14 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS
VICKERS
VILDEBEEST &ST & VINC
1918 2018Below
Vildebeest II K
was fl ying with 100
Squadron from RAF
Seletar, Singapore on
June 21, 1938 when it
went missing at night
over the sea, ten miles
off Cape Rachado,
Malaya. Vildebeest
K6372 also went astray
and it is assumed the
aircraft collided mid-
fl ight. There were
no survivors from
either machine.1932 TO 1944
D
esigned as a land-based
torpedo bomber against Air
Ministry Specification 24/25,
the Vildebeest was envisaged as a
short-term replacement for the all-
wooden Hawker Horsley. In reality
the aircraft would go on to serve the
RAF for more than a decade.
Hawker’s design featured an all-
metal, two-seat fuselage complete
with single-bay unstaggered fabric-
covered wings and tail. The original
specification had been written around
the supercharged Bristol Orion
engine, but this never materialised
and the prototype was powered by
a Bristol Jupiter VIII radial engine
when it was first flown (as the Vickers
Type 132) in April 1928.
The aircraft was shortlisted for the
Spec 24/25 ‘fly-off ’ competition and
was pitted against the Blackburn
Beagle and Handley Page Hare.
However, the Jupiter VIII was prone
to vibration, so a second prototype
(the Vickers Type 204) was created
and fitted with an Armstrong
Siddeley Panther IIA engine.
Vickers’ design was confirmed as
the winner of the contest but engine
problems persisted and, prior to an
order being placed, the new aircraft
was re-engined yet again, this time
with a new version of the Jupiter...
which later became known as the
Bristol Pegasus.INITIAL ORDER
In 1931 the RAF finally placed
an order for nine aircraft and the
first production machine flew inSeptember 1932. In service the
aircraft became known as the
Vildebeest, an Afrikaans name
for wildebeest.
Other orders followed but the
design was constantly tweaked
throughout its development, and
a number of variants were created.
A total of 22 Vildebeest Mk.Is
were built for the RAF with 600hp
(447kW) Bristol Pegasus engines
before production switched to the
635hp (474kW) Pegasus-powered
Mk.II (of which 30 were delivered).
The Mk II also had a modified tail,
which dispensed with the Mk.I’s
small ventral fin.
The addition of a third crew
member (to aid with navigation
and torpedo aiming) defined theVildebeest Mk.III. This was the
most prolific variant with 162
ordered, across four contracts. Of
these, the last 51 were completed as
Vickers Vincents.
The need for a higher-performance
variant resulted in the RAF receiving
18 of the 825hp (615kW) Bristol
Perseus-powered Mk.IV. The
engine had a new close-fitting
cowling, which helped increase the
top speed to 156mph (251km/h)
but was plagued by overheating. It
was deemed unsuitable for tropical
service and 12 were soon sold
to New Zealand (which alreadyoperated a fleet of 12 folding-wing-
equipped Mk.IIIs). The remaining
RAF Mk.IVs were therefore used
solely by home-based squadrons.VINCENT
In 1931, Vickers began developing
a private venture to create a general
purpose version of the Vildebeest,
which the company felt could
replace the RAF’s Westland
Wapitis and Fairey IIIFs in the
Army Co-operation role in the
Middle East.
A Vildebeest I was modified by
removing the torpedo-dropping
apparatus and adding an auxiliary
fuel tank, message pick-up
equipment and pyrotechnic
signalling gear, and was tested in theType: Three-crew anti-submarine and general reconnaissance aircraft
First fl ight: April 1928, entered service October 1932
Powerplant: One 635hp (474kW) Bristol Pegasus II radial
Dimensions: Span 49ft (14.94m), length 36ft 8in (11.18m)
Weights: Empty 4,773lb (2,165kg), all-up 8,500lb (3,856kg)
Max speed: 143mph (230km/h) at 3,000ft (914m)
Range: 1,250 miles (2.012km)
Armament: One forward-fi ring .303 Vickers machine gun and one fl exible,
rearward-fi ring Lewis gun. Bomb load: 1,100lb (499kg) or one
18in torpedo
Replaced: Hawker Horsley
Taken on charge: 378 (22 Mk.I, 30 Mk.II, 111 Mk.III, 18 Mk.IVs and 197 Vincents)
Replaced by: Bristol BeaufortVICKERS VILDEBEEST MK.III