The Vickers Type 279 Venom was a British low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

single-seat, single-engined, eight-gun

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

. It was fast and manoeuvrable but its

Bristol Aquila The Aquila was a nine-cylinder single-row radial aircraft engine designed by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1934. A sleeve valve engine, its basic design was developed from the Bristol Perseus. The Aquila was never used in production, ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

was underpowered. Together with other designs built to the same specification, which included the

Bristol Type 146 The Bristol Type 146 was a British single-seat, eight-gun fighter monoplane prototype built to a mid-1930s Air Ministry contract. Powered by a radial engine, it was outclassed by Merlin-engined fighters and only one was built. Design and deve ...

, Gloster F.5/34, and

Martin-Baker MB 2 The Martin-Baker MB 2 was a British private-venture fighter prototype based on a simple basic structure that had been developed in the earlier MB 1 civil aircraft. Although briefly evaluated as a fighter by the Royal Air Force, the MB 2 was li ...

, it was rejected by the Air Ministry and only one Venom was built.

Design and development

The Vickers Venom Andrews 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 bombers flying at . 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 An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

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. Vickers 279 Venom on ground

The Venom (originally known as the Jockey Mk II) was a low-wing monoplane, with square-tipped constant chord wings and

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

. 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

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-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

AE-3S

sleeve valve The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in the United States in the Willys-Knight car and light truck. ...

, 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 A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

(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 and it demonstrated a good climb rate. The Venom has a better rate of roll and turn than its long nosed water-cooled competitors but it was soon clear the potential power from the

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

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 Jeffrey Kindersley Quill, (1 February 1913 – 20 February 1996) was a British test pilot who served on secondment with the Royal Air Force and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. He was also the second man to fly the S ...

flew the Venom from

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

, mixing it with Spitfires but the Venom's flying was limited by engine problems. Later flying with

RAF roundels The air forces of the United Kingdom – the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, the Army's Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force use a roundel, a circular identification mark, painted on aircraft to identify them to other aircraft and ground forces. ...

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

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Andrews, C. F. and E. B. Morgan. ''Vickers Aircraft since 1908, 2nd ed.'' London: Putnam, 1988. . * * Goulding, James. ''Interceptor''. London: Ian Allan, 1986. . * 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. . {{Use dmy dates, date=August 2019 1930s British fighter aircraft

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