Vickers Vanox
Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1929 · bomber
The Vickers Vanox was a British biplane bomber design intended as a successor to the Virginia for the Royal Air Force. It underwent extensive development but was not successful, and only a single aircraft was built.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 18.44 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-bay all-metal biplane with the two engines mounted between the wings
- Biplane tailplane with an all-moving rudder and tailplane
- Swept wings, with the sweepback reduced during development to cure handling problems
The Mercury-engined and Jupiter-engined biplane designs and a monoplane version were submitted to the specification. The tail used the all-moving rudder and tailplane of the Virginia Mark X.
Specifications
- The Vickers Vanox has a length of 18.44 m (60 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 23.32 m (77 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 201 km/h (125 mph).
- Typical crew: 4.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was initially a private venture, and was redesigned to meet Air Ministry specification B.19/27 for a Virginia replacement. The Type 150 was selected by the Ministry and first flew on 30 November 1929 with Rolls-Royce F.XIV engines.
Variants
After a forced landing it was rebuilt with Kestrel III engines and named Vanox. It then became the Type 195 with Bristol Pegasus radial engines, and in February 1933 the Type 255 with extended three-bay wings.
Where you'll see it
Handling was poor at first, with lateral instability, Dutch roll and severe flexing of the rear fuselage, and reducing the wing sweepback resolved the problems. The competing Handley Page Heyford and Fairey Hendon were already ordered into production, so the sole Type 255 was used for aerial refuelling trials by the Royal Aircraft Establishment until 7 January 1938.
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