Avro Avocet

Avocet

Manufacturer: Avro
Designed by: Roy Chadwick
First flight: 1927
Status: Prototype
Primary user: Royal Air Force
Number built: Two

The Avro Type 584 Avocet was a British single engined naval fighter prototype designed and built by Avro. While the Avocet was not built in numbers, one of the prototypes was used as a seaplane trainer for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) High Speed Flight.

Design and development

The Avro 584 Avocet was designed by Avro's chief designer, Roy Chadwick to meet the requirements of Specification 17/25 for a Naval fighter. It was a single engined, all metal biplane, powered by a 230 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine and having interchangeable wheel and float undercarriages. Although it did not have folding wings, it was designed to be easily dismantled for storage onboard ship.

Two prototypes were built, the first flying as a landplane in December 1927 and the second prototype flying as a seaplane in April 1928. Both prototypes were evaluated for the Fleet Air Arm at RAF Martlesham Heath, where owing to the low powered engine, the performance was seen to be unimpressive, and so was not ordered into production.

Operational history

Although no production occurred, the second prototype was used by the RAF's High Speed Flight at Calshot as a seaplane trainer for Schneider Trophy pilots.

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force
High Speed Flight RAF

Specifications (Avocet (Wheeled undercarriage))

Data from The British Fighter since 1912

General characteristics

Crew: One
Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.50 m)
Wingspan: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
Height: 11 ft 8⅜ in (3.57 m)
Wing area: 308 ft² (28.6 m²)
Empty weight: 1,612 lb (733 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,495 lb (1,134 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV seven cylinder radial, 230 hp (172 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 133 mph (116 kn, 214 km/h)
Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
Wing loading: 8.10 lb/ft² (40 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.092 hp/lb (0.15 kW/kg)

Armament

2 x— fixed .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns

Comparable aircraft

Vickers Vireo

Avro Avocet Pictures and Avro Avocet for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia