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Type 143/Type 177
|
|
Vickers Type 143
|
Role
|
Fighter
Type of aircraft
|
Manufacturer
|
Vickers
|
First flight
|
26 November 1929
|
Introduction
|
1930
|
Primary user
|
Bolivia
|
Number built
|
Six
|
Developed from
|
Vickers Type 141
|
The
Vickers Type 143
or
Bolivian Scout
was a British single-seat
fighter
biplane
designed and built by
Vickers
in 1929?1930. Six were built for
Bolivia
in 1930, which used the survivors in the
Chaco War
against
Paraguay
.
Design and development
[
edit
]
Early in 1929,
Bolivia
, which was engaged in border disputes with
Paraguay
over the
Gran Chaco
region, and was trying to build up its air force,
[1]
placed an order with
Vickers
for six fighter aircraft, the
Vickers Type 143
. The Type 143, or
Bolivian Scout
, was a development of the earlier
Vickers Type 141
fighter, with the Type 141's
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
engine replaced by a
Bristol Jupiter
VIA, already powering other aircraft used by the Bolivian Air Force, and a stronger undercarriage to cope with the rough airfield surfaces in Bolivia.
[2]
It was an all-metal, single-seat, biplane aircraft, with single-bay wings.
The Type 143 first flew on 11 June 1929, and successfully met all performance criteria.
[2]
One of the six aircraft was evaluated by the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A & AEE)
at
Martlesham Heath
[2]
before delivery to Bolivia.
A seventh aircraft, the
Vickers Type 177
was built as a private venture to meet the requirements of
Air Ministry
Specification N.21/26
for a naval fighter, being fitted with a Jupiter XF engine and steerable wheel braking to aid on-deck manoeuvering. The Type 177 first flew on 26 November 1929,
[3]
and while it was shown to have a maximum speed of 190 mph (310 km/h),
[4]
the
Hawker Nimrod
, not designed against this specification, was chosen instead to meet the
Fleet Air Arm
's requirement for a fighter.
[4]
Operational history
[
edit
]
Delivery of the six Type 143s to Bolivia began in January 1930.
[5]
While the type proved popular in Bolivian service,
[2]
three of the six had been written off by the time the border disputes between Bolivia and Paraguay escalated into the
Chaco War
. The three remaining Type 143s continued to serve in the Chaco War until superseded by
Curtiss Hawks
,
[2]
damaging at least one Paraguayan
Wibault 73
in air-to-air combat.
[6]
Variants
[
edit
]
- Vickers Type 143
- Six aircraft for Bolivia, powered by 450 hp (340 kW) Bristol Jupiter VIA engine.
- Vickers Type 177
- One prototype Naval Fighter, evaluated for Fleet Air Arm, powered by 540 hp (400 kW) Bristol Jupiter XFS engine. No production.
Operators
[
edit
]
-
Bolivia
-
United Kingdom
Specifications (Type 143)
[
edit
]
Data from
The Complete Book of Fighters
[5]
General characteristics
- Length:
27 ft
10
+
1
⁄
2
in (8.496 m)
- Wingspan:
34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
- Height:
11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
- Wing area:
336 sq ft (31.2 m
2
)
- Empty weight:
2,246 lb (1,019 kg)
- Gross weight:
3,120 lb (1,415 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Bristol Jupiter
VIA 9-cylinder air-cooled
radial engine
, 450 hp (340 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed:
150 mph (240 km/h, 130 kn) at 11,500 ft (3,500 m)
- Service ceiling:
20,000 ft (6,100 m)
- Time to altitude:
10 min to 13,100 ft (4,000 m)
Armament
See also
[
edit
]
Related development
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 235.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Mason 1992, p. 223.
- ^
Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 237.
- ^
a
b
Mason 1992, p. 225
- ^
a
b
Green and Swanborough 1994
- ^
Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 580.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Andrews, E.N. and E.B. Morgan.
Vickers Aircraft Since 1908, Second edition
. London: Putnam, 1988.
ISBN
0-85177-815-1
.
- Green, W. and Gordon Swanborough.
The Complete Book of Fighters
. New York: Smithmark, 1994.
ISBN
0-8317-3939-8
.
- Mason, Francis K.
The British Fighter since 1912
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992.
ISBN
1-55750-082-7
.
External links
[
edit
]
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