The Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation biplane designed and built by Vickers Limited in the 1920s as a private venture to Air Ministry Specification 30/24. Its slim fuselage hung between closely spaced, highly staggered two-bay wings. The first prototype flew in September 1925 and was evaluated by the Royal Air Force, but it crash-landed after engine trouble in June 1926 and the RAF placed no orders, even after it was rebuilt with metal wings. Export customers did buy it: Bolivia ordered six Vespa IIIs in 1928, used mainly for conversion training and on reconnaissance and long-range bombing in the Chaco War until 1935, and the Irish Free State bought eight Vespa IV and V aircraft for the Irish Air Corps, the last of which was written off in 1940. A Vespa rebuilt with a supercharged Bristol Pegasus S engine set a world altitude record of 43,976 feet in September 1932.
Facts
Engine Class Top Speed (km/h) EngineOne Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VIC 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 490 hp (Vespa V) 1 Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Exemplifies
Source Vickers Vespa (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Vickers Vespa (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Vickers Vespa (Wikipedia)Lead, manufacturerQuote, Lead, manufacturer
designed and built by Vickers Limited in the 1920s
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Vickers Vespa (Wikipedia)Lead, country of originQuote, Lead, country of origin
was a British army cooperation biplane
Sources
1. Vickers Vespa (Wikipedia)
Design and development, first prototype
The first prototype, the Vespa I, was flown in September 1925.
Operational history, end of service
The eight Irish Vespas remained in service for several years, operating from the Irish Air Corps base at Baldonnel, near Dublin, with the last being written off on 12 June 1940.
Lead
Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation biplane
Specifications (Vespa V), powerplant
1 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VIC 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 490 hp (370 kW)
Specifications (Vespa V), empty weight
Empty weight: 2,882 lb (1,307 kg)
Specifications (Vespa V), maximum speed
Maximum speed: 139 mph (224 km/h, 121 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Lead, manufacturer
designed and built by Vickers Limited in the 1920s
Lead, country of origin
was a British army cooperation biplane
In Group: Bombers, Operational history, Chaco War
they did see limited use in the Chaco War as reconnaissance and long-range bombers
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