The Westland Walrus was a British spotter/

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

built by

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...

Design and development

In 1919 the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

had an urgent need for a three-seat spotter/reconnaissance aircraft. To save money, the

Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repla ...

was adapted from part completed airframes, available in large numbers following the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the cancellation of orders.Thetford 1978, p.344. The initial attempt was carried out by

Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, or Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, was a British aircraft manufacturer. History Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was established as the Aerial Department of the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company e ...

, adding provision for an observer and removing the stagger from the wings to produce the Armstrong Whitworth Tadpole.James 1991, p.94-95. Further development was passed on to Westland, who further modified the aircraft to produce the Walrus, with a 450 hp (336 kW) Napier Lion II

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

replacing the

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

engine of the DH.9A and Tadpole. Like the DH.9A, the Walrus was a single-engined, two-bay

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 ...

. It was fitted with an extra cockpit for the observer/radio operator behind the gunner's cockpit, while the observer also had a prone position for observing in a ventral pannier. The undercarriage could be jettisoned and the aircraft was fitted with floatation bags and hydrovanes to aid safe ditching, together with

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

to aid landing on

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s. The wings were detachable to aid storage.James 1991, p.96."The Westland Walrus Fleet Spotter"
''FlIGHT'', 10 November 1921, photos showing observers station and flotation bags deployed The prototype first flew in early 1921, proving to have poor flying characteristics, being described by Westland's

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

Stuart Keep as "a vicious beast" but despite this, a further 35 were ordered.James 1991, p.96-97

Operational history

Production aircraft began to be delivered to

No. 3 Squadron RAF Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first squ ...

at RAF Leuchars in 1921. No. 3 Squadron was split up to form independent Fleet Spotter Flights in 1923, although despite the extensive navalisation, the Walrus never operated from carriers. The Walrus continued in service in the Fleet spotting role until replaced by the

Avro Bison The Avro 555 Bison was a British single-engined fleet spotter/reconnaissance aircraft built by Avro. Development and design The Bison was designed to meet British Specification 3/21 for a carrier-based fleet spotter and reconnaissance aircra ...

and

Blackburn Blackburn The Blackburn R-1 Blackburn was a 1920s British single-engine fleet spotter/ reconnaissance aircraft built by Blackburn Aircraft. History The Blackburn was developed to meet a naval requirement ( Specification 3/21) for a carrier-based recon ...

in late 1925.James 1991, p.97-98.

Operators

; *

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 ...

(

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

from 1924)

Specifications

References

* * * {{Armstrong Whitworth aircraft 1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...

Biplanes Carrier-based aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1921

Design and development

Operational history

Operators

Specifications

See also

References