Westland, in conjunction with the Cierva Company and M. Lepere, produced the C.L.20 Autogiro, a two-seat side-by-side cabin machine. Lepere was at that time working with Liore and Olivier, holders of the Cierva licences for France. The fuselage was of welded seamless steel tubing, triangulated and faired to a streamline form by the use of stringers and fabric covering. A large door was fitted on either side of the cockpit and transparent panels, running right down to the bottom longeron, gave a forward and downward range of vision. The three-blade direct control rotor was arranged to fold, to facilitate parking and storage. It had a rotor with a direct-control head consisted of three untapered blades on flapping and drag hinges. Three vertical fins gave directional stability, while the tailplane was designed so that the aerofoil section of one half was inverted, and set at a negative angle of incidence, to counteract airscrew torque.
The earliest flights were in 1935.This experimental aircraft was successfully flight-tested by the Cierva Company’s pilot, R. A. C. Brie, but the shadow of impending hostilities prevented its production in quantity and closed Westland interest and activity in autogiros.
Usually known as the COW-Gun Fighter, this prototype monoplane was one of two ordered by the Air Ministry (with the unorthodox Vickers Type 161) in fulfilment of Specification F.29/27. This called for an aircraft armed with the 37mm Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) cannon that had been evolved during World War I and was thought to have potential as an anti-bomber weapon. The COW gun was to be mounted at an upward angle of at least 45 degrees from the horizontal, with the idea that the fighter would approach enemy bombers from below and astern. The Westland prototype was, in effect, an enlargement of the F.20/27 prototype, and had the COW gun mounted to fire upwards at 55 degrees, with the breech casing in the starboard side of the open cockpit. Aiming was by means of a periscopic sight, and a special “ammunition dispenser” carried 39 rounds. The fighter was of similar all-metal construction to the F.20/27 and, like the latter, was first flown with a small fin and rudder which later had to be considerably enlarged to obtain satisfactory spinning characteristics. Powered by a 485hp Bristol Mercury IIIA nine-cylinder air-cooled radial, the F.29/27 first flew in December 1930, but the RAF quickly lost interest in the COW gun. With a Mercury IVA, the COW-Gun Fighter remained at the A & AEE until July 1934.
Max take-off weight: 1762 kg / 3885 lb Empty weight: 1186 kg / 2615 lb Wingspan: 12.45 m / 41 ft 10 in Length: 9.09 m / 30 ft 10 in Height: 3.22 m / 11 ft 7 in Wing area: 20.62 sq.m / 221.95 sq ft Max. speed: 296 km/h / 184 mph Ceiling: 8900 m / 29200 ft
In the early 1920’s Captain (now Professor) G. T. R. Hill began a study of aeroplane design, with the object of discovering a means of securing safety in flight. This was to be achieved by improving stability and control at low speeds, and even below stalling speed, so that the fatal spin, all too common in those days, would never occur. Captain Hill’s investigations eventually led him to evolve a tailless form of aircraft in which the wings were arranged roughly in the form of a blunt arrow-head and, it was built in his home with Mrs. Hill’s assistance, he built a prototype as a glider, naming it after that pre-historic reptile the Pterodactyl, in view of its wing-tip control.
Successful tests on the South Downs demonstrated to the Air Ministry the practicability of the design, and they, in view of its possible military advantages, co-operated with Captain Hill to fit the machine with a small 34hp Bristol Cherub engine.
The first power flight of the Pterodactyl took place at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough in December 1925, and, after final demonstrations before Sir Samuel Hoare, then Secretary of State for Air, the Westland Works took over the development of the type, Captain Hill joining the staff for this purpose.
Hill Pterodactyl I J8067
The Pterodactyl I was flown until superseded by the IA in 1928 and was subsequently stored by Prof Hill. He presented the machine to the Science Museum in 1951.
The first Westland-Hill production was a side-by-side two-seater J9251, with wings differing in plan-form considerably from those of the original machine. It was designated the Mk. IA when fitted with a 34hp Bristol Cherub engine and first flown in 1928.
After the Cherub engine was replaced by a 70hp Armstrong Siddeley Genet, and small rudders were fitted, it was given the mark number IB.
With a re-designed undercarriage it was re-designated IC.
The design was important, since it successfully demonstrated that a wing loading far greater than that of the prototype did not affect the solutions of stability and control evolved by Captain Hill. Originally flown by Flt.-Lt. L. G. Paget, A.F.C., and with Flt.-Lt. F. J. Brunton carrying out some of the later work, this Pterodactyl was used for a great number of investigations and, as a result, it was possible to proceed with complete confidence to other designs, of which the Pterodactyl Mk. IV was the next to be built. The Pterodactyl IV K1947 of 1931 was a three seat, larger version powered by a 120-hp Gipsy III.
Hill and Westland had plans for a whole series of the Pterodactyls, includ¬ing a flying boat and an airliner, but only four were built, the last being the Pterodactyl Mark V which had a 600 hp Rolls-Royce Goshawk steam cooled engine and was intended as a fighter. The theory was that the tailless configuration would give the rear gunner an almost unlimited field of fire with his pair of synchronized Vickers guns.
Test pilot Harald Penrose was soon demonstrating the Pterodactyl’s stability, and even performing aerobatics as well as flying it inverted. But a landing accident damaged the sole Mark V and further work on Hill’s designs was abandoned in the mid 1930s.
Hill I Wingspan: 13.72 m / 45 ft 0 in Wing area: 20.62 sq.m / 233 sq.ft Empty weight: 207.7 kg / 458 b
Mk. IA Engine: 1 x 32hp Bristol Cherub Wingspan: 13.86 m / 45 ft 6 in Wing area: 18.58 sq.m / 199.99 sq ft Length: 5.18 m / 17 ft 0 in Height: 2.03 m / 7 ft 8 in Max take-off weight: 408 kg / 899 lb Speed: 70 mph
In 1934, the British Air Ministry issued Specification A.39/34 for an army co-operation aircraft to replace the Hawker Hector. Initially, Hawker Aircraft, Avro and Bristol were invited to submit designs, but after some debate within the Ministry, a submission from Westland was invited as well. The Westland design, internally designated P.8, was the work of Arthur Davenport under the direction of W.E.W. (Teddy) Petter. It was Petter’s second aircraft design and he spent considerable time interviewing Royal Air Force pilots to find out what they wanted from such an aircraft. There was no clear idea of what the new aircraft needed to be able to do, and so in 1935 Petter spent some time with the army co-operation squadrons. Even there he found no consensus, but most pilots agreed that the most important requirements for the new aircraft were to be able to operate from small spaces, be able to fly at low speeds without stalling or losing control and that the pilot needed a clear forward view.
Davenport and Petter worked to design an aircraft around these features: the result was unconventional and looked, by its 15 June 1936 maiden flight, rather antiquated. However, it was also the first custom-designed army cooperation aircraft to be built for the RAF since the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas of the late 1920s.
With a distinctive high-set wing and small stub-wings attached to the main wheel struts to carry weapons/stores, despite its appearance, the Lysander was aerodynamically advanced with automatic wing slats, slotted flaps and a variable incidence tailplane. These refinements gave the Lysander a very low stalling speed. One of the original STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) designs, the Lysander could land and take off in the length of a football field.
The Lysander was a two seater, powered by a Bristol Mercury air-cooled radial engine, metal structured with top mounted wings and a fixed undercarriage inside large, streamlined spats. The wings had an unusual reverse taper towards the root, which gave the impression of a gull wing, although in fact the spars were perfectly straight. The wings were supported by V struts that linked to the undercarriage and had a girder type construction with a light wood frame around that to give the aerodynamic shape. The forward part was duralumin tube joined with brackets and plates, and the after part welded stainless steel tubes. Plates and brackets were cut from channel extrusions rather than forming from sheet steel. The front spar and lift struts were extrusions. The wing itself was fabric covered. The wheels were contained within streamlined spats, which also contained the forward firing guns. The spats also had mountings for small, removable stub wings that could be used to carry light bombs or supply canisters. Twelve small antipersonnel bombs could be carried under small stub-wings fitted to the spats.
Armament consisted of one 0.303 in Browning machine gun operated by the pilot, in each wheel spat, firing outside the propeller disc, and a free Browning in the rear cockpit.
Despite its appearance, the Lysander was aerodynamically advanced; it was equipped with automatic wing slats, slotted flaps and a variable incidence tailplane. These refinements gave the Lysander a stalling speed of only 65 mph (104 km/h, 56.5 knots). It also featured the largest Elektron alloy extrusion made at the time: a single piece inside the spats supporting the wheels. The Air Ministry requested two prototypes of the P.8.
The first prototype made its first taxiing test on 10 June 1936 and the first of two prototypes was flown initially on 15 June 1936 at Boscombe Down. The Air Ministry preferred the Lysander to the competing Bristol Type 148, quickly selecting the Westland aircraft for production, issuing a contract in September 1936. On 11 December 1936 Westland received a first order for 169 Lysanders. The first production aircraft appeared in March 1938, and were delivered to No. 16 squadron, at Old Sarum. This base was also the home of the School of Army Cooperation, another early recipient of the aircraft. Early aircraft were also sent to No. 5 Squadron in India for tropical trials. Like other British army air co-operation aircraft, it was given the name of a military leader; in this case, the Spartan General, Lysander.
The type began to enter service with No. 16 Squadron RAF in June 1938, and they were the first British aircraft to be based in France at the beginning of World War II and the last to see action in France during the evacuation from Dunkirk. Four Lysander squadrons moved to France during the phoney war period (Nos. 2, 4, 13 and 26). When the Germans attacked in May 1940, their armies were supported by swarms of Bf 109s. Allied fighters were overwhelmed. While the Fairey Battle was the most famous victim of this period, the four Lysander squadrons suffered very nearly as badly. Of 174 Lysanders sent to France, 88 were lost in aerial combat and 30 were destroyed on the ground. 120 crewmen were lost. Only 50 aircraft survived to return to Britain.
After the withdrawal from France Lysanders patrolled the coastal areas of south and east England at dawn and dusk as an anti-invasion reconnaissance measure. It was planned that in the event of an invasion the Lysanders would bomb and machine gun German troops on the beaches.
The majority of Lysander squadrons were actually formed after the fall of France, performing vital air-sea rescue duties. Its low speed allowed it to drop dinghies and supplies close to downed aircrew. The Lysander was also used for radar calibration and as target tugs. Of the (probably) 1,670 aircraft built, some 964 were Mk III aircraft, which first appeared in August 1940. The Lysander is most famous for its work with the Special Operations Executive. Two squadrons were formed to support the SOE, first No. 138 (Special Duties) squadron in August 1941 and then No. 161 (SD) squadron. These squadrons were given a mix of aircraft, including Hudsons, Whitleys and Halifaxes as well as the Lysander. The larger aircraft were used for parachute drops, either of agents or supplies. The aircraft’s exceptional short-field performance made possible clandestine missions behind enemy lines that placed or recovered agents, particularly in occupied France. For this role, the Mk IIIs were fitted with a fixed entry/exit ladder over the port side to hasten access to the rear cockpit and a large drop tank under the belly. In order to slip in unobtrusively, the Lysanders were painted matt black, and operations were often planned for moonless nights. Flying without any navigation equipment other than a map and compass, Lysanders would land on short strips of land, such as fields, marked out by four or five torches. They were only designed to carry one passenger in the rear cockpit, but in case of urgent necessity, two could be carried in extreme discomfort. The Lysander proved to be a success in this role and continued to undertake such duties until the liberation of France. Between August 1941, when No. 138 squadron began Lysander operations, and the end of 1944 when the fighting had moved out of France, the Lysanders made at least 400 sorties. No. 161 squadron along took 293 people into France and retrieved 500. The ‘Lizzie’ was also used for glider towing at 5 Glider training School (GTS), Shobdon, Hereford.
After the Russian invasion of Finland in 1940, slowly reinforcements began to arrive for the Finnish air force. The first to come were 5 Gloster Gladiators, 12 Hurricanes, 17 Lysanders and 24 Blenheims, all from Britain. After that, 76 Morane-Saulnier and Koolhoven F.K. fighters arrived from France. Italy sent 17 Fiat fighters, Sweden 12 Gloster Gladiators, and the USA 44 Brewster Buffalo, of which however only 5 reached Finland in time. Even the Union of South Africa sent 25 Gloster Gladiators. Pilots and ground personnel from a number of countries also volunteered to assist them.
The Lysander III was manufactured by National Steel Car Company at Malton (Toronto) under license from Westland Aircraft Corporation, England. In Canada, Lysander aircraft were chiefly used for target towing at training schools, limited navigational training, communications duty, search and rescue operations.
A Westland Lysander Mk.III Special Duty aircraft built to the specifications of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) featured a jettisonable fuel tank and a boarding ladder. The first pick-up operation was carried out on 4 September 1941 near Chateauroux 150 miles south of Paris, by Sqn.Ldr. John-Nesbitt-Dufort of 138 Squadron.
Lysander III
They also saw service in Burma, Egypt, Greece, India and Palestine.
1,372 Lysanders were built on a cottage industry basis in Britain. Parts were built by small firms and individuals and trucked to locations where they were assembled into components. These parts were taken to yet another location where they were assembled into an airplane. Canadian production of the Lysander began in Malton, Ontario in October 1938, with the first flight in August 1939. 225 were built there and another 104 Lysanders were shipped over from the U.K. Most of the world’s few surviving Lysanders are ex-RCAF.
After the outbreak of the Winter War, 17 Lysander aircraft were ordered from England on 8 Jan, 1940. The first 9 were shipped to Gothenburg, Sweden, on 24 Feb. 1940. These were assembled at the Götaverken factory in Torslanda and were flown to Finland between 21 March and 3 May. The rest of the order were flown directly from England to Finland, with 2 arriving on 8 March. One of these was damaged near Stavanger, Norway.
A destroyed Ilmavoimat Westland Lysander LY-124 on the island of Buoy, close to Stavanger, Norway
The remaining Lysanders from the order left England in early March and arrived in Finland on the 15th of the same month. The Lysanders that entered service remained in use until 1945, although some were lost in action.
Ilmavoimat Westland Lysander in service in the Winter War
Lysander Mk.II Engine: Bristol Perseus, 905 hp TO to 50ft: 245 yd Max speed: 230 mph Min speed: 55 mph
Lysander Mk.III Engine: Bristol Mercury XX, 870 hp / 649kW Wing Span: 50ft (15.24m) Length: 30ft 6in (9.3m) Height: 14ft 6in (4,42m) Wing area: 14.15 sq.m / 152.31 sq ft Empty weight: 1980 kg / 4365 lb Max TO wt: 5920 lb (2685 kg) Service ceiling: 6555 m / 21500 ft Range: 522 nm / 600 miles (970 km) Max level speed: 229 mph (369 kph). Stall speed: under 60 mph (96 km/h) Crew: 2 (Pilot and Observer) Armament: 2 x .303in / 7.7mm Browning machine-guns in wheel fairings / 2 x .303in / 7.7mm Lewis guns for observer Bombload: four 20 lb (9 kg) bombs under the rear fuselage / 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs on stub wings if fitted.
Despite the known antipathy of the Air Ministry towards the monoplane as a fighter configuration, and its lack of success with the Wizard, Westland chose a low-wing monoplane design for its response to Specification F.20/27. An air-cooled radial engine and twin-gun armament were specified. From numerous proposals, the Air Ministry chose to order prototypes of two biplanes and two monoplanes, including that offered by Westland. First flown in August 1928 and known as the Interceptor, this was of metal construction and fabric covering except the forward fuselage, which had detachable metal panels. Two 7.7mm Vickers guns were installed low in the open cockpit and were totally enclosed behind a series of louvres along the line of the blast tubes. As first flown, the F.20/27 was powered by an uncowled 440hp Bristol Mercury IIA nine-cylinder air-cooled radial, but this was soon replaced by a 480hp Mercury IIIA and, eventually, a 420hp Bristol Jupiter VII, to which a Townend ring was later added. To overcome handling problems, successive modifications were introduced, including automatic wing slots on the wing roots, redesigned wing fillets and a modified, taller fin and rudder. Performance remained mediocre, however, and the Hawker biplane design to F.20/27 was chosen instead, evolving into the Fury.
Max take-off weight: 1508 kg / 3325 lb Empty weight: 1066 kg / 2350 lb Wingspan: 11.58 m / 38 ft 0 in Length: 7.73 m / 25 ft 4 in Height: 2.95 m / 10 ft 8 in Wing area: 18.95 sq.m / 203.98 sq ft Max. speed: 309 km/h / 192 mph
In the middle 1920’s, the Air Ministry issued a Specification for a single-engined high-altitude day-bomber and the Westland design staff, by then thoroughly monoplane-minded, seized the opportunity to produce the Witch, a two-seat parasol monoplane. Judged by its contemporaries this machine was impressive, and a well-considered attempt at securing an aerodynamic advance in design. Compared with biplanes it had a not disadvantageous structural weight, adding its quota of evidence that the high-wing type advocated by Westland was the lighter manner of building a monoplane. First flown in 1928, by Flt.-Lt. L. G. Paget, A.F.C., the Witch had an ingenious external structure, forming part of the wing bracing system, which enabled a large clear space to be left in the fuselage for internal bomb-stowage. The bomb compartment closed by four flap-doors in the front fuselage floor, and was so arranged that they would flick open by the weight of the bombs, in the event of an emergency release preventing manual opening. Although it was a good weight lifter, neither the Witch nor its competitors showed a performance which gave a sufficient improvement above the existing day-bombers, and the class was dropped. However, the Westland example, J.8596, had a useful career as an experimental aircraft and finally served for a long period with the Parachute Training Unit at Henlow.
Engine: 1 x 480hp Bristol Jupiter VIIIF 9-cylinder air-cooled geared radial Max take-off weight: 2744 kg / 6050 lb Empty weight: 1533 kg / 3380 lb Wingspan: 18.5 m / 61 ft 8 in Length: 11.4 m / 37 ft 5 in Height: 3.4 m / 11 ft 2 in Wing area: 49.6 sq.m / 533.89 sq ft
The Wapiti was a two-seat general-purpose biplane incorporating in its design several de Havilland D.H.9A component parts including wings as requested by the Air Ministry. The prototype first flew in March 1927 and the initial order for 25 production Mk I included one specially modified aircraft with a more luxurious rear cockpit for the Prince of Wales to fly in.
Mk I were powered by 313kW Bristol Jupiter VI engines, but subsequent Mk II and Mk IIA had 343kW Jupiter VI and 391.2kW Jupiter VIIIF or similar engines respectively.
The Mk.II switched to metal construction.
Small numbers of lengthened Wapiti V and unarmed Mk VI trainers brought total production for the RAF to 501; while the type was also adopted by Australia, South Africa (also built under licence), Canada, India and China.
An initial order for 38 for the RAAF was placed in October 1928 to replace DH.9s and DH.9As. These were delivered between April 1929 and March 1931. A further six ex-RAF Wapitis were purchased in 1937.
RAAF Wapiti
Wapiti Mk I Engine: 313kW Bristol Jupiter VI
Wapiti Mk II Engine: 343kW / 460 hp Jupiter VI
Wapiti Mk IIA Engine: 391.2kW Jupiter VIIIF Wingspan: 14.15 m / 46 ft 5 in Length: 9.65 m / 32 ft 8 in Height: 3.61 m / 12 ft 10 in Wing area: 43.48 sq.m / 468.01 sq ft Max take-off weight: 2449 kg / 5399 lb Empty weight: 1728 kg / 3810 lb Max. speed: 225 km/h / 140 mph Cruising speed: 96 kts / 177 km/h Service ceiling: 20600 ft / 6280 m Range: 853 km / 530 miles Armament: 2 x .303in / 7.7mm machine-guns Bombload: 263kg
Specification 4/24 issued by the Air Ministry during 1924 called for the design of a heavily armed, twin-engined, night defence fighter, although the precise nature of the planned armament was not made known to the two companies that successfully tendered for prototype contracts, Westland and Bristol (with the Bagshot). Two prototypes of the Westland submission were ordered in 1925, and only late in that year was the armament specified as two 37mm Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) cannon, to be disposed in front and dorsal positions, plus a 7.7mm Lewis gun firing through a ventral hatch in the rear fuselage. Powered by a pair of uncowled 450hp Bristol Jupiter VI nine-cylinder radial engines, the Westbury – as the Westland fighter was duly named – was a three-bay biplane of mixed construction, combining a wooden wing with a fuselage of composite steel and wood, duralumin wing spars being introduced in the second prototype. Open cockpits were provided for the two gunners and the pilot, who was located ahead of the upper wing, which attached directly to the deep fuselage. The nose COW gun was on a rotating mounting, and that in the aft cockpit fired forwards and upwards (aimed by the pilot). A second cockpit, to the rear, carried a 7.7mm Lewis gun on a Scarff ring, and the rear gunner also had the use of a second Lewis gun fired downwards through the entrance hatch. Flight testing of the Westbury began in September 1926, and the COW gun was successfully fired from both cockpits during later trials with the second aircraft, but no requirement was found for production of this category of fighter. The second prototype, as the Westbury II, was fitted with 480hp Jupiter VIII engines and had a rounded, rather than blunt, nose profile and aft-extended nacelle tails, features that were also introduced later on the first aircraft.
Max take-off weight: 3573 kg / 7877 lb Empty weight: 2198 kg / 4846 lb Wingspan: 20.73 m / 68 ft 0 in Length: 13.23 m / 43 ft 5 in Height: 4.19 m / 14 ft 9 in Wing area: 79.89 sq.m / 859.93 sq ft Max. speed: 201 km/h / 125 mph Ceiling: 6400 m / 21000 ft
The first attempt by Westland to develop a monoplane fighter evolved from a private venture prototype designed – by the company’s draughtsmen in their spare time – during 1926 with high speed performance the primary objective. Known simply as the Racer, this unarmed parasol monoplane of mixed construction was powered by a 275hp Rolls Royce Falcon III inline engine and flew in November 1926. Badly damaged in a forced landing in 1927, the Racer was rebuilt in much modified form as the Wizard fighter. In this form, it was primarily of metal construction and had a 490hp unsupercharged Rolls-Royce F.XI 12-cylinder Vee-type water:cooled engine in a more streamlined nose cowling, with a retractable radiator in the underside of the fuselage. The Wizard – which was flying by late 1927 – used a similar parasol wing to that of the Racer, this being mounted close to the fuselage on tandem pylons on the fuselage centreline. Two 7.7mm Vickers guns were mounted semi-externally in the fuselage sides. The Wizard’s performance, and particularly its rate of climb, attracted a modicum of Air Ministry interest and a contract to cover testing at Martlesham Heath. There, the pilot’s forward view was found unsatisfactory, leading Westland to design and fit a new wing with changed planform outboard, new inset ailerons and a thinner centre section, mounted on more conventional cabane strutting. A supercharged 500hp Kestrel II (F.XIS) was fitted, but in this final form, the Wizard II, as it was sometimes known, demonstrated a reduced performance and failed to persuade the Air Ministry to change its policy towards monoplane fighters.
Max take-off weight: 1486 kg / 3276 lb Empty weight: 1067 kg / 2352 lb Wingspan: 12.04 m / 40 ft 6 in Length: 8.18 m / 27 ft 10 in Height: 2.84 m / 9 ft 4 in Wing area: 22.11 sq.m / 237.99 sq ft Max. speed: 303 km/h / 188 mph
The Yeovil day-bomber biplane design was commenced by Westland in 1923. The Yeovil was the first of the Westland post-war military designs, to an Air Ministry Specification, and was built specially to accommodate the biggest engine then available, the newly developed 650hp Rolls Royce Condor engine. Three machines in all were produced, numbered J.7508, J.7509 and J.7510, the first slightly differing from the others in undercarriage arrangement and the fairing of the wing tanks. The prototype was initially test-flown at Andover, in the summer of 1925, by Captain Frank Courtney, the development testing of the subsequent machines being in the hands of Major L. P. Openshaw. Several other firms built prototypes to the same Specification and, although the Yeovil did not go into production the three examples built were used for research work.
Engine: 1 x 650hp Rolls Royce Condor Max take-off weight: 3567 kg / 7864 lb Empty weight: 2113 kg / 4658 lb Wingspan: 18.13 m / 60 ft 6 in Length: 11.22 m / 37 ft 10 in Height: 4.34 m / 14 ft 3 in Wing area: 74.13 sq.m / 797.93 sq ft Max. speed: 193 km/h / 120 mph
All Aero 