The Westland IV and Westland Wessex were British high wing, three-engined light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft.
IV/Wessex
Westland Wessex of SABENA. This aircraft was originally built as a Westland IV, registered as G-AAJI, then upgraded to a Wessex and sold to SABENA as OO-AGC, then later sold to Cobham Air Routes and registered again as G-ABAJ.
In 1928, Westland began work on a small three-engined airliner, suitable for low volume, "feeder-liner" type operation, as a follow-on to its single-engined Westland Limousine transport. The new type was known as the Limousine IV early in development, which soon became the name Westland IV.[1][2] The Westland IV was a high-winged monoplane with a mainly wooden structure. The fuselage was of square section and built around sprucelongerons and ash frames, with internal wire bracing and fabric covering. The wings had wooden box spars and spruce wing ribs in a Warren girder arrangement and were braced to the fuselage by streamlined struts. The aircraft had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.[3]
The Westland IV first flew on 21 February 1929 at which time it was powered by the 95 hp (71 kW) Cirrus engine. This prototype was registered as G-EBXK and was certified for a crew of two and four passengers. The second machine had Hermes engines and a metal rear fuselage. The third machine, G-ABAJ, was modified to take the 105 hp (78 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major engines as well as some other changes and became the prototype Westland Wessex. The two Westland IVs were subsequently converted to Wessexes giving 10 aircraft in total.
Cobham Air Routes Ltdedit
The Wessex was noted for its reliability and ability to make short landing runs. This made it attractive to Sir Alan Cobham in 1935 when he was looking for a small airliner to use for a service between Guernsey and the British mainland. Previously, flying boats had provided a service between Portsmouth and St Peter Port on the island. There was no public airfield at the time on Guernsey, only the private airfield at L'Eree run by the Guernsey Aero Club, of which Cobham was a member. The Wessex was certified as the only commercial aircraft to use L'Eree. Cobham's airline, Cobham Air Routes Ltd, used the following Wessex aircraft:
G-EBXK – Westland serial number 1771, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 21 March 1929. Originally the prototype Westland IV and retained as a demonstrator, later converted to a Wessex and sold to Cobham Air Routes Ltd in 1935 and withdrawn from use in 1936.
G-ABAJ – Westland serial number 1897, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 27 May 1930. Built as a Westland IV and registered as G-AAJI, originally intended for service in Kenya with Wilson's Airways but the order was never taken up. Instead, G-AAJI was rebuilt as a Wessex and sold to Sabena with Belgian registration OO-AGC, before being in turn sold to Cobham in 1935. This aircraft was used by Trafalgar Advertising in 1936.
G-ADEW – Westland serial number 1899, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 6 August 1930, sold to Sabena and registered as OO-AGF, then bought by Cobham in 1935. Unfortunately, this aircraft was lost in the Channel on 3 July 1935, 3 to 4 miles south of The Needles. The only passenger on board, a Mr C F Grainger, was picked up by the SS Stanmore and taken to Fowey. The pilot, W H Ogden, was presumed drowned within the aircraft and was never found. The blame was largely placed on Ogden, but was probably also due to the age of the Wessex airframes and their engines. This accident was the last straw for Sir Alan, who was struggling operationally, and he sold his airline to Olley Air Service.
G-ADFZ – Westland serial number 1900, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 30 August 1930, sold to Sabena and registered as OO-AGF, and bought by Cobham in 1935. G-ADFZ went on to work for Trafalgar Advertising with G-ABAJ, and it was decided to take G-ADFZ to Blackpool for the air display in September 1935. On 7 September 1935 it was involved in a collision over Blackpool with an Avro 504N (G-ACOD), the Wessex crashing in Cedar Square with the crew safe but all three occupants of the Avro being killed. Repaired, G-ADFZ was finally withdrawn from service on 1 December 1946.
Jackson, A. J. (1988). British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III. London: Putnam. ISBN0-85177-818-6.
accessed 2 February 2007
James, Derek N. (1991). Westland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam. ISBN0-85177-847-X.
Stroud, John (December 1985). "Wings of Peace". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 13, no. 12. pp. 656–661. ISSN 0143-7240.
Willis, Matthew (May 2020). "Database: Westland IV and Wessex". Aeroplane. Vol. 48, no. 5. pp. 113–123. ISSN 0143-7240.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westland IV.
Westland "Wessex". A Small Three-Engined Machine With Many Various Applications, Flight, 3 October 1930
May 14, 2024
westland, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citat. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Westland IV news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The Westland IV and Westland Wessex were British high wing three engined light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft IV Wessex Westland Wessex of SABENA This aircraft was originally built as a Westland IV registered as G AAJI then upgraded to a Wessex and sold to SABENA as OO AGC then later sold to Cobham Air Routes and registered again as G ABAJ Role Light transport aircraft National origin United Kingdom Manufacturer Westland Aircraft Designer Arthur Davenport Robert Bruce 1 First flight 22 February 1929 Primary user Sabena Number built 10 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Cobham Air Routes Ltd 3 Operators 4 Specifications Wessex Genet Major 1A 5 References 6 External linksDesign and development editIn 1928 Westland began work on a small three engined airliner suitable for low volume feeder liner type operation as a follow on to its single engined Westland Limousine transport The new type was known as the Limousine IV early in development which soon became the name Westland IV 1 2 The Westland IV was a high winged monoplane with a mainly wooden structure The fuselage was of square section and built around spruce longerons and ash frames with internal wire bracing and fabric covering The wings had wooden box spars and spruce wing ribs in a Warren girder arrangement and were braced to the fuselage by streamlined struts The aircraft had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage 3 The Westland IV first flew on 21 February 1929 at which time it was powered by the 95 hp 71 kW Cirrus engine This prototype was registered as G EBXK and was certified for a crew of two and four passengers The second machine had Hermes engines and a metal rear fuselage The third machine G ABAJ was modified to take the 105 hp 78 kW Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major engines as well as some other changes and became the prototype Westland Wessex The two Westland IVs were subsequently converted to Wessexes giving 10 aircraft in total Cobham Air Routes Ltd editThe Wessex was noted for its reliability and ability to make short landing runs This made it attractive to Sir Alan Cobham in 1935 when he was looking for a small airliner to use for a service between Guernsey and the British mainland Previously flying boats had provided a service between Portsmouth and St Peter Port on the island There was no public airfield at the time on Guernsey only the private airfield at L Eree run by the Guernsey Aero Club of which Cobham was a member The Wessex was certified as the only commercial aircraft to use L Eree Cobham s airline Cobham Air Routes Ltd used the following Wessex aircraft G EBXK Westland serial number 1771 granted its certificate of airworthiness on 21 March 1929 Originally the prototype Westland IV and retained as a demonstrator later converted to a Wessex and sold to Cobham Air Routes Ltd in 1935 and withdrawn from use in 1936 G ABAJ Westland serial number 1897 granted its certificate of airworthiness on 27 May 1930 Built as a Westland IV and registered as G AAJI originally intended for service in Kenya with Wilson s Airways but the order was never taken up Instead G AAJI was rebuilt as a Wessex and sold to Sabena with Belgian registration OO AGC before being in turn sold to Cobham in 1935 This aircraft was used by Trafalgar Advertising in 1936 G ADEW Westland serial number 1899 granted its certificate of airworthiness on 6 August 1930 sold to Sabena and registered as OO AGF then bought by Cobham in 1935 Unfortunately this aircraft was lost in the Channel on 3 July 1935 3 to 4 miles south of The Needles The only passenger on board a Mr C F Grainger was picked up by the SS Stanmore and taken to Fowey The pilot W H Ogden was presumed drowned within the aircraft and was never found The blame was largely placed on Ogden but was probably also due to the age of the Wessex airframes and their engines This accident was the last straw for Sir Alan who was struggling operationally and he sold his airline to Olley Air Service G ADFZ Westland serial number 1900 granted its certificate of airworthiness on 30 August 1930 sold to Sabena and registered as OO AGF and bought by Cobham in 1935 G ADFZ went on to work for Trafalgar Advertising with G ABAJ and it was decided to take G ADFZ to Blackpool for the air display in September 1935 On 7 September 1935 it was involved in a collision over Blackpool with an Avro 504N G ACOD the Wessex crashing in Cedar Square with the crew safe but all three occupants of the Avro being killed Repaired G ADFZ was finally withdrawn from service on 1 December 1946 Operators edit nbsp Egypt Egyptian Air Force nbsp United Kingdom Royal Air Force AST Ltd Hamble taken on by RAF and used as navigation trainers from 1939 Great Western Railway Air Services Ltd passenger air services between Cardiff Municipal Airport and Plymouth 1934 1939 Cobham Air Routes passenger air services between Christchurch Airfield and Guernsey L Eree 1935 Portsmouth Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Co Ltd passenger services Imperial Airways passenger services Trafalgar Advertising Co Ltd night time airborne illuminated advertising including for Oxo nbsp Belgium SABENA passenger services sold their aircraft to Cobham Air Routes Ltd in 1935 Specifications Wessex Genet Major 1A edit nbsp Westland IV 3 view drawing from NACA Aircraft Circular No 95 Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919 1972 Volume III 4 General characteristicsCrew 2 pilot and mechanic Capacity 4 passengers Length 38 ft 0 in 11 58 m Wingspan 57 ft 6 in 17 53 m Height 9 ft 6 in 2 90 m Wing area 490 sq ft 46 m2 Empty weight 3 891 lb 1 765 kg Max takeoff weight 6 300 lb 2 858 kg Powerplant 3 Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major 1A seven cylinder air cooled radial engine 140 hp 100 kW each Performance Maximum speed 122 mph 196 km h 106 kn Cruise speed 100 mph 160 km h 87 kn Range 420 mi 680 km 360 nmi Service ceiling 14 900 ft 4 500 m Rate of climb 680 ft min 3 5 m s References edit a b James 1991 p 176 Willis 2020 p 114 James 1991 p 177 Jackson 1988 pp 246 247 Jackson A J 1988 British Civil Aircraft 1919 1972 Volume III London Putnam ISBN 0 85177 818 6 British Aircraft directory accessed 2 February 2007 James Derek N 1991 Westland Aircraft since 1915 London Putnam ISBN 0 85177 847 X Stroud John December 1985 Wings of Peace Aeroplane Monthly Vol 13 no 12 pp 656 661 ISSN 0143 7240 Willis Matthew May 2020 Database Westland IV and Wessex Aeroplane Vol 48 no 5 pp 113 123 ISSN 0143 7240 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westland IV Westland Wessex A Small Three Engined Machine With Many Various Applications Flight 3 October 1930 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Westland IV amp oldid 1189318742, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
