Martinsyde Buzzard#Variants

In 1917, George Handasyde of Martinsyde designed a single-seat biplane fighter powered by a Rolls-Royce Falcon V-12 engine, the Martinsyde F.3, with a single prototype being built as a private venture without an official order, and had flown at Brooklands aerodrome by October 1917.Bruce Air International July 1977, p. 28. six being ordered in 1917, with the first flying in November that year. Its performance during testing was impressive, demonstrating a maximum speed of {{cvt|142|mph}},Mason 1992, p.118. and was described in an official report as "a great advance on all existing fighting scouts",Bruce 1965, p. 160. resulting in an order for six pre-production aircraft and 150 production fighters being placed late in 1917.Bruce Air International July 1977, p. 29. It soon became clear, however, that all Falcon production was required to power Bristol F.2 Fighters, so an alternative to the Falcon would be needed.Bruce Air International July 1977, pp. 30–31.

Martinsyde designed a new fighter based on the F.3, but powered by a {{cvt|300|hp}} Hispano-Suiza 8 engine, the F.4 Buzzard. The Buzzard, like the F.3, was a single-bay tractor biplane powered by a water-cooled engine. It had new lower wings compared with the F.3, and the pilot's cockpit was positioned further aft, but otherwise the two aircraft were similar. The prototype F.4 was tested in June 1918, and again demonstrated excellent performance, being easy to fly and maneuverable as well as very fast for the time.Bruce 1965, p.162. Large orders followed, with 1,450 ordered from Martinsyde, Boulton & Paul Ltd, Hooper & Co and the Standard Motor Company. It was planned to supply the French Aéronautique Militaire as well as the British Royal Air Force, and production of a further 1,500 aircraft was planned in the United States of America.Bruce 1965, p. 164.

Deliveries to the RAF had just started when the Armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed. Martinsyde was instructed to only complete those aircraft which were part built, while all other orders were cancelled. The Buzzard was not adopted as a fighter by the post war RAF, the cheaper Sopwith Snipe being preferred despite its lower performance.Mason, 1991, pp.137–138

Martinsyde continued development of the Buzzard, buying back many of the surplus aircraft from the RAF, and producing two-seat tourers and floatplanes. After the bankruptcy of Martinsyde in 1922, these aircraft were obtained by the Aircraft Disposal Company which continued to develop and sell F.4 variants for several years.Bruce 1965, pp. 165–166.

File:Martinsyde ADC.1.jpg

Despite the limited production, four of the six Martinsyde F.3s ordered were issued to Home Defence squadrons of the RAF in 1918, with two being operated by No. 39 Squadron RAF on 8 July 1918 and one used by 141 Squadron.Bruce Air International August 1977, p. 86. The RAF received 310 F.4 Buzzards before the end of the First World War, but only 57 would be used. In the immediate post war period, two Buzzards were used as high speed communications aircraft in support of the British delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, while a few other Buzzards were used at the Central Flying School.Bruce 1965, p. 165.Mason 1992, p. 138.

While the postwar RAF was not buying Buzzards, Martinsyde had some success selling them overseas, with both single and two-seat versions being sold to a number of air forces, including those of Spain (20 aircraft),Bruce, 1999, pp.28-29 Finland (15 aircraft) and the Soviet Union (41 aircraft). Some of these aircraft had long careers, with six of the Spanish Buzzards remaining in service at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Following the bankruptcy of Martinsyde, the Aircraft Disposal Company sold eight Jaguar engined versions, the ADC.1 to Latvia, one of these remaining in service until 1938.

Other Martinsydes were sold to civil owners for use as tourers, racing aircraft, and in Newfoundland, for survey flights and seal spotting.Jackson 1988, pp. 28–34.

;F.3

:Single-seat fighter biplane. Powered by Rolls-Royce Falcon. Seven built.

;F.4 Buzzard

:Single-seat fighter biplane. Powered by {{cvt|300|hp}} Hispano-Suiza 8 engine. Main production type.

;F.4 Buzzard 1a

:Long range escort fighter for Independent Air Force; three built.

;F.4A

:Surplus F.4 Buzzards converted into two-seat aircraft for touring and military use.

;F.6

:Surplus F.4 Buzzards converted into two-seat aircraft; revised wing and landing gear.

;F.16

:Soviet two-seater derived from F.4, 20 built.

File:Martinsyde F6 ExCC.jpg

;Type A.Mk I

:Surplus F.4 Buzzards converted into two-seat long-range aircraft. Larger two-bay wings, powered by Rolls-Royce Falcon engines.Jackson 1988, p. 28.

;Type AS.Mk I

:This version of the Type A.Mk I was fitted with float landing gear.

;Type A.Mk II

:Four-passenger cabin version of A Mk.I. Powered by Hispano-Suiza or Falcon engine.Flight 17 August 1922, pp. 463–465.

;A.D.C. 1

:Single-seat fighter version, powered by a {{cvt|395|hp}} Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial piston engine. The aircraft was developed by the Aircraft Disposal Company.Flight 27 November 1924, pp. 742–745. One prototype.Jackson 1988, p. 33. Eight production aircraft were exported to Latvia.

;Nimbus Martinsyde

:One aircraft was converted by A.D.C. with a {{cvt|300|hp}} ADC Nimbus engine.Flight 3 June 1926, pp. 315–317.

;A.V. 1

: One aircraft built for the engine designer Amherst Villiers, painted two-tone blue and white, and nicknamed the Blueprint.

;Raymor: a single A.Mk 1 modified for a transatlantic flight attempt, powered by a {{cvt|285|hp}} Rolls-Royce Falcon III.

;{{flag|Canada|1921}}

• Royal Canadian Air Force – One F.6 was in service with the RCAF in 1922.Jackson, 1988, p.31

;{{FIN}}

• Finnish Air Force – received one F.4 in 1923 and 14 in 1927, all ex-RAF machines, and operated them until 1940.Bruce, 1999, p.29 The sole surviving example is preserved at the Aviation Museum of Central Finland.Suomen, Keski. [http://www.k-silmailumuseo.fi/?action=arkisto&RYHMA=7&ID "Ilmavoimien koneet vuodesta 1917 alkaen / Airplanes of FAF since 1917."] Ilmailumuseo (Aviation Museum of Central Finland). Retrieved: 25 November 2008.

;{{FRA}}

• Aeronautique Militaire – One F.4 for evaluation.Bruce, 1999, p.36

;{{IRL}}

• Irish Air Service – Operated one A Mk.II (purchased in November 1921 so Michael Collins could escape to Ireland if Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations broke down),[http://www.military.ie/aircorps/history/index.htm "Air Corps History."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222231555/http://www.military.ie/aircorps/history/index.htm |date=2008-12-22 }} Irish Defence Forces. Retrieved: 25 November 2008[http://frankjnr.powweb.com/aircorps/aircorps_history/register.php "Air Corps Aircraft Register."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715111000/http://frankjnr.powweb.com/aircorps/aircorps_history/register.php |date=2011-07-15 }} IrishAirPics.com. Retrieved: 25 November 2008. and four ex-RAF F.4 fighters.

;{{JPN}}

• Imperial Japanese Army Air Service – one F.4 was demonstrated to the Japanese.

;{{LAT}}

• Latvian Air Force – operated one F.4 and nine A.D.C.1s.

;{{flag|Lithuania|1918}}

• Lithuanian Air Force – money raised in the US by Lithuanian emigrants purchased two Buzzards in 1922, named Amerikietis (American man) and Amerikiete (American woman).Vistakas 1985, p. 63.Bruce, 1999, p.30

;{{POL}}

• Polish Air Force – one F.4 used 1923–1926 as personal machine of Air Force Commander Włodzimierz Zagórski, in red and white stripes.Bruce, 1999, p.35

;{{POR}}

• Portuguese Air Force – one F.4 being used for a sales tour was purchased and donated by British expatriates in Portugal, and three additional ex-RAF surplus F.4s were purchased by the Portuguese government.Bruce, 1999, p.27

;{{flag|Spain|1931}}

• Spanish Republican Air Force – operated a mix of 20 F.3s, F.4s and F.6s.Bruce, 1999, p.28
• Spanish Republican Navy operated 13 aircraft including many transferred from the Air Force.

;{{USSR}}

• Soviet Air Force – received 41 ex-RAF F.4s from the UK, and produced an additional 60 or so F.4s in Russia, plus 20 two-seat F.16s.

;{{UK}}

• Royal Air Force

;{{URU}}

• Escuela Militar de Aeronautica – operated a single F.4.

{{Aircraft specs

|prime units?=imp

|ref=War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters.Bruce 1965, p. 166.

|crew=One

|length ft=25|length in=5.6

|span ft=32|span in=9.4

|height ft=8|height in=10

|wing area sqft=320

|empty weight lb=1,811|gross weight lb= 2,398

|eng1 name=Hispano-Suiza 8Fb

|eng1 type= inline engine

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 hp=300

|max speed mph= 146

|max speed note= at sea level {{cvt|132.5|mph}} at {{cvt|15000|ft}}

|ceiling ft=24,000

|endurance=2.5 hours

|more performance=*Climb to {{cvt|10000|ft}}: 7 min 55 sec

|guns=2 x .303 British Vickers machine guns

}}

{{aircontent

|similar aircraft=

• Nieuport-Delage NiD 29
• Sopwith Dolphin

|lists=

• List of aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force
• List of interwar military aircraft

}}

{{commonscat}}

{{Reflist|3}}

• [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1922/1922%20-%200463.html "A Martinsyde for Newfoundland: The Type A Mark II, Sold to the Aerial Survey Company".] Flight, 17 August 1922, pp. 463–465.
• [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1926/1926%20-%200370.html "Another Interesting A.D.C. Modification: The 'Nimbus-Martinsyde'."] Flight, 3 June 1926, pp. 315–317.
• {{cite magazine|last=Bruce|first=Jack M.|title=From Pachyderm to Bird of Prey: Part 1|magazine=Air International|volume=13|number=1|date=July 1977|pages=25–32}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Bruce|first=Jack M.|title=From Pachyderm to Bird of Prey: Part 2|magazine=Air International|volume=13|number=2|date=August 1977|pages=82–86}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Bruce|first=Jack M.|title=From Pachyderm to Bird of Prey: Part 3|magazine=Air International|volume=13|number=3|date=September 1977|pages=131–137}}
• {{cite book|last=Bruce|first=Jack M.|title=Martinsyde Buzzard|series=Windsock Datafile|number=76|publisher=Albatros Publications|location=Hertfordshire, UK|year=1999|isbn=978-1902207179}}
• {{cite book|last=Bruce|first=Jack M.|title=War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters|publisher=Macdonald|location=London|year=1965}}
• Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0831739393}}.
• {{cite book|last=Holmes|first=Tony|title=Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide|location=London|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2005|isbn=978-0007192922}}
• {{cite book|last=Jackson|first=A.J.|title=British Civil Aircraft since 1919|volume=3|location=London|publisher=Putnam|year=1988|isbn=978-0851778181}}
• {{cite book|last=Mason|first=Francis K|title=The British Fighter since 1912|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1992|isbn=978-1557500823}}
• [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1924/1924%20-%200742.html "The Martinsyde A.D.C. I Single Seat Fighter".] Flight, 27 November 1924, pp. 742–745.
• {{cite magazine|last=Vistakas|first=C.|title=The Annals of Lithuanian Aviation|magazine=Air Enthusiast|number=29|date=November 1985 – February 1986|pages=61–66|issn=0143-5450}}

{{Martinsyde aircraft}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1910s British fighter aircraft

Buzzard

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1918