Westland PV-3

PV-3

Picture - Lord Clydesdale piloting the first flight over the summit of Mount Everest 1933

Role: Torpedo bomber
Manufacturer: Westland
Designed by: Arthur Davenport
First flight: 1931
Introduced: 1933
Primary users: Royal Geographical Society Royal Air Force
Number built: 1

The Westland PV-3 was a British two-seat torpedo bomber of the 1930s built by Westland Aircraft Works. The aircraft was a private venture development and based on the Westland Wapiti. It never entered production. The aircraft is best known as one of the first two to fly over Mount Everest.

History

The PV-3 design was produced in 1930 as a private venture two-seat aircraft that could be used as either a carrier based torpedo bomber intended to carry a new lightweight torpedo being developed by the Admiralty, or as an Army co-operation aircraft. As such, it was a development of the Wapiti, with an all-metal structure and folding two-bay wings. It was powered by a 575 hp (429 kW) Bristol Jupiter XFA radial engine, having a defensive armament of one forward firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun on a scarff ring on the observer's cockpit. It could either carry the planned 1,000 lb (455 kg) torpedo under the fuselage or an equivalent weight of bombs under the wings.

It first flew in February 1931, showing good performance (in particular, a high ceiling) and handling when tested by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Martlesham Heath. Despite this, no orders resulted, and the lightweight torpedo was cancelled.

In November 1932, the PV-3 was chosen, together with the Westland PV-6 (the prototype of the Westland Wallace) for the Houston Mount Everest Flying Expedition to fly over and photograph Mount Everest. The aircraft, now registered G-ACAZ, was remodelled with a rear cabin and a 630 hp Bristol Pegasus engine driving a large diameter propeller. It was test flown from Yeovil in the new configuration, and on 25 January 1933 reached a height of 35,000 ft.

Flown by Lord Clydesdale and accompanied by the Wallace, the two aircraft became the first to fly over Mount Everest on 3 April 1933, flying over Kangchenjunga on 4 April and making a second flight over Everest (as the initial flight had produced inadequate photographs for map-making) on 19 April 1933. The PV-3 was later exhibited at Selfridges department store in London in July 1933. In December 1933 the aircraft given the military serial K4048 and issued to Bristol Aircraft as an engine test bed. The aircraft is also referred to as the Houston-Westland in honour of Lady Houston who had financed the 1933 expedition.

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force
Royal Geographical Society

Specifications (Houston Westland)

Data from Westland Aircraft since 1915

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 34 ft 2 in (10.42 m)
Wingspan: 46 ft 6 in (14.18 m)
Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Wing area: 500 ft² (46.5 m²)
Empty weight: 3,420 lb (1,555 kg)
Loaded weight: 5,100 lb (2,318 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— Bristol Pegasus IS3 nine-cylinder radial engine, 630 hp (470 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 163 mph (142 knots, 262 km/h)
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (15,900 m)
Wing loading: 10.2 lb/ft² (49.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.12 hp/kg (0.20 kW/kg)
Climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m): 20 min

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
James, Derek (April 2008). "To the Top of the World". Aeroplane (London: IPC) Vol 36 No. 4 (420): pp.20-25. ISSN 0143-7240.
James, Derek N. (1991). Westland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 85177 847 X.
Jackson, A.J. (1988). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 85177 818 6.
Mason, Francis K (1994). The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.

Westland PV-3 Pictures and Westland PV-3 for Sale.

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia