Britain - 1917 Port Victoria PV.7

A Failed Carrier Based Aircraft

The Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain also designed naval aircraft which were not float planes. They produced several sleek aircraft in 1917.

Port Victoria PV.7 - Grain Kitten - 1917

The Port Victoria P.V.7 Grain Kitten was a prototype British Fighter aircraft of the First World War designed and built by the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain. A very small and light biplane intended to fly off platforms on Royal Navy Destroyers, it was unsuccessful, only a single prototype being built.

Following Royal Navy experience in operating land planes from platforms on ships, in late 1916, the British Admiralty came up with the idea of a lightweight fighter aircraft, capable of flying off short platforms on the forecastle of Destroyers in order to provide large numbers of aircraft at sea capable of intercepting and destroying German Airships. It therefore instructed the Marine Aircraft Experimental Department at Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain, and the RNAS Experimental Flight at Eastchurch to each produce a design to meet this requirement.

The Port Victoria aircraft, designed by W.H. Sayers, was designated P.V.7. It was a very small single bay tractor biplane, of sesquiplane configuration, with its lower wing much smaller than its upper wing. The wings featured the same high-lift section as used in previous Port Victoria aircraft, and were fitted with ailerons only on the upper wing. It was intended, as was the competing Eastchurch design, to use a 45 hp (34 kW) geared ABC Gnat two cylinder air-cooled engine. Armament was a single Lewis gun mounted above the upper wing.

While the Port Victoria design was design and built, the commander of the Experimental flight as Eastchurch, Harry Busteed took over command of the Port Victoria Marine Aircraft Experimental Department, taking the designer of the Eastchurch competitor and the part built prototype with him to the Isle of Grain, with the Eastchurch design gaining the Port Victoria designation P.V.8. The P.V.7 acquired the name Grain Kitten to distinguish it from the P.V.8, which was named the Eastchurch Kitten.

The P.V.7 first flew on 22 June 1917, powered by a 35 hp (26 kW) ungeared Gnat engine, as the geared engine was unavailable. The P.V.7 proved to be tail heavy in the air and difficult to handle on the ground, with its sesquiplane layout and high lift wings being considered unsuitable for such a small aircraft. The Gnat engine proved to be extremely unreliable, with test flights being forced to remain within gliding distance of an airfield.

When the P.V.8 first flew in September, it proved superior, although similarly hamstrung by the 35 hp Gnat. The P.V.7 was rebuilt with new wings of conventional airfoil section, a modified tail and a new undercarriage to eliminate some of the problems found in testing.[4] The low power and unreliability of the Gnat, however, prevented either aircraft being suitable for the intended use, and the P.V.7 was not flown after it was rebuilt.

References

1. "Port Victoria PV7 Grain Kitten - airship interceptor" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 01:03, November 9, 2010, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-7.php
2. "Port Victoria PV7 Grain Kitten (1917) (England)" The-Blueprints.com, Retrieved 12:03, October 19, 2010, from http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/ww1planes/ww1-english/36145/view/port_victoria_p_v_7_grain_kitten_%281917%29_%28england%29/
3. "Port Victoria P.V.7". (2010, September 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:35, November 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Victoria_P.V.7&oldid=385587956
4. Bruce, J.M. "War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters". London:Macdonald, 1965.
5. Collyer, David. "Babies Kittens and Griffons". Air Enthusiast, Number 43, 1991. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143 5450. pp. 50–55.
6. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

Britain - 1917 Port Victoria P.V.9

Britain's Final Float Plane

TGIF you say? Well here we are. Another Friday and we are looking forward to the end of another week. I hope you have a great weekend.

Today I am continuing with the aircraft developed by the RNAS Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot at Port Victoria. This is the last float plane of the development arc they produced. Britain changed naval aviation concept and moved to naval planes launched by the new batch of ships converted into earlier carriers. Unlike the Germans who continued producing several line of successful float planes; British float plane development ended in 1917.

Port Victoria PV.9 - 1917

The Port Victoria P.V.9 was a British single-seat biplane float plane fighter of the First World War. Although claimed to be the best aircraft of its type yet to be tested, only a single prototype was built.

In mid-1917, the RNAS Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot at Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain was instructed to build a new single-seat float plane fighter as a possible replacement for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)'s Sopwith Babys. The new aircraft was to combine the good maneuverability and pilot view of Port Victoria's earlier P.V.2 float plane with superior speed.

Like the P.V.2, the new design, the Port Victoria P.V.9 was a single-engined sesquiplane (i.e. a biplane with its lower wing much smaller than its upper wing) braced with faired steel tubes. The fuselage, wider than that of the P.V.2, was mounted between the upper and lower wings, almost filling the inter-wing gap, giving an excellent view for the pilot. Armament was a Vickers machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller disc, with a Lewis gun mounted above the upper wing firing over the propeller. Power was provided by a Bentley BR1 rotary engine. While the designers had hoped to use the same high-lift aerofoil section as used in the P.V.2, this was rejected by the Admiralty, who demanded the use of the more conventional RAF 15 aerofoil, which resulted in a larger aircraft with a reduced climb rate and ceiling.

The P.V.9 made its maiden flight in December 1917, but trials were delayed by engine troubles and by a collision of the aircraft with a barge, which resulted in a propeller not matched properly to the aircraft being fitted, further reducing performance. Despite this, when the P.V.9 was officially tested in May 1918, the P.V.9 was said to be the best seaplane fighter tested up to that time. No production followed, however, as the availability of Sopwith Pup and Camel land planes which could operate from platforms aboard ships, removed the requirement for a float plane fighter.

References

1. "Port Victoria P.V.9". (2010, September 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:02, November 9, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Victoria_P.V.9&oldid=385587893
2. "Port Victoria P.V.9 1917" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 00:03, November 9, 2010, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-9.php
3. "Port Victoria PV.9" (in Russian) http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/pv9.html
4. Bruce, J.M. British "Aeroplanes 1914-18". London:Putnam, 1957.
5. Collyer, David. "Babies Kittens and Griffons". Air Enthusiast, Number 43, 1991. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143 5450. pp. 50-55.
6. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

Britain - 1917 Port Victoria P.V.5

More Aircraft from The Isle of Grain Part 2

Port Victoria PV.5 - 1917

Shortly after the Depot initiated work on the P.V.4, it was asked to develop a single-seat fighter seaplane also capable of performing light bombing tasks with two internally-stowed 30kg bombs. To meet this requirement, two different aircraft were designed and built, the P.V.5 and the P.V.5a. The former was developed from the P.V.2bis and employed a similar sesquiplane wing cellule devoid of flying wires and braced by struts to the float undercarriage. The wings employed a high-lift aerofoil section, the armament comprised a single synchronized 7.7mm machine gun plus the two 30kg bombs specified and power was provided by a 150hp Hispano- Suiza engine. Fitted with pontoon-type floats rather than the Linton Hope floats for which it had been designed, the P.V.5 was flight tested in mid-1917 with promising results, but the original requirement had been overtaken and development was discontinued.

References

1. "Port Victoria P.V.5 1917" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retreived from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-5.php
2. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
3. Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books, 1994. ISBN 0-83173-939-8.
4. Bruce, J.M. "British Aeroplanes 1914-18". London:Putnam, 1957.

Britain 1916 Port Victoria P.V.2

Brainstorming on the Isle of Grain

The Royal Naval Air Service's Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot was a research facility assigned the task of innovating new aircraft designs for service in the RNAS. The idea did have merit since it was a centralized operation that was not producing redundant designs which were being offered by a flock of small companies with no aviation experience. They did produce interesting designs whether they entered production or not. As with many aircraft design companies, Port Victoria had to deal with what in many cases contradictory requests in the Admiralty's design specifications.

Port Victoria PV.2 - 1916

The Port Victoria P.V.2 was a British prototype floatplane fighter of the First World War, designed and built at the Royal Naval Air Service's Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain. Only a single aircraft was built, with the type not being chosen for production.

The Port Victoria Depot's second design, designated Port Victoria P.V.2 was a floatplane fighter intended to intercept German Zeppelins. The P.V.2 was a small single engined biplane, powered by a Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine driving a four blade propellor. It was of wood and fabric construction, and of sesquiplane configuration, i.e. with its lower wing much smaller than its upper wing (both of which used the high-lift wing sections pioneered by the P.V.1). Unusually, the aircraft's wing bracing struts also carried the aircraft's floats, forming a "W" shape when viewed from the front. The upper wing was attached directly to the top of the fuselage, giving a good field of fire for the intended armament of a single 2-lb Davis gun recoiless gun.

The P.V.2 first flew on 16 June 1916, and demonstrated good performance and handling. The upper wing, however, while giving excellent upwards view to the pilot, gave a poor downwards view of the pilot, particularly during landing, while the Davis gun had lost favor with the Admiralty as an anti-Zeppelin weapon. The P.V.2 was therefore rebuilt as the P.V.2bis with a revised, longer span upper wing mounted 12 inches (0.30 m) above the fuselage and the Davis gun replaced by two Lewis guns mounted above the wing, firing over the propeller. The modified aircraft first flew in this form in early 1917.

While the P.V.2bis again showed excellent handling, the RNAS's requirement for a floatplane anti-Zeppelin fighter had lapsed, and no production was ordered.

References

1. "Port Victoria P.V.2". (2010, September 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:34, November 8, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Victoria_P.V.2&oldid=385055205
2. "Port Victoria P.V.2 1916" Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 23:33, November 8, 2010, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/portvictoria_pv-2.php
3. Bruce, J.M. "The Sopwith Tabloid,Schneider and Baby: Historic Military Aircraft No.17 Part IV". Flight, 29 November 1957. pp. 845—848.
4. Collyer, David. "Babies Kittens and Griffons". Air Enthusiast, Number 43, 1991. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143 5450. pp. 50—55.
5. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.