Vickers Vespa on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation
The Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
designed and built by Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...
in the 1920s. While not adopted by Britain's Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, small numbers were bought by the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
and Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, the latter of which used the type during the Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõworld altitude record of 43,976 ft (13,407 m) in September 1932.
Design and development
The Vespa was designed by Vickers as a private venture to meet the requirements ofAir Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
Specification 30/24, the first prototype, the Vespa I being flown in September 1925.Mason 1994, p.173. The Vespa, which was a single-engine biplane with a slim fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
suspended between closely spaced and highly staggered two-bay wooden wings, was delivered for evaluation by the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, but crash landed owing to engine trouble on 24 June 1926 and was badly damaged.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.200. It was then rebuilt with steel, fabric-covered wings as the Vespa II, but this was unsuccessful in getting orders from the RAF.
It did, however, attract attention from Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, which ordered six Vespa IIIs, an improved all metal version, in 1928, and the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
, which ordered four Vespa IVs in 1929 and a further four Vespa Vs in 1930.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.203.
The prototype Vespa was modified as the Vespa VI for demonstration to the Central Chinese government, but was not purchased, so was returned to Britain. It was rebuilt as the Vespa VII, with a supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
Bristol Pegasus
The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from t ...
S engine for an attempt on the world altitude record, setting a record of 43,976 ft (13,407 m) on 16 September 1932.Andrews and Morgan 1988, pp.203–206.
Operational history
Six Vespa IIIs were delivered to Bolivia in 1928, where they were mainly used as operational conversion aircraft, although they did see limited use in theChaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõAndrews and Morgan 1988, pp.200–203. They remained in service until 1935.
The eight Irish Vespas remained in service for several years, operating from the
Access date: 9 June 2007.
"Super Charge Engine Lifts Plane Eight Miles"
April 1933, ''Popular Mechanics'' (page torn, scroll down to page 507 and full 506 page above) {{Vickers aircraft 1920s British bomber aircraft
Irish Air Corps
"Watchful and Loyal"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = ''see list of wars''
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, battle_honours_label =
, fl ...
base at Baldonnel, near Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, with the last being written off on 12 June 1940.''Irish Air Corps Aircraft 1922–1997'Access date: 9 June 2007.
Variants
;Vickers Type 113 Vespa I: Prototype army cooperation aircraft for evaluation by RAF. Wooden wings. Powered byBristol Jupiter
The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...
IV 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 ...
(later fitted with Jupiter VI. One only (''G-EBLD'')
;Vickers Type 119 Vespa II: Vespa I modified with metal wings.
;Vickers Type 149 Vespa III: Improved all-metal production version for Bolivia. Powered by 455 hp (339 kW) Jupiter VI engine. Six built.
;Vickers Type 193 Vespa IV: Production version for Irish Air Corps. Powered by 490 hp (370 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar
The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar ...
VIC. Four built.
;Vickers Type 208 Vespa V: Improved version of Vespa IV for Irish Air Corps. Fitted with Townend ring
A Townend ring is a narrow- chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling.
Development
The Townend ring was the invention of Dr. Hubert Townend of the British National Physica ...
around engine. Four built.
;Vickers Type 210 Vespa VI: Rebuilt first prototype, re-registered as ''G-ABIL'' and demonstrated to Central Chinese government.
;Vickers Type 250 Vespa VII: Vespa VI rebuilt with Bristol Pegasus S engine for altitude record attempt.
Operators
; *Bolivian Air Force
The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces.
History
By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...
;
*Irish Air Corps
"Watchful and Loyal"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = ''see list of wars''
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, battle_honours_label =
, fl ...
;
*Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Specifications (Vespa V)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, Eric B. ''Vickers Aircraft since 1908, Second edition''. London: Putnam, 1988. . * Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. . * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. .External links
"Super Charge Engine Lifts Plane Eight Miles"
April 1933, ''Popular Mechanics'' (page torn, scroll down to page 507 and full 506 page above) {{Vickers aircraft 1920s British bomber aircraft
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1925