Avro 557 Ava

The Avro Type 557 Ava was a British twin-engined biplane torpedo bomber of the 1920s, developed by Avro to meet a requirement for a heavy torpedo bomber for the Royal Air Force but unsuccessful, with only two prototypes built. The Air Ministry issued Specification 16/22 in 1922 for a long-range land-based torpedo bomber able to carry a 21 in torpedo, and Roy Chadwick first produced a single-engined design, the Avro 556, before the twin Rolls-Royce Condor Ava won an order for two prototypes. It was a three-bay wooden biplane with un-cowled engines between the wings and a retractable ventral gun position. The second prototype was all-metal and flew on 22 April 1927, and a modified version proposed for Specification B19/27 was also unsuccessful.