Vickers Venom
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name= Venom |image= Vickers Venom.jpg }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type= Fighter |national origin= United Kingdom |manufacturer= Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd |first flight= 17 June 1936 |status=abandoned prototype |number built= 1 |developed from= Vickers Jockey }} |
The Vickers Type 279 Venom was a British low-wing monoplane single-seat, single-engined, eight-gun fighter aircraft intended for use in the tropics. It was fast and manoeuvrable but its Bristol Aquila radial engine was disliked. It and the other designs built to the same specification, which included the Bristol Type 146, Gloster F.5/34, and Martin-Baker MB 2, were rejected by the Air Ministry in favour of designs using the Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
Design and development
The Vickers VenomAndrews and Morgan 1988, pp. 246–50, 254. was designed to meet Air Ministry specification F.5/34 which called for a single-seat eight-gun aircraft with the high maximum speed and rate of climb needed to catch {{cvt|200|mph}} bombers flying at {{cvt|15000|ft}}. Submissions were expected to use a radial engine for good performance in the tropics Bowyer , 1984, p.34 Vickers based their entrant on their earlier Type 151 Jockey fighter, using the same wing and tail airfoil sections and dimensions but replacing the Wibault-Vickers ribbed construction of the Jockey with a more modern smooth stressed-skin structure.Goulding 1986, p. 63.
File:Vickers 279 Venom on ground.jpg
The Venom (originally known as the Jockey Mk II) was a low-wing monoplane, with square-tipped constant chord wings and tailplane. The fin, too, was square-tipped but the rather angular appearance did not extend to the fuselage, whose circular cross section tapered rearwards from the engine's long chord cowling back to the tail. The pilot sat over the wing in a perspex-enclosed cockpit, which had additional windows in the fuselage to enhance the side and downwards view. The inverted U-shaped fairing behind the cockpit extended back to the base of the fin.
The fuselage was an alloy-skinned monocoque structure of polygonal section, and the thicker plates of the wings were also stressed, taking the drag loads. The wings carried flaps that could extend to 90° and there was a wide track, inward-retracting main undercarriage as well as a small fixed tailwheel. Flaps and undercarriage were electrically operated. The RAF 34 wing section provided sufficient depth for the installation of the required eight Browning machine guns. The Venom was powered by a {{cvt|625|hp}} Bristol Aquila AE-3S sleeve valve radial engine, hinge-mounted so it could be swung sideways for easy maintenance. The Aquila drove a three-bladed propeller. Joseph "Mutt" Summers flew the Venom on its first flight on 17 June 1936. Unlike the Hurricane and Spitfire, the Venom was fitted with its full armament from its first flight.Mason 1992, p. 265.
Testing and evaluation
Publicly unveiled at the 1936 Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) display, the Venom appeared in natural polished metal and silver dope on the fabric control surfaces, with temporary company registration markings of PVO-10.Lewis 1967, p. 279. In testing, the Venom performed well on the limited power of the Aquila, achieving a maximum speed of {{cvt|312|mph}} and it demonstrated a good climb rate. The Venom had a better rate of roll and turn than its long nosed water-cooled competitors but it was soon clear the potential power from the Rolls-Royce Merlin inline engine was greater than was likely to be possible from the Aquila, while no other engines were available that were suitable for such a small airframe.Goulding 1986, p. 64. Jeffrey Quill flew the Venom from Eastleigh, mixing it with Spitfires but the Venom's flying was limited by engine problems. Later flying with RAF roundels and marked with "3" on the fuselages sides, the Venom was painted a cream colour for exhibition purposes. The sole Venom prototype was scrapped in 1939, following a crash during a test flight.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 250.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Vickers Aircraft since 1908Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 254.
|prime units?=imp
|crew=1
|length ft=24|length in=2
|span ft=32|span in=9
|height ft=10|height in=9
|wing area sqft=146
|gross weight lb=4156
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Bristol Aquila AE-3S
|eng1 type= nine-cylinder sleeve valve radial
|eng1 hp=625
|max speed mph= 312
|max speed note=at {{cvt|16500|ft}}
|ceiling ft=32000
|climb rate ftmin=3000
|armament = * 8 × {{cvt|0.303|in|1}} Browning machine guns
}}
See also
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
- Aeronautica Umbra Trojani AUT.18
- Boeing P-29
- Bristol Type 146
- Curtiss P-36 Hawk
- Fiat G.50 Freccia
- Gloster F.5/34
- Koolhoven F.K.58
- Macchi C.200
- Mitsubishi 1MF10
- Nakajima Ki-12
- Polikarpov I-16
- Nakajima Ki-27
- Seversky P-35
|lists=
}}
References
{{commons category|Vickers Venom}}
=Notes=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
{{Refbegin}}
- Andrews, C. F. and E. B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908, 2nd ed. London: Putnam, 1988. {{ISBN|0851778151}}.
- {{cite book|last=Bowyer|first=Michael J. F.|title=Interceptor Fighters for the Royal Air Force, 1935–45|location=Wellingborough|publisher=Patrick Stephens|year=1984|isbn=0850597269|page=34}}
- Goulding, James. Interceptor. London: Ian Allan, 1986. {{ISBN|071101583X}}.
- Lewis, Peter. "Vickers Type 279 Venom." Air Pictorial, Volume 29, No. 8, August 1967.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. {{ISBN|1557500827}}.
{{Refend}}
{{Vickers aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
Category:1930s British fighter aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1936
Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear