Britain - 1916 Vickers F.B.11

Another Failed Experiment

When the British War Office drew up a specification for a multi-seat escort fighter powered by one of the new Rolls-Royce Eagle engines The competing designs were all bizarre. The specification called for a plane to protect formations of bombers from German fighters and attacking enemy airships. The Sopwith L.R.T.Tr. had a nacelle mounted on the upper wing and it was a triplane design. The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.6 was another triplane with twin gunner nacelles mounted between the middle and lower wing. None of these aircraft went beyond the experimental stage. Newer and better designs made them obsolete and the contract was never filled.

Vickers F.B.11 - 1916

The Vickers F.B.11 was a prototype British three-seat escort fighter of the First World War. A large single engined biplane, it carried one gunner in a nacelle mounted on the upper wing to give an all-round field of fire. Only a single example was completed.

In early 1916, the British War Office drew up a specification for a multi-seat escort fighter to be powered by one of the new Rolls-Royce Eagle engines, intended to protect formations of bombers from German fighters such as the Fokker E.I, with an additional role of destroying enemy airships. While the specification did not require high speed, a good field of fire for its guns was essential, while the secondary anti-Zeppelin role demanded an endurance of at least seven hours.

Orders were placed for prototypes from Armstrong Whitworth (the F.K.6), Sopwith (the L.R.T.Tr.) and Vickers. All three designs were driven by the need to provide wide fields of fire in the absence of effective synchronisation gear that would allow safe firing of guns through the propeller disc.

The Vickers response, the F.B.11, designed by R.L. Howard-Flanders, was a large, single-bay, biplane of tractor layout. Pilot and one gunner sat in separate but closely spaced cockpits under the trailing edge of the upper wing, while a second gunner sat in a nacelle, or "fighting top", attached to, and extending forward of the upper wing. The Eagle engine was mounted in a clean cowling, with the radiator fitted behind the engine in the fuselage.

Two prototypes were ordered, with the first flying in September-October 1916, being tested at RNAS Eastchurch in November that year. It proved to have poor lateral control and performance, and was destroyed in a crash. The second prototype was not completed, and as effective synchronising gears were now available (including Vickers own Vickers-Challenger gear), none of the escort fighters were developed further.

References

1. From Wikipedia Vickers F.B.11, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_F.B.11"
2. Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, E.B. "Vickers Aircraft since 1908". London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0 85177 815 1.
3. Bruce, J.M. "British Aeroplanes 1914-18". London:Putnam, 1957.
4. Bruce, J.M. War "Planes of the First World War: Volume Three Fighters". London:Macdonald, 1969. ISBN 0 356 01490 8.
5. Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
6. Lewis, Peter. "The British Fighter since 1912". London:Putnam, Fourth edition, 1979. ISBN 0 370 10049 2.
7. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7

Britain - 1917 Avro 529

Avro's Second Bomber Design

By 1917 the need for long range bombers became painfully apparent. Britain had been on the receiving end of bombing and the psychological value of attacks on urban centers where civilians were killed became an attractive proposition. There were attempts to resurrect old rejected designs as well as newer ones. Even though the Pike was a failure British Admiralty ordered two bombers based on an enlarged version of the Type 523. The new design had many improvements over the original design, however the 529 still had problems which doomed the aircraft in the prototype phase of development.

Avro 529 - 1917

The Avro 529 was a twin-engined biplane long-range bomber of the First World War. Two prototypes were built but no production ensued.

The Avro 529 was Avro's second twin-engined aircraft and their second attempt at a heavy bomber. Their first in both categories was the Pike, developed in early 1916 to Royal Flying Corps (RFC) guidelines for a short-range bomber. The Pike arrived too late to secure orders from the RFC who would order the Handley-Page O/100 and for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) who had ordered the Short Bomber. Nonetheless, after trials of the Pike, the Admiralty ordered two prototypes of an enlarged Pike for a long range bomber role. This was the Type 529.

Like the Pike, it was a large twin-engined biplane of the then-standard wood and canvas construction. It had three-bay wings without sweepback, dihedral or stagger, partly to facilitate wing folding. The vertical tail was different to that of the Pike: it had a small, roughly triangular fin and a rudder with a round balance surface above the fin, a reminder of Avro's "comma" rudder form.

The fuselage was rectangular in cross-section and seated three in separate cockpits. The pilot sat just forward of the wing leading edge, there was a gunner's position (with emergency dual control) mid-way between the trailing edge and the tail and the front gunner/bomb-aimer's position was in the nose. Both gunners' positions were provided with a 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun mounted on a Scarff ring. The landing gear used two main wheels on split axles, plus a tail-skid.

The two prototypes differed from each other chiefly in their power plants. The first, just known as the Avro 529 had a pair of uncowled Rolls-Royce Falcon water-cooled in-line engines mounted midway between the wings. Each produced 190 hp (140 kW) and drove four-bladed, opposite-handed wooden airscrews. It carried 140 gal (636 L) of fuel in a tank in the center fuselage.

The second machine, designated Type 529A had a pair 230 hp (170 kW) BHP in-line water-cooled engines, cowled and mounted in nacelles on the lower wing. These drove wooden, two-bladed airscrews. In this aircraft fuel was held in a pair of 60 gal (273 L), one in each nacelle. Fuel was pumped from these to 10 gal (45 L) tanks above the engines by wind-driven pumps, and fed to the motors under gravity.

The type 529A had slightly different wings to the first prototype, 13 in (33 cm) greater in span, smaller in area and hence of higher aspect ratio. It was about 8% lighter.

Another difference between the two prototypes were the arrangements for the bomb-aimer. In the first machine, this was done from the seat of the front cockpit, but in the 529A there was provision for a prone bomb-aimer's position with a small window, noticeable in side view. From there, he communicated with the pilot by Gosport tube. The 529A could carry twenty 50 lb (20 kg) bombs racked nose up inside the fuselage between the lower wing spars.

The Type 529 was, even with the B.H.P. engines rather low powered, but seems to have handled well apart from poor elevator control. There was no production order and the type was not developed further.

References

1. Avro 529. (2011, January 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:09, January 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avro_529&oldid=409163298
2. Jackson, A.J. "Avro Aircraft since 1908". 1965, pp. 92-94. London: Putnam Publishing.

Britain - 1916 Avro 523 Pike

Snatching Order Out Of Chaos

Aviation development in the early war was punctuated with stops, starts, and wrong turns. In the beginning of the war British high command were slow to see a purpose for military aviation. One general said aircraft had no place in modern warfare. Early British development was hampered by a chaotic lack of direction. There was no central organization for aircraft procurement and many small companies tried to build their idea of a viable military aircraft. The result was a waste of time, material, and man hours better spent on practical designs. It was not till 1915 that Britain established a coherent organizational structure.

By 1916 the situation was finally in place so efficient development could begin. One problem remained, that was one of defining the purpose for designs. The idea of form follows function had not hit home yet. Many aircraft were classified as multi-role aircraft, instead of optimizing the design for a particular type of mission. The Avro 523 Pike is an example of this unfortunate practice.

An Avro White Elaphant

Avro 523 Pike - 1916

The Avro 523 Pike (the first Avro aircraft to receive a name) was a British multi-role combat aircraft of the First World War that did not progress past the prototype stage. It was intended to provide the Royal Naval Air Service with an anti-Zeppelin fighter that was also capable of long-range reconnaissance and light bombing.

The Avro Pike was a large, three-bay biplane of conventional layout driven by two pusher propellers. Three open cockpits were provided, the center one for the pilot, and gunners fore and aft of him. The Admiralty evaluated the type, but rejected it. Avro then built a second prototype, changing the original's Sunbeam engines for Green E.6 engines instead and designating it the 523A.

The Admiralty evaluated this in November 1916, but found that the type was now obsolete and did not place an order. The two prototypes flew as testbeds with Avro for the remainder of the war.

References

1. Avro Pike. (2010, November 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:46, November 27, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avro_Pike&oldid=395871349
2. Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
3. Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam, 1994. ISBN: 1557500851 ISBN-13: 978-1557500854.
4. Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989, p. 93.
5. World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing.

Britain - 1918 Airco D.H.10 Amiens

The Son of the DH-3

This is a second part to my previous post on the evolution of the de Havilland Bombers of the Late War.

Airco D.H.10 Amiens - 1918

The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a British twin-engined medium bomber designed and built towards the end of the First World War. It served briefly with the RAF postwar.

The DH.10 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland to meet the requirements of Air Board Specification A.2.b for a single- or twin-engined day bomber. It was a development of the earlier Airco DH.3 bomber, which had flown in 1916, but had been rejected by the War Office because of a belief that strategic bombing would be ineffective and that twin engines were impracticable.

The first prototype flew on 4 March 1918, powered by two 230 hp (186 kW) Siddeley Puma engines mounted as pushers. When evaluated by the RAF, the performance of this prototype was well below expectation, reaching only 90 mph (145 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) with the required bomb load. Owing to this poor performance, the DH.10 was redesigned with more powerful engines in a tractor installation.

The second prototype, known as the Amiens Mark II was powered by two 360 hp (268 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines and first flew in April 1918, showing greatly superior performance and proving to be faster than the DH.9A while carrying twice the bomb load. While shortages of the Eagle meant that the Amiens Mark II could not be put into production, it proved the design for the definitive aircraft, the Amiens Mark III, which was powered by the more readily available 395 hp (295 kW) Liberty 12 from America, as was the DH.9A. Following successful evaluation, large orders were placed, with a total of 1,291 ordered.

First deliveries of DH.10s were to No. 104 Squadron RAF in November 1918, flying a single bombing mission on 10 November 1918 before the Armistice ended the First World War. Postwar, DH.10s equipped 120 Squadron, which used them to operate an air mail service to the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine. Amiens were also used by 97 Squadron (later re-numbered as 60 Squadron) which deployed to India. It provided support to the Army on the North-West Frontier, being used for bombing operations in the Third Anglo-Afghan war. DH.10s were also used by 216 Squadron in Egypt, where they provided an air mail service between Cairo and Bagdhad, starting on 23 June 1921.

Variants

• Amiens I Prototype powered by two pusher Puma engines.
• Amiens II Prototype powered by two tractor Rolls Royce Eagle engines.
• Amiens III Main production variant, powered by Liberty 12 engines mounted midway between wings, 221 built.
• Amiens IIIA Modified Mark III with engines directly attached to lower wings, 32 built.
• Amiens IIIC Version powered by Rolls Royce Eagle engines in case of shortages of Liberty engines, 5 built.

References

1. Airco DH.10. (2011, February 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:58, February 12, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airco_DH.10&oldid=412210736
2. Airco DH.10. Virtual Aircraft Museum http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/dh10a.htm
3. British Aircraft Directory http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=669
4. Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 2. London: Putnam, Second Edition, 1973. ISBN 0 370 10010 7.
5. Jackson A. J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 802 X.
6. Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
7. Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57, 1st edition. London: Putnam, 1957.

Britain - 1916 Airco D.H.3

Canceled Due to Lack of Imagination

Some ideas develop far ahead of the time when they seem obvious. Strategic bombing was one such idea. The failure of the lighter than air bombers was not due of lack of a viable military concept but the very nature of huge airships filled with hydrogen gas. They were slow, huge lumbering vehicles which were expensive to build and maintain. Germany saw their mistake and began developing heavy bomber conventional aircraft to fill the role as strategic bombers. Britain came to the party late. However eventually they did catch up and build several excellent bombers.

Airco D.H.3 - 1916

The Airco DH.3 was a British bomber aircraft of the First World War. The DH.3 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, Chief Designer at the Aircraft Manufacturing Company in 1916 as a long range day bomber. It was a large biplane with wide-span three-bay wings, slender fuselage, and a curved rudder. It was powered by two 120 hp (89 kW) Beardmore engines mounted as pushers between the wings. In addition to tail skid landing gear, two wheels were placed beneath the nose to prevent bumping.

A second prototype, designated D.H.3A was built with more powerful (160 hp/119 kW) Beardmore engines, and a production order for 50 placed by the War Office. This order was cancelled however before any could be completed, because Strategic bombing was not thought to be worthwhile and twin engined bombers were claimed to be impracticable. The two prototypes were scrapped in 1917.

The DH.10 was a development of the DH.3 which first flew in March 1918 but was too late to see squadron service during the war.

References

1. Airco DH.3. (2011, January 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:29, February 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airco_DH.3&oldid=409267462
2. Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books, 1997, p. 118. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
3. Jackson, A.J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, Third edition, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 802 X.
4. Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London:Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.

Germany - 1916 Albatros G.III

Piecing Together a Rare Bomber

Albatros G.III - 1916

I started making my own aircraft profiles around 16 months ago. My goal was to develop all original graphic content for my aviation history site. After drawing over 400 profiles, I am getting closer to my goal. Making the profiles has become my favorite part of the process. It is very satisfying and challenging. Part of the challenge of working up a profile of rare aircraft is the difficulty in finding the source material to get the project finished. It is a puzzle where you have to go on a treasure hunt to find the pieces. This profile was developed from the few photographs I could find. I'm still working on a drawing of the G.II which was the basis for the G.III. I'll post the profile when I have finished it.

The Albatros Flugzeugwerke began experiments for developing a Großkampfflugzeug or large battle aircraft with the construction of the unsuccessful and underpowered Albatros G.I. The next stage of development was the prototype Albatros G.II, which was fitted with more powerful engines. Performance was still judged to be inadequate and development continued as the Albatros G.III

The Albatros G.III was a German medium bomber aircraft developed during World War I. It was a large, single-bay biplane of unequal span and unstaggered wings. Power was provided by two Benz Bz.IVa 220 hp (164 kW) pusher engines installed in nacelles carried between the wings. An unusual feature of the design was that the lower wing was provided with cutouts for the large propellers, allowing the engine nacelles to be mounted further forward than would have been otherwise possible.

References

1. Albatros G.II. (2010, August 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.II&oldid=376610297
2. Albatros G.III. (2011, February 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:30, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.III&oldid=414942204
3. Albatros G III 1916 the Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/albatros_g3.php
4. Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 53-59.
5. Chant, Chris (2000). The World's Great Bombers: 1914 to the Present Day. Rochester: Grange Books.

Russia - 1916 Anadwa VKh

Having Another Go at an Odd Duck

Anadwa VKh - 1916

Sometimes you look at an old profile and you know it just will not do. This was the case when I decided to redraw one of my early profiles of an old rare aircraft. Unfortunately I only had a couple photographs of marginal quality and a line drawing that left much to be desired. Documentation of this plane is minimal and difficult to find. The new profile is a best guess until I can find more solid information.

The construction of the Anadwa VKh used two Anatra D fuselages, joined by a new wing that was still using elements of the Anatra wing. The left fuselage was occupied by the pilot, and the right by an observer. The aircraft's gunner was located in a nacelle attached to the center of the upper wing providing an excellent defense capability. Early models were powered by a pair of 100hp Gnome-Monosoupape engines. Test flights started on July 9, 1916. The tests results were very favorable, but aircraft did not go into production. The reason for this might have been due to its weird design.