FlyPast – August 2018

Tin

Tony Buttl examines the last Vick s fi ght –

the technically advanced, but fl awed,

Type 432

100 FLYPAST August 2018

P

roduction of the spectacular

Wellington bomber, and

less successful Warwick,

dominated activities at Vickers

throughout World War Two. Within

this period, the company flew what

turned out to be its last fighter, the

Type 432.

At first glance, this looked like the

de Havilland Mosquito and indeed

was nicknamed the ‘Tin Mossie’.

The triumph of the Mosquito as the

world’s first true multi-role combat

aircraft meant that the Vickers

machine had little chance to make

its mark.

In 1939, the design team, led by

Rex Pierson, began work on a

twin-engined two-seat fighter called

the Type 414. Two prototypes,

R4236 and R4239, were ordered

against Specification F22/39 on

August 30, 1939.

The most striking feature of the

414 was a single Vickers 40mm

cannon fitted in the nose. This

could be elevated upwards to an

angle of 45° or trained 20° to either

side. If the gunner held his aim on a

target, a predictor apparatus would

automatically keep the powerful

weapon lined up.

In April 1940, Pierson produced

a new brochure for the Type 432,

a single-seat high-altitude fighter.

This was more conventionally armed

with eight 20mm Hispano cannon.

The new design replaced the 414,

and two prototypes (DZ217 and

DZ223) were ordered on September

9, 1941 to Specification F7/41.

HIGH-FLYER

It was intended to fit the Type 432

with a pressure cabin for the pilot.

This would make it capable of

maintaining conditions appropriate

to 25,000ft while flying at up to

42,000ft. Two Rotol blowers, one

driven by each engine, supplied

the pressurisation.

A second stand-out feature was the

wing structure for which the torsion

box used a form of construction

known as the ‘lobster claw’. The

span-wise spar booms resembled the

crustacean’s appendage, and these

were accommodated in a thickened

section incorporated into the skin.

This strengthened structure

eliminated the need for ribs and

spars. The thickened span-related

parts of the covering, along with

heavy-gauge skinning, gave

sufficient resilience.

PROTOTYPE VICKERS TYPE 432

Powerplant: Two 1,520hp

(1,133kW) Rolls-

Royce Merlin 61

liquid-cooled

engines.

Span: 56ft 10.5in (17.34m).

Length: 39ft 3in (11.96m).

Gross wing area: 450sq ft (41.85m^2 ).

Max weight: 19,721lb (8,945kg).

Max recorded speed: 380mph (612km/h)

at 15,000ft (4,572m).

Armament: Six 20mm Hispano

cannon.

VICKERS 432

Above

A model, made by Joe

Cherrie of the Vickers

414, armed with a nose-

mounted 40mm cannon.

ALL VIA AUTHOR

Above right

Probably the most

well-known photo of

the Vickers Type 432

prototype DZ217, showing

off its unique wing shape.

This is presumed to have

been taken on November

11, 1943.