF did not order production, although it did retain the aircraft for experimental purposes.Vickers built a second aircraft, the Type 157 Vendace II, as a private venture, with an ADC Nimbus (an inline six-cylinder engine derived from the Siddeley Puma) that replaced the Falcon of the Vendace I. It first flew in November 1927, and was sold to the Aircraft Operating Company for survey operations in South America.Development continued with the Type 155 Vendace III powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8F, and three were sold to Bolivia for use as trainers.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vickers Type 161

The Vickers Type 161 was an unusual 1930s pusher biplane interceptor.

Air Ministry specification F.29/27 called for an interceptor fighter operating as a stable gun platform for the COW 37 mm gun produced by the Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) that fired 23 oz (0.65 kg) shells. The gun was to be mounted at 45 degrees or more above the horizontal, so that the aircraft could fly below the target bomber or airship, and fire upwards into it. During World War II the Luftwaffe used a rather similar approach, named Schräge Musik. The specification also called for a top speed well in excess of a typical bomber's cruising speed and a good rate of climb.

The pilot and gun were housed in a metal monocoque nacelle mounted to the underside of the upper wing, leaving a gap below. The pilot's cockpit was offset with the gun to his right, its breech accessible. The Bristol Jupiter VIIF was installed with its cylinders in line with the rear edge of the upper wing, supported by two pairs of struts to the lower wing spars and driving a four-blade propeller. This had an unusual ring fairing that rotated with it and matched the engine cowling in diameter. Aft, and without a break, a fuselage-like fairing ran rearwards, narrowing to the tail. This structure was stabilized on each side by a pair of struts to the upper and lower booms. A split-axle undercarriage had legs to the fuselage and, rearwards, to the forward wing spar, with a strut between their upper joints.

The Type 161 flew for the first time on 21 January 1931. Further trials produced some modifications,to improve yaw stability. The rudder was broadened and rounded at the top, and small fins were added above and below the tailplane at the boom mounting point.It has been suggested that the Type 161 may have been the first aircraft to have had inflight adjustable elevator trims.
In September 1931 it went to RAF Martlesham Heath for trials, where no serious problems emerged and pilot's reports were positive. The gun-firing tests went well, with no detriment to airframe or performance. Despite that, neither the Type 161 or its competitor the Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter were ordered and no more was heard of the aerial COW gun.

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