Vickers Venom The Vickers Type 279 Venom was a low - wing monoplane single - seat , single - engined , eight - gun fighter , powered by a radial engine . It was fast and maneuverable , but its engine lacked the power and development potential of its Merlin - powered competitors . Only one was built . Design and development . The Vickers Venom was designed to meet Air Ministry specification F . 5 / 34 which called for a single - seat eight - gun aircraft with the high maximum speed and rate of climb needed to catch 200 mph ( 320 km / h ) bombers flying at 15 , 000 ft ( 4 , 600 m ) . The aircraft would have to use a radial engine as it was intended to be used overseas in hot climates . Vickers based their entrant on the earlier Type 151 Jockey fighter , using the same wing and tail aerofoil sections and dimensions , but replacing the Wibault - Vickers corrugated construction of the Jockey with a modern stressed skin structure . The Venom ( originally known as the Jockey Mk II ) was a low - wing monoplane , with square tipped constant chord wings and tailplane . The fin , too , was square tipped , but the rather angular appearance did not extend to the fuselage , which tapered rearwards from the engine ' s long chord cowling back to the tail . The pilot sat over the wing in a perspex enclosed cockpit , which had unusual additional windows in the fuselage for an enhanced side and downwards view . The inverted U - shaped fairing behind the cockpit extended back to the base of the fin . The fuselage was an alloy skinned monocoque structure of polygonal section , and the thicker plates of the wings were also stressed , taking the drag loads . The wings carried 90° flaps and there was a wide track , inward retracting main undercarriage plus a small fixed tailwheel . Both the flaps and undercarriage were electrically operated . The deep RAF 34 wing section eased the installation of the required eight Browning machine guns . The Venom was powered by a 625 hp ( 466 kW ) Bristol Aquila AE - 3S sleeve valve radial engine , hinge - mounted so it could be swung sideways for easy maintenance . The Aquila drove a three - bladed propeller . Joseph " Mutt " Summers flew the Venom on her first flight , 17 June 1936 . Unlike the Hurricane and Spitfire , the Venom was fitted with full armament from its first flight . Testing and evaluation . Publicly unveiled at the 1936 Society of British Aircraft Constructors ( SBAC ) display , the Venom appeared in natural polished metal and silver dope on the fabric control surfaces , with private venture registration markings : PVO - 10 . In testing , the Venom performed well on the limited power of the Aquila , achieving a maximum speed of 312 mph ( 502 km / h ) and possessing an excellent climb rate . The compact radial engine gave the Venom a better rate of roll and turn than its long nosed watercooled competitors , but it was soon clear the potential power from the Merlin was greater than was likely to be available from the Aquila in the near future , with only limited development of this engine being undertaken , while no other engines were available suitable for fitting in such a small airframe . Jeffrey Quill flew the Venom from Eastleigh , mixing it with Spitfires , but the Venom ' s flying was limited by engine problems . Later flying with RAF roundel s and marked with " 3 " on the fuselages sides , the Venom was painted a cream colour for exhibition purposes . The need to concentrate on the Spitfire led to the scrapping of the sole Venom prototype in 1939 , after a crash in testing .