Vickers Vireo
Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1928 · fighter
The Vickers Vireo was an experimental low-wing all-metal monoplane built to explore all-metal service aircraft and catapult-launched ship-board fighters. Only one was built.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Low-wing all-metal monoplane of angular appearance with a flat-sided, deep fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Low-wing all-metal monoplane of angular appearance with a flat-sided, deep fuselage
- Nose falling away ahead of the overwing open cockpit, giving a slightly humped look
- Tapered, deep-section wing without external bracing, with a square-topped balanced rudder and no fin
An uncowled Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV radial drove a two-bladed propeller, and two Vickers machine guns were mounted in the wings.
Specifications
- The Vickers Vireo has a length of 8.43 m (28 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.67 m (35 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 190 km/h (118 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was built to Air Ministry specification 17/25 and was the first Vickers design to use the Vickers-Wibault construction method of corrugated light alloy sheet. Its first flights were in March 1928, a long time after the December 1925 tender, partly because the novel structure had to undergo structural tests.
Variants
Only one was built. The specification called for wheels or floats, and both were used, though the Vireo took its Ministry tests as a landplane.
Where you'll see it
Tests began at RAF Martlesham Heath a month after the first flights, and by July it was aboard HMS Furious for deck landing trials. Air Ministry interest waned when it proved no faster than conventional ship-board aircraft like the Fairey IIIF, but the experience gave Vickers confidence to proceed with the later Jockey and Venom.
Related aircraft
- Vickers Type 131 Valiant
- Vickers Type 143 Bolivian Scout
- Vickers Vanox
- Vickers Jockey
- Amiot 110
- Blackburn F.2 Lincock
- Boeing F3B
- Boeing P-12/F4B
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