In 1917, Britain's War Office issued Specification A.1.A for a single-seat fighter to replace the Sopwith Camel. To meet this requirement, the Austin Motor Company, already a large scale manufacturer of aircraft to Royal Aircraft Factory designs, produced its own design for a single-engined triplane, the A.F.T.3 Osprey, receiving a licence to build three prototypes as a private venture.[1]
The Osprey was of conventional wood and fabric construction, with single-bay triplane wings. It was powered by a Bentley BR2rotary engine, and featured the required armament of two Vickers machine guns and a single Lewis gun. The synchronised Vickers guns were mounted ahead of the pilot, while the Lewis gun was mounted on a movable mounting on the centre section of the middle wing, where it had a very limited field of fire, with the large diameter propeller blocking any forward fire.[2] Like a similar gun mounted on the Snipe it would probably have been deleted had the type gone into production.
The first Osprey flew in February 1918,[3] being tested at Martlesham Heath in March.[3][4] It was heavier than expected, and its performance was inferior to Sopwith's Snipe. When the Snipe was selected as the winner of the competition for the new fighter, Austin abandoned development of the Osprey, with the second and third prototypes not completed.[3][5] The first prototype was briefly used for trials at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough until at least June 1918.[6]
Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War:Volume One: Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1965.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN1-55750-082-7.
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January 01, 1970
austin, osprey, austin, osprey, prototype, british, fighter, triplane, first, world, developed, motor, manufacturer, austin, replacement, sopwith, camel, only, built, sopwith, snipe, being, preferred, osprey, role, fighter, aircraft, national, origin, british,. The Austin A F T 3 Osprey was a prototype British fighter triplane of the First World War Developed by the motor car manufacturer Austin as a replacement to the Sopwith Camel only one was built the Sopwith Snipe being preferred A F T 3 Osprey Role Fighter aircraft National origin British Manufacturer Austin Motor Company First flight 1918 Status Prototype Number built 1 Contents 1 Development and design 2 Specifications 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksDevelopment and design editIn 1917 Britain s War Office issued Specification A 1 A for a single seat fighter to replace the Sopwith Camel To meet this requirement the Austin Motor Company already a large scale manufacturer of aircraft to Royal Aircraft Factory designs produced its own design for a single engined triplane the A F T 3 Osprey receiving a licence to build three prototypes as a private venture 1 The Osprey was of conventional wood and fabric construction with single bay triplane wings It was powered by a Bentley BR2 rotary engine and featured the required armament of two Vickers machine guns and a single Lewis gun The synchronised Vickers guns were mounted ahead of the pilot while the Lewis gun was mounted on a movable mounting on the centre section of the middle wing where it had a very limited field of fire with the large diameter propeller blocking any forward fire 2 Like a similar gun mounted on the Snipe it would probably have been deleted had the type gone into production The first Osprey flew in February 1918 3 being tested at Martlesham Heath in March 3 4 It was heavier than expected and its performance was inferior to Sopwith s Snipe When the Snipe was selected as the winner of the competition for the new fighter Austin abandoned development of the Osprey with the second and third prototypes not completed 3 5 The first prototype was briefly used for trials at the Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough until at least June 1918 6 Specifications editData from British Aeroplanes 1914 18 4 General characteristicsCrew 1 Length 17 ft 7 in 5 36 m Wingspan 23 ft 0 in 7 01 m Height 10 ft 8 in 3 25 m Wing area 233 sq ft 21 6 m2 Empty weight 1 106 lb 502 kg Gross weight 1 888 lb 856 kg Fuel capacity 40 imp gal 48 US gal 180 L Powerplant 1 Bentley BR2 nine cylinder rotary engine 230 hp 170 kW Performance Maximum speed 118 5 mph 190 7 km h 103 0 kn at 10 000 ft 3 000 m Endurance 3 hr at 15 000 ft 4 600 m Service ceiling 19 000 ft 5 800 m Time to altitude 10 min 20 s to 10 000 ft 3 000 m Armament Guns 2 forward firing synchronised 303 in Vickers machine guns and one Lewis gun on semi free mounting on rear of middle wingSee also editAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Armstrong Whitworth Armadillo Boulton Paul Bobolink Nieuport B N 1 Sopwith SnipeNotes edit Mason 1992 p 128 Bruce 1965 p 27 a b c Bruce 1965 p 28 a b Bruce 1957 p 33 Mason 1992 p 273 Bruce 1965 p 29 References editBruce J M British Aeroplanes 1914 18 London Putnam 1957 Bruce J M War Planes of the First World War Volume One Fighters London Macdonald 1965 Mason Francis K The British Fighter since 1912 Annapolis USA Naval Institute Press 1992 ISBN 1 55750 082 7 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austin Osprey Austin Memories Aircraft Production Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Austin Osprey amp oldid 994098597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
