| 词条 | Westland Witch | |||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
The Westland Witch was an unsuccessful British bomber prototype, first flown in 1928. Only a single aircraft of this type was built.
DevelopmentThe Witch was developed to specification 23/25 for a single-engined day bomber operating at high altitude.[1] This specification initially requested the use of the Bristol Orion, a turbocharged version of the Bristol Jupiter, but other variants of the Jupiter were substituted after development of the Orion encountered difficulties. All aircraft submitted to 23/25 suffered from engine problems, and none of them were put into production. The Witch employed a strut-braced parasol monoplane configuration. The wing was of wood and steel construction and spanned a generous {{convert|61|ft|m|abbr=on}}. The fuselage was built from duralumin and steel tubes, covered with fabric, with an uncowled Jupiter engine in the nose. The Witch had a crew of two, pilot and gunner/bombardier. The latter had a cockpit with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring aft of the pilot, but could also employ this for a prone bomb-aiming position. A bomb bay was incorporated in the fuselage in front of the pilot, with four doors which could be opened by the bombardier or would open under the weight of the dropped bombs. As specified in 23/25, a single 520 lb bomb could be carried, or a number of smaller weapons.[2] The presence of a bomb bay in the fuselage required a complicated split-axle arrangement for the fixed undercarriage, which was braced to the fuselage and the wing struts. A cross-axle would have been in path of the falling bombs.[3] The prototype of the Witch, serial J8596, was first flown on 30 January 1928 at RAF Andover, with Louis Paget at the controls. The type was praised for its stability as a bombing platform, and its 138 mph maximum speed was good, although its 62 mph landing speed was felt to be too fast. However, the Witch was judged unsuitable for service due to structural weaknesses, including a number of failures of the landing gear struts and other components.[4] The same aircraft was nevertheless presented again the next year in Mk.II form, with a Jupiter VIIIF engine replacing the earlier Jupiter VI, and was used for testing of parachutes until 1931.[3] Specifications (Witch Mk.I){{aircraft specifications|plane or copter?=plane |jet or prop?=prop |ref=F.K. Mason, The British Bomber since 1914, Putnam UK 1994 |crew=two |capacity= |payload main= |payload alt= |payload more= |length main= 37 ft 8 in |length alt= 11.48 m |span main= 61 ft 0 in |span alt= 18.59 m |height main= 11 ft 6 in |height alt= 3.51 m |area main= 534 sq.ft |area alt= 49.61 sq.m |airfoil= |empty weight main= 3380 lb |empty weight alt= |loaded weight main= 6050 lb |loaded weight alt= |useful load main= |useful load alt= |max takeoff weight main= |max takeoff weight alt= |max takeoff weight more= |more general= |engine (prop)= |type of prop=Bristol Jupiter VI |number of props=1 |power main= 420 hp |power alt= 314 kW |power original= |power more= |propeller or rotor?= |propellers= |number of propellers per engine= |propeller diameter main= |propeller diameter alt= |max speed main= 138 mph at 6500 ft |max speed alt= 222 km/h at 1980 m |max speed more= |cruise speed main= |cruise speed alt= |cruise speed more |stall speed main= |stall speed alt= |stall speed more= |never exceed speed main= |never exceed speed alt= |range main= |range alt= |ferry range main= |ferry range alt= |ferry range more= |ceiling main= 19000 ft |ceiling alt= 5800 m |climb rate main= 6500 ft in 14 min 12 sec |climb rate alt= 1380 m in 14 min 12 sec |loading main= |loading alt= |thrust/weight= |power/mass main= |power/mass alt= |more performance= |armament= |guns= one fixed .303 Vickers operated by the pilot; one .303 Lewis in the rear cockpit |bombs= up to 520lb internally |rockets= |missiles= |hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |avionics= }} See also{{aircontent|see also= |related= |similar aircraft=
|lists= }} References{{commons category|Westland Witch}}1. ^K.J. Meekcoms and E.B. Morgan The British Aircraft Specifications File, Air-Britain, UK 1994. {{refbegin}}{{refend}}{{Westland aircraft}}2. ^H.F. King, Armament of British Aircraft 1909-1939, Military Book Society, UK 1971. 3. ^1 F.K. Mason, The British Bomber since 1914, Putnam UK 1994 4. ^T. Mason, British Flight Testing Martlesham Heath 1920-1939, Putnam UK 1993 3 : British bomber aircraft 1920–1929|Westland aircraft|Single-engined tractor aircraft |
|||||||||||||||
| 随便看 |
|
开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识，基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识，是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。