Westland Weasel

The Westland Weasel was a prototype British two seat fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War, designed at Yeovil to meet the Royal Air Force Type IIIA specification for a replacement for the Bristol Fighter. Three prototypes were ordered in April 1918, alongside rival designs from Bristol and Austin Motors. It was a two bay biplane of wood and fabric with pilot and observer seated close together, the upper wing cut away above the pilot, two synchronised Vickers guns and one or two Lewis guns for the observer, and the officially favoured 9 cylinder ABC Dragonfly radial engine. The first prototype did not fly until late November 1918, after the Armistice, and the Dragonfly proved underpowered, overweight, prone to overheating and vibration, so no large order followed. Four prototypes were built and served as testbeds for the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar and Bristol Jupiter engines until May 1925.