Armstrong Whitworth Armadillo

The Armstrong Whitworth Armadillo was a British single seat biplane fighter aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth.

Development and design

The Armadillo was designed in early 1918 by Armstrong Whitworths new chief designer, Fred Murphy as a private venture single seat fighter powered by a Bentley BR2 rotary engine, with construction of two prototypes being started. Mason 1992, p.138-139.]

The aircraft was a two-bay biplane with a square section fuselage. The engine in the nose was enclosed by a circular cowl with a deep hump above the cowl housing two Vickers machine guns.

By the time the Armadillo appeared, in summer 1918, the Sopwith Snipe, powered by the same engine and faster was already in large scale production, so the Armadillo was abandoned, the second prototype not being completed. Bruce 1965, p.19.]

pecifications

aerospecs
ref=War Planes of the First World War:Volume One: Fighters
met or eng?=eng

crew=1
capacity=
length m=5.74
length ft=18
length in=10
span m=8.46
span ft=27
span in=9
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=2.39
height ft=7
height in=10
wing area sqm=21.6
wing area sqft=232
empty weight kg=568
empty weight lb=1,250
gross weight kg=845
gross weight lb=1,860

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Bentley BR2 rotary engine
eng1 kw=172
eng1 hp=230
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=

max speed kmh=201
max speed mph=125
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=
range miles=
endurance h=2
endurance min=45
ceiling m=7,300
ceiling ft=24,000
climb rate ms=7.8
climb rate ftmin=1,500 [ Climb to 10,000 ft: 6 min 30 sec]

armament1=2x Vickers guns

ee also

aircontent
see also=
related=
similar aircraft=*Sopwith Snipe
*Boulton Paul Bobolink
*Nieuport B.N.1
lists=

References

*cite book |title=War Planes of the First World War:Volume One: Fighters |last=Bruce |first= J.M. |year= 1965|publisher= Macdonald|location=London |isbn= |pages= |url=
*cite book |title= British Fighters since 1912|last= Mason|first=Francis K. |year= 1992|publisher= Naval Institute Press|location= Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-082-7 |pages= |url=
*cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I |year=1990 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages= p.49