Vickers Vildebeest

The Vickers Vildebeest was a very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplane designed and built by Vickers and used as a light bomber and torpedo bomber. First flown in 1928, it remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last Vildebeests flying against Japanese forces over Singapore and Java in 1942.
==Design and development==
Designed against Air Ministry Specification 24/25 for the Royal Air Force]] (RAF), for a land-based torpedo bomber to replace the Hawker Horsley, the prototype Vildebeest, an all-metal fuselage aircraft with single-bay unstaggered fabric-covered wings and tail, was first flown in April 1928 as the Vickers Type 132, powered by a Bristol Jupiter VIII radial engine.Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5. p. 200.
After initial evaluation, the Vildebeest was shortlisted for comparison with the Blackburn Beagle and Handley Page Hare. As the Jupiter VIII was prone to vibration, a second prototype, the Vickers Type 204Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Vildebeest and Vincent". Aeroplane Monthly Volume 23, No. 2, Issue 262, February 1995, pp. 16–22. ISSN 0143-7240. p. 18. was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA engine and after further testing, the Vickers design was confirmed as the winner of the contestMason 1994, pp. 200–201. but engine problems persisted until the type was tested with a new version of the Jupiter, which later became known as the Bristol Pegasus. An initial production order was placed in 1931 for nine aircraft, with the first production aircraft flying in September 1932.Mason 1994, p. 201.
Further production ensued, with an improved version fitted with a 635 hp (474 kW) Pegasus IIM3 entering service but after only 30 examples had been produced the Air Ministry requested a modification (Specification 15/34) which added a third crew position, thus creating the Vildebeest Mk III, of which 150 examples being built for the RAF.Mondey, David. Hamlyn Concise Guide to the British Aircraft of World War II. Chancellor, 1982. ISBN 1851526684 pp. 213–214.
The Mark IV introduced the much more powerful 825 hp (615 kW) Bristol Perseus sleeve valve radial engine enclosed in a NACA cowling which significantly improved performance, increasing maximum speed to 156 mph (251 km/h) and rate of climb to 840 ft/min (4.3 m/s).Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan, E.B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1., p. 285. In this version, the Perseus had overheating problems and was deemed unsuitable for tropical serviceJarrett Aeroplane Monthly February 1995, pp. 19–20. with production limited to 18 aircraft, all of which served with the home based squadrons.Mason 1994, p. 202.
==Operational history==
===United Kingdom===
The Vildebeest was purchased in moderately large numbers by the Royal Air Force from 1931 and used as a torpedo bomber. It entered service with No. 100 Squadron at RAF Donibristle in Scotland in October 1932, replacing the Hawker Horsley.Thetford Aeroplane Monthly April 1995, p. 37. Four frontline torpedo-bomber squadrons were equipped with the Vildebeest, two at Singapore (100 Squadron, which moved from the United Kingdom in 1933 and 36 Squadron, which replaced its Horsleys in 1935), and two more in the United Kingdom.Thetford, Owen. "By Day and By Night: Vildebeests in Service". Aeroplane Monthly, Volume 23, No. 4, Issue 264, April 1995, pp. 36–42. ISSN 0143-7240. p. 42. 
At the outbreak of the Second World War, 101 Vildebeests were still in service with the RAF. The two British-based squadrons flew coastal patrol and convoy escort missions until 1940 when their Vildebeests were replaced by the Bristol Beaufort.Thetford Aeroplane Monthly April 1995, p. 38.
The two Singapore-based squadrons were still waiting for their Beauforts when Japan invaded Malaya in December 1941 and the obsolete biplanes had to be deployed against the Japanese attackers, making an abortive torpedo attack on a Japanese cruiser off Kota Bharu on 8 December.Richards, Denis and Hilary St. G. Saunders. Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume II The Fight Avails. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1954. p. 20. The Vildebeests continued to attack the Japanese as their forces advanced down Malaya, sustaining heavy losses from Japanese fighters, particularly when no fighter cover could be provided. On 26 January 1942, the Japanese landed at Endau, 250 miles from Singapore, and 12 Vildebeests of 100 and 36 Squadrons were sent to attack the landings. Despite an escort of Brewster Buffalo and Hawker Hurricane fighters, five Vildebeests were lost. The attack was repeated later that day by eight Vildebeests of 36 Squadron and three Fairey Albacores, resulting in six more Vildebeests and two Albacores being shot down.Richards and Saunders 1954, p. 37.Flight 28 October 1955, pp. 675–676.
The surviving Vildebeests were withdrawn to Java on 31 January and attacked another Japanese landing force off Rembang, claiming eight ships sunk but sustaining further losses. The final two Vildebeests of 36 Squadron attempted to escape to Burma on 6 March but were lost over Sumatra. The last Vildebeests in RAF service, operated by 273 Squadron at Ceylon were retired in March 1942.Thetford Aeroplane Monthly April 1995, pp. 38–39.
===Spain===
The Vildebeest was ordered by the Spanish Republic in 1932 and licence production of 25 Vildebeest for the Spanish Republican Navy was undertaken in Spain by CASA most receiving the Hispano-Suiza HS 600 inline engine, though some other engines were also used. Around 20 survived to fight with the Spanish Republican Air Force on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, some equipped with floats.
A Vildebeest was the first victim of Francoist ace Joaquin Garcia-Morato.Zhirohov, Mihail. "Joaquin Garcia-Morato: Best Ace of Spanish Civil War." WW II Ace Stories, 7 September 2007. Retrieved: 1 July 2009.
===New Zealand===
12 Vildebeests were purchased by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1935 for coastal defence, with a further 27 acquired from RAF stocks in 1940–41."Vickers Type 277 Vildebeest MkIII." Air Force Museum of New Zealand. Retrieved: 25 June 2009. In addition, 60 or 62 of these machines, (depending on source), were passed on to the RNZAF.Thetford Aeroplane Monthly March 1995, p. 22.
New Zealand Vildebeests were also used for photo mapping. A few were used for maritime patrols against German surface raiders, and Japanese submarines, (a handful were based in Fiji in December 1941), but the main wartime role of the New Zealand aircraft was as particularly unwieldy pilot trainers, until replaced by North American Harvards in 1942.
==Notes==
==Sources==
Category:British
Category:Multiple crew members
Category:Single piston engine
Category:Torpedo bomber
Category:Between the wars
Category:World War 2
Category:Vickers Limited
Category:Biplane