Westland Wapiti

The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military biplane of the 1920s, designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. Specification 26/27 asked for a high proportion of surplus DH.9A components to be reused, which saved time and money, and the result was powered by a single Bristol Jupiter radial engine. The prototype first flew on 7 March 1927 and the type entered RAF service in 1928. Production continued until 1932, with 565 built, and the Wapiti equipped twenty RAF squadrons at home and overseas, particularly in India and Iraq, remaining in RAF service until 1940. Australia, Canada, South Africa and India also flew it, and it formed the basis for the later Westland Wallace.