Vickers E.F.B.1
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2019}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Vickers E.F.B.1 | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Fighter aircraft | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=Vickers | designer=G.H. Challenger and A.R. Low | first flight= | introduced=1912 | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=1 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Vickers E.F.B.1 'Destroyer' was an early British military aircraft prototype. Although not itself a success, the design was considered worth developing, and a series of similar aircraft were produced in prototype form, eventually leading to the Vickers F.B.5 "Gunbus", which saw widespread service during World War I.
Design
The Experimental Fighting Biplane No. 1 (E.F.B.1) was designed in response to a British Admiralty requirement for an aircraft intended for an offensive role. As such, it was notable for being the first British aircraft to be specifically designed for a military role. A contract for an experimental prototype was given to Vickers on 19 November 1912.
The resulting aircraft was an unequal-span staggered wing, two-bay pusher biplane with the tailplane mounted on booms behind the wings and the crew of two housed in a nacelle above the lower wing, with the engine behind them. The pusher layout was chosen to meet the requirement for a forward-firing gun, since gun synchronisation mechanisms had not been developed at the time. Extensive use of metal was made in its structure, the tail booms and wing spars being made of steel and the nacelle of steel tube with a covering of sheet duralumin.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%200149.html "What There Will Be To See Art Olympia"]Flight 8 February 1913 p149
Lateral control was effected by wing warping, and in order to prevent fatiguing of the structure caused by warping loads the rear wing spar was built in three sections, the outer sections being hinged to the centre section, and the wing ribs were loosely threaded onto the spars.
The armament consisted of a single belt-fed 0.303 Vickers-Maxim machine gun mounted at the front of the nacelle on a flexible mounting.
It was exhibited at the Aero show at Olympia in February 1913, but crashed soon afterwards, possibly on its first flight. Nevertheless, the design was considered promising enough for work to be started on another aircraft of similar design, the Vickers E.F.B.2, and this line of development would eventually lead to the Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Mason 1992, p. 16.
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=two
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=27
|length in=6
|length note=
|upper span m=
|upper span ft=40
|upper span in=
|upper span note=
|lower span m=
|lower span ft=30
|lower span in=
|lower span note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=1,760
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=2,660
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Wolseley Type B
|eng1 type=V-8 air-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=80
|eng1 note=with water-cooled valves
|power original=
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=Vickers-Levasseur
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=70
|max speed kts=
|max speed note= at sea level
|max speed mach=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=4½ hours
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=450
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|guns=One 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers-Maxim belt-fed machine gun
|avionics=
}}
Comparable aircraft
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite magazine|last=Bruce|first=J. M.|title=Vickers' First Fighters|magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=April-July 1980|issue=12 |pages=54–70 |issn=0143-5450}}
- Mason F.K. The British Fighter Since 1912 London: Putnam, 1992. {{ISBN|0-85177-852-6}}
{{Vickers aircraft}}
Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft
Category:1910s British fighter aircraft
Category:1910s British experimental aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1913