Time Period: Interwar Period
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Type: Biplane, Fighter Aircraft
Manufacturer: Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Overview
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 was a British single-engine biplane fighter aircraft designed and developed in the 1920s. It was intended to replace the aging World War I-era Bristol F.2 Fighter biplane.
The A.W.16 was powered by a 450-horsepower Bristol Jupiter VI engine and was armed with two synchronized Vickers machine guns. It had a top speed of around 155 miles per hour and a range of approximately 350 miles.
Despite its promising performance, the A.W.16 was never put into production. Only two prototypes were built, and the design was ultimately abandoned in favor of other fighter aircraft projects.
However, the A.W.16 did make an important contribution to the development of British fighter aircraft technology. It was one of the first British fighter aircraft to feature an all-metal construction, which would become increasingly common in later designs. The A.W.16 also introduced a number of other innovative features, such as a fully retractable undercarriage and a streamlined engine cowling, that would be incorporated into later fighter aircraft designs.
Armstrong Whitworth Specifications
- Crew: 1
- Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
- Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
- Wing area: 261 sq ft (24.2 m2)
- Airfoil: Clark YH
- Empty weight: 2,795 lb (1,268 kg)
- Gross weight: 3,520 lb (1,597 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA 14-cylinder radial engine, 525 hp (391 kW).
Armstrong Whitworth Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 mph (320 km/h, 170 kn) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
- Range: 270 mi (430 km, 230 nmi)
- Endurance: 2 hours
- Service ceiling: 26,100 ft (8,000 m)
- Time to altitude: 6 min to 10,000 ft (3,000 m).
Armstrong Whitworth Armament
- Guns: 2 × forward firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns in sides of fuselage with 500 rpg.
