The Westland Weasel was a prototype

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

two-seat fighter/reconnaissance aircraft 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 ...

. Designed to replace the Bristol Fighter, the Weasel was a single engined

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

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 ...

. Four prototypes were built, but no production followed owing to the failure of its original engine, although the prototypes were used as engine test beds for the successful

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 ...

and

Bristol 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 ...

engines.

Development and design

The Westland Weasel was designed 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 ...

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

to meet 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 ...

's Type IIIA Specification for a two-seat fighter/reconnaissance aircraft to replace the successful Bristol Fighter. An order for three prototypes was placed in April 1918, together with orders for competing designs from Bristol (the

Badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united b ...

) and

Austin Motors The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limit ...

(the

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

).James 1991, p.81. The Weasel was a two-bay

of wood and fabric construction, with the pilot and observer/gunner seated close together in separate cockpits, with the upper wing above the pilot being cut away to improve the upwards view. Armament was similar to the Bristol Fighter, with two synchronised

Vickers gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and o ...

s and one or two Lewis guns for the observer.Bruce 1969, pp.137-138.James 1991, pp.81-82. Like the other two competitors, the Weasel was powered by the officially encouraged

ABC Dragonfly The ABC Dragonfly was a British radial engine developed towards the end of the First World War. It was expected to deliver excellent performance for the time and was ordered in very large numbers. It proved, however, to be extremely unreliable ...

9-cylinder air-cooled

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 ...

. The first prototype, although largely complete by the end of June,Bruce 1969, p.138. had to wait for delivery of an engine, and did not fly until late November 1918, after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

ended

World War I 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 ...

.James 1991, p.83. As with the many other British aircraft projects of 1918, use of the Dragonfly engine proved a disaster, with the engine not only being underpowered and overweight, but more seriously, plagued with rapid overheating and severe vibration. These problems were unsolvable, and although the Weasel had slightly better performance than the Bristol and Austin designs, the failure of the Dragonfly and the lack of urgent need to replace the excellent Bristol Fighter meant that large scale orders did not follow. Despite this, an order was placed for a fourth prototype to serve as an engine testbed. The first and third prototypes were fitted with the

radial, while the second and fourth aircraft were fitted with the

engine.James 1991, pp.83-84. These aircraft proved valuable testbeds, with the last Weasel remaining in use until May 1925.

Specifications (Dragonfly engine)

References

*Bruce, J.M. ''War Planes of the First World War: Volume Three Fighters''. London:Macdonald, 1969. . *James, Derek N. ''Westland Aircraft since 1915''. London:Putnam, 1991. .

External links

Aircraft Data Sheet: Weasel (1918)
AgustaWestland. {{Westland aircraft 1910s British fighter aircraft

Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...

Aircraft first flown in 1918

Development and design

Specifications (Dragonfly engine)

See also

References

External links