Armstrong Whitworth FK8

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Armstrong Whitworth FK8
Armstrong Whitworth FK8 - April 1917
Type: Bomber / reconnaissance aircraft
Design country:

United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

Manufacturer:

Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft

First flight:

May 1916

Number of pieces:

around 1650

The FK8 Big Ack was a British military aircraft at the time of the First World War .

history

The Dutch aircraft designer Frederick Koolhoven had already gained extensive experience at the French company Deperdussin before he became chief designer at the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong-Whitworth Ltd. has been.

It was there in 1915 that he constructed the two-seater double-decker multipurpose aircraft FK3 (F and K stand for Koolhooven's initials). Since the machine, mostly used as a reconnaissance aircraft, turned out to be successful, it was further developed into the FK8.

Compared to its predecessor, the FK8, which was completed in May 1916, was slightly larger; in comparison with other models of that time, the large ailerons and rudders are striking. In January 1917, the first machines came to the British front-line squadrons in France, where they were used until the end of the war as reconnaissance aircraft, observation aircraft and fire control aircraft, as day and night bombers and as attack aircraft. The FK8 was considered to be a powerful and powerful aircraft that could also take on fighter planes.

By July 1918, around 1,650 FK8s had been built in two plants. As of October 31, 1918, there were still 694 FK8s in the British squadrons, of which around 200 were in France. After the First World War, numerous machines in Great Britain and Australia were used for civilian tasks.

Military use

Flag of Hejaz 1920.svg Kingdom of Hejaz
2 copies
Paraguay 1842Paraguay Paraguay
  • Fuerza Aérea Paraguaya
United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
length 9.58 m
span 13.26 m
height 3.33 m
Wing area 50.17 m²
Empty mass 869 kg
maximum take-off mass 1275 kg
Engine a water-cooled 6-cylinder in- line engine Beardmore 120 hp, 120 hp starting power
Top speed 150 km / h at 2,438 m
153 km / h near the ground
Rise time at 610 m: 3 min 30 s
at 1980 m: 19 min
Service ceiling 3962 m
maximum flight time 3 h
Armament 2 MG 7.7 mm (Vickers or Lewis), 73 kg bombs
crew 2

See also

literature

  • Lennart Andersson: Wings Over the Desert. Aviation on the Arabian Peninsula. Part One Saudi Arabia. In: Air Enthusiast. No. 112, July / August 2004, ISSN  0143-5450 , pp. 39-43.
  • JM Bruce: The Airplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). Putnam and Company, London 1982, ISBN 0-370-30084-X .
  • Francis K. Mason: The British Bomber Since 1914. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1994, ISBN 0-85177-861-5 .
  • Kenneth Munson: Aircraft of World War I. Ian Allan, London 1967, ISBN 0-7110-0356-4 .
  • Oliver Tapper: Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft since 1913. Putnam, London 1988, ISBN 0-85177-826-7 .
  • John WR Taylor: Armstrong Whitworth FK8. In: Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. GP Putnam's Sons, New York 1969, ISBN 0-425-03633-2 .

Web links

Commons : Armstrong Whitworth FK8  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andersson Air Enthusiast. July / August 2004, pp. 39-40.