Vickers Viking

The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine pusher amphibious biplane designed shortly after the First World War; its final versions were renamed the Vulture and Vanellus. Research on Vickers' first amphibious aircraft began in December 1918 with tests of alternative hull designs in an experimental tank at St Albans. The prototype, G-EAOV, was a five-seat cabin biplane with a pusher propeller driven by a 275 hp Rolls-Royce Falcon III. The Viking II had greater span and a 360 hp Eagle VIII, the Viking III a 450 hp Napier Lion and additional fin, and carried out carrier compatibility trials on HMS Argus. The Viking IV was the main production variant, mostly with Napier Lion engines, with much variation between examples in cockpit enclosures, wing spans of 46 or 50 feet and airfoil sections. Two Viking Vs were built for the RAF for service and trials in Iraq, and Japanese examples were also fitted with a scarf ring in the nose.