Vickers Virginia

Přehled verzí
Vickers Virginia


The Vickers Virginia is for many a symbol of British interwar bomber aviation - however, its prototype also flew in 1922 and the last machines did not leave the first-line units until 1938. This was partly due to its ability to adapt to new conditions, but also largely due to the British command's attitude to heavy bombers, despite the efforts of Sir Hugh Trenchard. Further efforts to develop bomber aviation were slowed by Trenchard's retirement from the Air Force and the onset of the economic crisis of the 1930s.


The Virginia was designed by Reginald Kirshaw Pierson as a replacement for the slowly obsolescing Vickers Vimy bomber in 1921 to Air Ministry specification 1/21 (ironically, however, both types were produced concurrently for several years). It was essentially a scaled-up version of the classic Vimy with two Napier Lion engines. The specifications called for the ability to carry two 250kg bombs to a distance of 1930km, at a speed of 153km/h and at an altitude of 3048m. It is possible that the requirements were also influenced by the record-breaking flights undertaken by the Vimy in 1919, but essentially the performance required by the specifications was never achieved by the Virginias. In January 1921, two prototypes were ordered to be built to Pierson's design, J6856 and J6857. The first, additionally designated Virginia I, was flown by Stan Cockerell at BrooklandsNovember 24 1922, the second, Virginia II, followed in July the next year.


Compared to the Vimy, J6856 had a six-meter longer wingspan and a 2.7-meter longer hull. Relatively new were the oil-pneumatic landing gear dampers. After the first flight, Cockerell complained about the poor function of the rudders, which were therefore significantly extended beyond the edge of the elevators, but after that it was almost impossible to move them for a change. Nevertheless, the machine proceeded to factory tests with full load. Performance was not dazzling, largely due to the engines, fully cowled, with frontal radiators and perched on the lower wing. At the time, quite a few aging heavy bombers were gamely surpassing the Virginia's top speed of 156 km/h, and with nine 51kg bombs carried in the fuselage, the load was easily handled by medium bombers. Moreover, the Virginia lacked any possibility of rear and upper hemisphere defenses. It was therefore rebuilt in June 1923 and given a rather large nacelle under each upper wing with gunports at each end, but this meant an extra half ton of weight for an already unwieldy machine. A major drawback was also the impossibility of moving between these nacelles, known as "fighting tops", and the cockpit, and even the nose gunner was separated from the cockpit. Despite all this, however, the Virginia was quite popular, and apart from the stiff controls, pilots complained basically only about the strong vibration of the starboard engine.


The second prototype, J6857, had several features that made it quite different from the first. The engine, again a Napier Lion, was this time placed 46 cm above the wing and given a much tighter fairing with a circular cross-section and the radiator, a semi-circular Lamblin type, was placed under the wing between the undercarriage legs. The nose of the aircraft was also lengthened to give the gunner more legroom when lying at the bomb sight. This, however, resulted in a reduction of one bomb load. Another important feature was the ability to slightly change the angle of attack of the tail surfaces using a control wheel in the cockpit, so that the pilot could expend less force simply to stay on course and at the correct altitude. This machine, the Virginia II, was transported to 7th Bombardment Squadron at Bircham Newton for operational trials after completing company trials. Meanwhile, missile nacelle tests continued on Virginia I, which was then modified for Rolls-Royce Condor III engines at the request of the Air Ministry. The aileron controls were also modified and a third, middle rudder was added. In this form, the first take-off took place on 3 October 1924 and the machine suffered from severe longitudinal instability, which was later remedied by moving the engines more than half a metre forward and relocating the radiators under the upper wing. In this form it then spent the next few months testing at Martlesham.


A month before the Virginia Mk.I took off, on 23 October 1922, a small initial run was ordered - two machines to be precise, J6992 and J6993. Based mainly on the second prototype, the main differences included twin steering, two wing-mounted bomb racks for 51kg or 250kg bombs in addition to the fuselage standard bomb rack for eight 51kg bombs, and the possibility of a movable machine gun in the nose floor. These machines were designated Type 76 Virginia Mk.III, and four more (J7129-J7132) were ordered early the following year, without the twin steering. The first two machines were completed in May 1924, the others following in July. All machines except J6993 were handed over to Bircham Newton at the end of July 1924 and, together with the second prototype, were used for night flying trials. In May 1925 all operational tests were completed, and before that, in December 1924, an operational decision was made on the basis of the results. The Virginias were judged to be less powerful than expected, but reliable and tough. Meanwhile, J3993 was exhibited among the new types at Hendon.


In April 1924, J7274 and J7275 were ordered, designated Type 99 Virginia Mk.IV. These differed essentially only by a change in wiring and night-flying equipment, and additional bomb racks under the wings. The former was also given a third rudder, with which it first flew on 29 July 1924. This greatly helped improve handling, a fact confirmed two days later when it took off again without the third rudder for verification. This was also installed on the Virginia I in September, as already mentioned, and became standard on subsequent versions. J7274 then proceeded to 9 Squadron for brief operational tests.


The J7274 was directly followed by the first "big" production version, the Type 100 Virginia Mk.V. These were built to the new specification, 12/24, and apart from the third rudder were similar to the Version III. 22 machines were built, J7418-J7439. A new camouflage, dark Nivo green, was also introduced on this version. They were delivered during 1925, first to 58th Bombardment Squadron(which by then had been taken over by 33-year-old Sq Ldr Arthur Travers Harris, later a Royal Air Force marshal) and then to 9 Squadron. In production, the direct follow-on Type 108 Virginia Mk.VI was the result of complaints about wing folding problems (common with all large biplanes that had to be squeezed into standard hangars). In addition to this change, the wing sweep was also modified - whereas in previous versions the upper wing was straight and the lower wings had a sweep of 4°, now all wings had a sweep of 2.5°. By the end of 1925, 25 machines were built in two series, J7558-J7567 and J7706-J7720, and Virginia V J7423, J7422, J7418, J7437-7439 were converted to this version. All the machines were split between the two squadrons already mentioned and also 7th Squadron, which had so far only tested the Virginias.


As Virginias were finally available in sufficient numbers, long-range exercises, simulated defence against RAF fighters and practice raids began from 1925, which soon brought further complaints about the handling of the aircraft. In practice, it became apparent that the Virginia pilot, if carrying the slightest load, was practically not allowed to let go of the controls for a moment, the adjustable-tilt tail surfaces were too clumsy for the demands of formation flying, and generally piloting the Virginia was a complete "gym" in which he had to concentrate constantly on keeping the machine in the right direction and altitude, with little time for the course corrections required for the raid itself. Maintaining heading in the clouds was said to be almost impossible, and night flights (for which the Virginia was designed) were quite dangerous for a less experienced pilot. Therefore, many attempts were made to balance and modify the tail surfaces to solve the problem. The test machine for these changes was J6993, the second Mk.V produced, which was returned to Weybridge in March 1925 for the construction of a new nose, allowing better pilot visibility on take-off and with interconnected pilot and gunner compartments. The aforementioned modifications were then tested on it, also motivated by the need to place a radio station in the middle of the aircraft, but this again altered the centre of gravity. On 28 August 1925, Flt Lt Markham of 9 Squadron made the first take-off at Brooklands in a modified machine, renamed Type 112 Virginia Mk.VII, which proved the success of all the changes and which resulted in 38 more machines being converted to this latest standard. The Mk.VII, while still not quite a perfect bomber, was already capable of quite respectable performance - compared to comparable British types. When the Minot Trophy, the prize for the best bomber crew, was first awarded in 1927, the winner was 7th Squadron Commander Sq Ldr Ch. F. A. Portal, later Chief of Staff of the Air Staff 1940-1946, at Virginia, and Virginia crews also won the award in the next seven years (with one exception, when the win was shared, always by 7 Squadron).


One of the machines with 7 Squadron was also the original Virginia I, J6856, since converted to the Mk.VII, but still with two gunner's nacelles under the upper wings, but these were soon discarded for good. Before conversion to the Mk.VII, however, the J6856 served another conversion purpose when, in 1925, tail surfaces with a slight rise were tested on it to further reduce directional instability. However, tests in this form (with Condor engines inherited from the previous conversion, and fighting tops with the gunnery platform behind the trailing edge of the wing) showed the ineffectiveness of the proposed modification, and the production of the planned version, designated Mk.VIII, was abandoned.


The Type 128 Virginia Mk.IX was the result of the termination of the missile nacelle tests, and the search for another solution to protect the rear and upper hemispheres, which was a major problem at a time when perhaps all British fighters reached speeds up to 80 km/h higher than the Virginia. The decision was therefore taken to place the gunnery range behind the tail surfaces, which, however, could have increased the already great longitudinal instability. The prototype was the J7131, originally a Mk.III and later a Mk.VII. In addition to extending the fuselage beyond the tail surfaces, the horizontal tail surfaces were also increased, the nose was extended by three feet and various brakes were also tested. The new conversion proved to be very successful and a total of 27 older machines were converted to it and a further eight, J8907-J8914, were built anew.To maintain the centre of gravity, the radio operator's cabin was also moved, just behind the cockpit,but this meant that it was flush with the propellers. Because of the unbearable noise, soundproofing was therefore tried for the first time using Alva, a material made from seaweed. The J7720 even flew for a time with an enclosed cockpit, which, although not introduced on the Virginia, provided experience for later designs.Automatic slots were also tested on this machine, but these were not fully operational until 1930 and most machines had to wait for them.


In the same year that production of the Mk.IX began, new specifications B.19/27 were also produced for a bomber to replace the Virginia and Handley Page Hinaidi. Perhaps a dozen designs responded to these, including an upgraded version of the Virginia with Bristol Pegasus engines, but the rapid development of fighter aircraft caused several rewrites of the requirements and delays in their evaluation. Vickers decided to take advantage of this and offered a radical redesign of the Virginia with a metal airframe. This had been in the works since 1927, when (based on previous experiments on Vimy) new metal wings were fitted to Virginia Mk.VII J7439, and similarly wings and other metal components were tested on other machines. At about the same time that the rebuilt J7439 first flew in August 1927, the RAF announced that it intended to switch completely to all-metal construction within the next six years. The J7439 was tested by 58 Squadron during 1928, and later that year Vickers was awarded an order to build 50 all-new all-metal Virginias, and further contracts to convert all the remaining machines to the new all-metal standard. This eventually involved 52 machines. In addition to the metal airframe, a new tailplane system with keel-less rudder surfaces was designed for the new version, Type 139 Virginia Mk.X. These were originally to be tested on the J7436, but due to repair problems were eventually fitted to the J7439, which, although without tail gunnery and with a short nose, thus became the true prototype of the new version. Before production and conversions began, at the request of the Ministry, the last six of the fifteen machines then ready at Weybridge for conversion to the Mk.IX were converted to the new version, but as yet without the as yet unapproved tail surfaces, and were therefore known as Virginia Mk.IX (metalized), but soon underwent this last modification as well and thus lost the provisional designation.


Since the conversion meant essentially disassembling the entire aircraft and replacing the entire airframe, and also the engines, as the Mk.X was to receive new Lion VB engines, it did not represent any particular saving of money. The first production Virginia X's were completed in 1930, and among the first squadrons to receive the new machines were the 500th at Manston and the 502nd Squadron at Aldergrove, and all squadrons already using Virginia were rearmed by the end of 1931. In the absence of more modern replacements, other squadrons then received them, beginning in September 1932 with 10th Squadron at Boscombe Down. From late 1930, after trials, Lion XI engines were fitted to the J8238, with which the bomber was finally able to reach "up to" 174 km/h at full load. Similarly, hydraulic brakes, night-landing lamps and even a three-axis autopilot soon became standard, which greatly helped to make night bombing more accurate. The Virginia was thus gradually becoming a fairly durable aircraft, forgiving of pilot errors and suitable for young pilots to learn to fly heavy aircraft over long distances - quite different from the terrible experience of the first versions. Two squadrons, 51st and 75th, were re-equipped to this type as late as April 1937.


Testing of the new Bristol Jupiter engines had already begun on the Mk.IX, and later with engine bearings transferred from Mk.IX J 8236 to Mk.X J7421 and tested with different exhaust rings and the like, but only one conversion remained. In 1933, the J7130 was similarly selected for fitting Bristol Pegasus IIM3 engines. These looked very promising at the time, with the ability to go up to 160 km/h cruising speed, and Vickers offered the Air Force a rebuild. A fully loaded J7130 with these engines reached a top speed of 203 km/h, and with other modifications such as Townend engine rings, four-bladed propellers and others, it was able to keep up with modern rivals such as Heyford and Hendon, which at the time were beginning to supplement, not yet replace, the Virginia. Then in 1936, the J7130 also served in top secret tests in radar development. Another Virginia, the J7275, was fitted with additional tanks in the fuselage and served in the development of in-flight refuelling equipment on many flights from Farnborough and Ford. The entire system was demonstrated at the 1936 Hendon Airshow, refuelling Westland Wapiti. Other machines were used at the RAE for catapult development (the theory at the time was that runway length could be saved if a fully loaded bomber was ejected in this way). After being taken out of first-line service, several Virginias were taken to the Parachute Testing Unit at Henlow, where they were given parachute retrieval platforms on the wings.


The last Virginias were flown in 1941, none of them surviving to this day.



Sources:
Andrews, C.F., Morgan, E.B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0 85177 815 1.
Mason, Francis K.: The British Bomber Since 1914. Putnam, London 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5
Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918, Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1976. ISBN 0-37010-056-5
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bww1/virgin.html
www.aviastar.org
www.rafmuseum.org.uk
www.kheichhorn.de
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_Virginia
Vickers Virginia - http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/aircraft/images.html?Image=1924-5412-8-VickersVirg.jpg&Year=1924

www.rafmuseum.org.uk
Vickers Virginia - Virginia, použitá jako tanker, doplňuje při testech palivo Westlandu Wapitti. 
Zdroj:www.unrealaircraft.com/forever/pages/rf_raf30.php

Virginia, použitá jako tanker, doplňuje při testech palivo Westlandu Wapitti.
Zdroj:www.unrealaircraft.com/forever/pages/rf_raf30.php

URL : https://www.valka.cz/Vickers-Virginia-t42095#182422 Version : 0
Discussion post Fact post
Attachments


Join us

We believe that there are people with different interests and experiences who could contribute their knowledge and ideas. If you love military history and have experience in historical research, writing articles, editing text, moderating, creating images, graphics or videos, or simply have a desire to contribute to our unique system, you can join us and help us create content that will be interesting and beneficial to other readers.

Find out more