Westland Wagtail
{{short description|Prototype military aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = Wagtail |image = |caption = }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type = Fighter |manufacturer = Westland Aircraft |national origin=United Kingdom |designer = |first flight = April 1918 |introduced = |introduction= |retired = |status = Prototype |primary user = |more users = |produced = |number built = 5 |unit cost = |developed from = |variants with their own articles = }} |
The Westland Wagtail was a prototype British fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined tractor biplane, the Wagtail was a failure owing to the unreliability of its engine, only five being built.
Development and design
The Westland Wagtail was designed by Westland Aircraft of Yeovil in 1917 to meet the Royal Air Force Specification IA for a light fighter with superior performance to the Sopwith Camel. Westland's design team, led by Robert Bruce, the Company's manager and Arthur Davenport, Chief Draughtsman, came up with a design for a small single bay biplane, powered (like the other competitors for the Specification, the BAT Bantam and the Sopwith Snail) by the 170 hp (127 kW) ABC Wasp radial engine. The Wagtail was of conventional wood and fabric construction, with the upper wing centre-section having a large cut-out to improve the pilot's view, and carrying an armament of two Vickers machine guns mounted over the nose.Bruce 1969, pp.132–133.Mason 1992, pp.133–134.James 1991, pp.74–76.
An order for six prototypes was placed in February 1918, (although the last two were later cancelled) with the first airframe being used for structural tests and not flown.Mason 1992, p.134. Delays in delivery of engines delayed flight testing of the Wagtail, with the first to fly, serial number C4291, flying in April 1918, two months after the airframe was complete. Testing showed that handling of the Wagtail was good, but also quickly showed that the Wasp was unreliable.James 1991, pp.76–77. Although the Wagtail proved the best of the three Wasp-engined fighters tested, the Wasp was officially abandoned in October 1918, which together with the end of the war on 11 November, resulted in it not being adopted as a fighter.Bruce 1969, p.135.
Despite this, two further Wagtails were ordered in 1920, as testbeds for the new 150 hp (112 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial. These two aircraft, which had a shorter nose to compensate for the heavier engine, were delivered in 1921 and remained in use until August 1922.James 1991, p.79.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Westland Aircraft since 1915,James 1991, pp.79–80. Janes{{cite book |last=Gey |first=C.G. |title=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1919 |edition=Facsimile |year=1969 |publisher=David & Charles (Publishers) Limited |location=London |isbn=07153-4647-4 |pages=197a–198a}}
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|wing area sqft=190
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|airfoil=RAF 15
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|empty weight lb=746
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|gross weight lb=1330
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|fuel capacity={{convert|20|impgal|USgal l|abbr=on}}
|more general=*Oil capacity: {{convert|3|impgal|USgal l|abbr=on}}
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=ABC Wasp
|eng1 type=7-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=170
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|eng1 note=at 1,900 rpm
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|prop dia m=2.59
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|max speed mph=125
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|ferry range km=
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|endurance=2hours 30 minutes at {{convert|15000|ft|abbr=on}}
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=20000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=1429
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{convert|5000|ft|abbr=on}} in 3 minutes 30 seconds; {{convert|10000|ft|abbr=on}} in 7 minutes 30 seconds; {{convert|17000|ft|abbr=on}} in 17 minutes
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=7
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=0.13 hp/lb (0.213 kW/kg)
|more performance=
|guns= 2x forward firing, synchronised {{convert|0.303|in|mm|abbr=on|1}} Vickers machine guns
|bombs=
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}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
- Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London:Putnam, 1957.
- Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War: Fighters Volume One. London:Macdonald, 1969. {{ISBN|0-356-01490-8}}.
- James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1991. {{ISBN|0-85177-847-X}}.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. {{ISBN|1-55750-082-7}}.
External links
- [http://www.pfabristol.flyer.co.uk/june03.htm Local Lights:The Westland Wagtail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720191827/http://www.pfabristol.flyer.co.uk/june03.htm |date=20 July 2011 }} PFA : The Bristol Strutter.
- [http://history.whl.co.uk/wagtail.html Aircraft Data Sheet: Wagtail (1918)] AgustaWestland.
{{Westland aircraft}}
Category:1910s British fighter aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1918
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft