Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16

infobox Aircraft
name = A.W.16
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Armstrong Whitworth


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1930
introduced =
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retired =
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produced =
number built =
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developed from =
variants with their own articles = Armstrong Whitworth ScimitarThe Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 was a British single engined biplane fighter aircraft designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. A number were sold to the Chinese "Kwangsi" Air Force.

Development

The A.W.16 was developed by Armstrong Whitworth to meet the requirements of Specification F9/26. With the first prototype flying in 1930, it was too late for consideration against this specification, and was submitted against specification Specification N21/26 Cite book|author=Mason, Francis K
title=The British Fighter since 1912|publisher=Naval Institite Press|year=1992|isbn= ISBN 1-55750-082-7 for a naval fighter for the Fleet Air Arm.

Problems with the A.W.16's Armstrong Siddeley Panther engine delayed the aircraft, and the competing Hawker Nimrod was purchased before the AW.16 could be delivered for evaluation. When it was evaluated, it showed inferior performance to the Nimrod, and had poor handling on an exposed carrier deck .

Armstrong Whitworth continued to try to sell the aircraft, and produced a second prototype ("G-ACCD") fitted with a more reliable Panther IIA engine for submission against Specification F7/30 for an order from the Royal Air Force. It competed against the Vickers Jockey, Hawker High Speed Fury and the Gloster Gladiator. However, by this time the A.W.16 was out of date, and was quickly discarded from consideration, which was won by the Gladiator. A number of production aircraft were made, however, with 17 ordered by the Kwangsi Air Force in China cite book |last= Green|first= W |coauthors=Swanborough, G |title= The Complete Book of Fighters |edition= |year= 1994|publisher= Smithmark|location= New York |isbn= 0-8317-3939-8

The second prototype was rebuilt into the Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar fighter, four of which were sold to Norway.

One A.W.16 was 1933 experimentally fitted with the 15-cylinder 3-row radial Armstrong Siddeley Hyena, but this engine suffered from cooling problems and was abandoned.

Operational history

The 17 A.W.16 fighters for the Kwangsi air force were produced late in 1931, and were delivered via Hong Kong. While initially serving in the air force of the local Warlords, the A.W.16s were (along with the rest of the Kwangsi Air Force) incorporated in the main Chinese Nationalist Air Force in 1937.

Operators

;flagcountry|Republic of China|1912
*Kwangsi Air Force

pecifications (A.W.16)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref= The Complete Book of Fighters

crew=One
capacity=
length main= 25 ft 0 in
length alt= 7.62 m
span main= 33 ft 0 in
span alt= 10.06 m
height main= 11 ft 6 in
height alt= 3.50 m
area main= 261 ft²
area alt= 24.2 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main=
empty weight alt=
loaded weight main= 3,520 lb
loaded weight alt= 1,597 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA
type of prop= 14 cylinder radial engine
number of props=1
power main= 525 hp
power alt= 391 kW
power original=
max speed main= 174 knots
max speed alt= 200 mph, 322 km/h
max speed more= at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 235 nm
range alt= 270 mi, 435 km
ceiling main= 26,100 ft
ceiling alt= 8,000 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= lb/ft²
loading alt= kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= hp/lb
power/mass alt= W/kg
more performance=
*Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 6 min
*Endurance: 2 hours

armament=* Two forward firing .303 in Vickers machine guns in sides of fuselage with 500 rounds per gun

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References

External links

[http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/arm_aw-16.php Virtual Aviation Museum] ]
[http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=113 British Aircraft Directory]