Armstrong Whitworth AW154
| Armstrong Whitworth AW154 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Armstrong Whitworth AW154 Argosy Mk I (1926) |
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| Type: | Biplane airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
Spring 1926 |
| Commissioning: |
1926 |
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy AW154 was a three-engined British biplane - airliner that flew in 1926 for the first time and by the end of 1935 both on routes in Europe as in Africa was used. With it, Imperial Airways opened the world's first named luxury flight service ("Silver Wing") with a flight attendant and a bar between London and Paris on May 1, 1927 . The last Argosy was decommissioned and scrapped in 1936. In its time, the aircraft was not known under the manufacturer's designation AW154, but commonly as Argosy . This visually not necessarily very attractive and slow machine was on the other hand considered a very safe passenger aircraft.
history
prehistory
After its founding on April 1, 1924, the British airline Imperial Airways took over an aircraft fleet from its predecessor companies, mainly Daimler Airway , which included a considerable number of single-engine aircraft from De Havilland . Right from the start, the new aviation company decided to only purchase multi-engine aircraft types in future, thereby expressing that flight safety was the top priority for them. The British aircraft industry then began to develop the corresponding machines. This new procurement policy was first used with the multi-engine designs of the Armstrong Whitworth AW154 Argosy and the De Havilland DH.66 Hercules . The Argosy was Armstrong Whitworth's first product in the airliner market. This aircraft type was specially developed for overseas sections of the Empire routes by Imperial Airways , from which the airline acquired a total of seven aircraft.
Argosy Mk I.
The first Argosy had its maiden flight in the spring of 1926 with the aircraft registration G-EBLF ; it came from a pilot series of three machines. It was later named City of Glasgow and was delivered to the airline the following September 1926. The machines of this first series were called Argosy Mk I (also: Argosy I ). The Argosy was not very flattering in appearance, but it was supposed to be a slow but very safe commercial aircraft . The Argosy was initially used on routes in Europe and later as far as South Africa , all machines being named after famous cities.
The second aircraft, G-EBLO City of Birmingham , was used on the prestige route London - Paris on August 5, 1926, before the first Argosy was commissioned . The aircraft type was later used on a trial basis on routes to Basel , Brussels , Cologne and Thessaloniki .
The third Argosy, G-EBOZ, was named City of Wellington , later City of Arundel , initially also operated in Europe, later around 1930 temporarily mainly on routes in Africa and Asia Minor and from the end of 1931 together with G- EBLO back on the European route network.
The first three as Argosy Mk aircraft designated I were driving from her three Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III 14- cylinder - double radial engines without charging each with 385 hp (280 kW Equipped). These engines were considered tried and tested and also proved to be very reliable in the Argosy.
On May 1, 1927, Imperial Airways opened a luxurious flight connection from London to Paris with Argosy aircraft, which was the first in the world to have a name - "Silver Wing" - (= Silver Wing) and with a flight attendant on board. For this purpose, the two rear passenger seats were removed and a bar installed. The first machine used in this way was the G-EBLO City of Birmingham . A flight from London to Paris took about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Argosy Mk II
In the first half of 1929, the airline received the second batch of four Argosy aircraft, which were called Argosy Mk II (also: Argosy II ). They were equipped with three improved Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA double radial engines with reduction gears, each with an output of 420 hp (approx. 310 kW ) and Townend hood rings , which were housed in conical gondolas. To improve stability, the wings were given handley-page slots (fixed slats or slots), and the number of passengers could be increased to up to 28 in close seating (for European services). The three machines were G-AACH City of Edinburgh , G-AACI City of Liverpool and G-AACH City of Manchester . G-AAEJ City of Coventry was added later as a fourth machine .
In 1930 all Argosy I engines were upgraded to the standard Argosy II. Two of these planes flew overseas the Cairo - Khartoum section of the South African line; G-EBLO had to be written off in June 1931 after an emergency landing in Aswan (Egypt) because of a total write-off, previously G-AACH had already had an accident in Croydon near London in April 1931 during a training flight and was destroyed in the process. In both cases, none of the inmates were injured. G-EBLF then flew as a replacement for G-EBLO, but at the end of 1931 this machine, along with G-EBOZ, was used again on European routes. Another Argosy accident occurred in March 1933 when G-AACI caught fire over Dixmude (Belgium) and crashed, killing the entire three-man crew and all 12 passengers. Overall, there was only one fatal accident with the Argosy.
In the same year 1933 the new four-engine Handley Page HP42 Heracles (HP42W) appeared on the European main routes ("Trunk Routes") and the four remaining Argosy were decommissioned at Imperial Airways at the end of 1934. An Argosy was sold to United Airways early the following year .
End of career
In 1935, three of the four remaining aircraft were scrapped, and the fourth followed in the late summer of 1936 after being used for pleasure flights by United Airways ( renamed British Airways in early 1936 ) in Blackpool for a short period of just over a year .
description
All Argosy aircraft were designed as large, braced double-deckers and had a triple tail unit, also with two levels, and a fixed rear wheel landing gear without fairings. The design as a double-decker with large wings ensured, on the one hand, due to the low wing loading and the large control surfaces, good flight characteristics and good controllability, but together with the non-supercharged double radial engines of the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III type with 385 HP ( later Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA equipped with 420 hp and a Townend hood ring ) and the fixed chassis - considerable air resistance . This so-called "built-in headwind" made the Argosy an aircraft with rather modest flight performance , both the top speed of 177 km / h and the climb rate were extremely low. The two-person crew consisting of the commander and copilot / navigator sat next to each other in an open cockpit , the continuous closed cabin accommodated up to 20 passengers, in the second series up to 28 in close seating especially for European services. A toilet and luggage compartment were located in the rear of the fuselage.
The color scheme of the Argosys at Imperial Airways was initially from 1926 ivory with edges set off in royal blue and in some cases also the engine nacelles, the front panel behind the central radial engine was mostly silver to chrome , but sometimes also ivory like the rest of the fuselage. Later, from around 1931, the machines used in Europe were mainly dark blue with medium gray wings.
variants
- Argosy Mk I - three Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III double radial engines with 385 hp (approx. 280 kW ), later converted to Jaguar IVA engines - 3 built
- Argosy Mk II - three double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA with 420 HP (approx. 310 kW ) - 4 built
operator
The Armstrong Siddeley Argosy was only flown by UK airlines:
- Imperial Airways
- United Airways , later British Airways (this has no connection with modern British Airways)
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Argosy Mk.I | Argosy Mk.II |
|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | |
| Passengers | 18-20 | 18-28 |
| length | 20.07 m | |
| span | 27.63 m | |
| height | 6.05 m | |
| Wing area | 176 m² | |
| Empty mass | 5495 kg | |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 8164 kg | |
| Cruising speed | 145 km / h | |
| Top speed | 177 km / h (110 ml, 96 kn) | |
| Service ceiling | 4000 m | |
| Range | 530 km | 652 km |
| Engines | three 14- cylinder - double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III | three 14-cylinder double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA |
| power | 3 × 385 PS (approx. 280 kW ) | 3 × 420 PS (approx. 310 kW ) |
See also
Web links
- Picture of the first AW Argosy 1926 over London and color plate of another in later colors (French)
- Pictures of the cabin of the AW Argosy in versions for Europe and Africa (French)
- Color plate of the first machine built (Argosy Mk I) G-EBLF (1926)
- Artist 's impression of an Argosy Mk I of Imperial Airways (G-EBLF)
- Artist's impression of an Argosy Mk I of Imperial Airways in the early paint scheme
Individual evidence
- ↑ MJH Taylor (Ed.): Jane's Encyclopedia of Aircraft . Jane's Publishing Company, 1980.
- ↑ AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft since 1919. Volume 1, 2nd Edition, Putnam & Co. 1973, ISBN 0-370-10006-9