Vickers Type 432

infobox Aircraft
name = Type 432
type = high altitude fighter
manufacturer = Vickers-Armstrong



caption =
designer =
first flight = 24 December 1942
introduced =
retired =
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primary user = Vickers
more users =
produced =
number built = 1
unit cost =
developed from =
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The Vickers Type 432 was a British design for a cannon-armed fighter capable of engaging high altitude bombers during the Second World War for use by the Royal Air Force, developed by the British Vickers group.

Design and development

The design was first submitted to Air Ministry specification F.22/39 as the Vickers 414 to meet Operational Requirement (OR) 76. This was subsequently revised with aircraft redesigns to become specifications F.16/40 and then F.7/41 for OR. 108

In appearance it resembled a larger version of the de Havilland Mosquito. The pilot had a pressurized cockpit in the nose, with a bubble dome, similar to an enlarged astrodome. The pressurised cockpit took up the nose section so the cannon would have been fitted in a fairing below the fuselage, to the rear of the aircraft.

Operational history

The first prototype Type 432 was flown on 24 December 1942; initial trials revealing serious handling difficulties on the ground, the aircraft snaking while taxiing, necessitating aft movement of the mainwheels to correct the bad tracking. In flight tests, the Type 432 was unable to be landed in a standard "three-point" stance resulting in the replacement of the Irving-type ailerons with new Westland types along with an alteration of tail settings. The estimated maximum speed of 700 km/h at 8,535 m (435 mph at 28,000 ft) was never attained as the Merlin 61 engines did not run satisfactorily above 7,010 m (23,000 ft).

When the competing Westland Welkin was ordered into production, the second prototype of the Vickers fighter, the Type 446, was cancelled before completion on 1 May 1943. The first prototype was retained by Vickers for test purposes until the end of 1944, when the aircraft was scrapped after completing only 30 flights.

pecifications (Vickers Type 432)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=British Secret Projects Fighters and Bombers 1935-1950

crew=1 Pilot
length main= 39 ft 3 in
length alt= 12 m
span main= 56 ft 10.5 in
span alt=17.34 m
height main= 4.19 m
height alt= 13 ft 9 in
area main= 450 ft²
area alt= 41.8 m²

empty weight main=7,427 kg
empty weight alt= 16,373 lb
max takeoff weight main= 9,150 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 20,168 lb

engine (prop)= Rolls-Royce Merlin 61
type of prop= inline piston engines
number of props= 2
power main= 1,520 hp
power alt= 1,133 kW

max speed main= 380 mph
max speed alt= 612 km/h
max speed more=at 15,000 ft (4,572 m)
range main=1,500 miles
range alt=2,415 km
ceiling main= 38,000 ft
ceiling alt= 11,280 m
climb rate main= 2,750 ft/min (initial)
climb rate alt=
loading main= 223 kg/m²
loading alt= 46 lb/ft²
power/mass main= 0.25 kW/kg
power/mass alt= 0.15 hp/lb

guns= Six 20 mm Hispano cannon

ee also

aircontent
related=None

similar aircraft=
Westland Welkin

References

* Gunston, Bill. "Back to the Drawing Board: Aircraft That Flew, but Never Took Off". London: Zenith Imprint, 1996. ISBN 0-76030-316-9.
* Swanborough, Gordon. "British Aircraft at War, 1939-1945". East Sussex, UK: HPC Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-9531421-0-8.

External links

* [http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/VICKERS%20F7%2041.htm includes picture of the Vickers Type 432 prototype "DZ217"]
* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=7 British Aircraft Directory entry for Vickers Type 432]
* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/vickers_432.php Vickers 432]