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Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar

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Top speed
  
356 km/h

Length
  
7.62 m

First flight
  
1935

Wingspan
  
10 m

Introduced
  
1936

Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Manufacturer
  
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.35 Scimitar was a British single-engine biplane fighter aircraft designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Four Scimitars were produced for the Norwegian Army Air Service and were delivered in 1936.

Contents

Design and development

The A.W.35 Scimitar was a development of Armstrong Whitworth's earlier Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 fighter, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Panther engine, with a lowered nose decking and an enlarged fin and rudder. The first prototype (G-ACCD) was a modification of the second A.W.16, and first flew in this form on 29 April 1935. A second prototype (G-ADBL) was constructed by conversion of an A.W.16.

Operational history

Four Scimitars were ordered for the Norwegian Army Air Service. After testing of two of the production aircraft by the A & AEE at Martlesham Heath in late 1935, they were delivered to Norway in 1936. When the Germans invaded in 1940 the Scimitars were all undergoing maintenance and could not be made operational in time to see combat.

The second prototype Scimitar was preserved by Armstrong Whitworth at its Whitley factory until 1958, when it was scrapped.

Operators

 Norway
  • Norwegian Army Air Service
  • Specifications (A.W.35)

    Data from The British Fighter since 1912

    General characteristics

  • Crew: One
  • Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
  • Wingspan: 33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
  • Height: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
  • Wing area: 261 ft² (24.3 m²)
  • Empty weight: 2,956 lb (1,341 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 4,100 lb (1,860 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Panther X 14-cylinder radial engine, 735 hp (548 kW)
  • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 192 kn (221 mph, 356 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 161 kn (185 mph, 298 km/h)
  • Wing loading: 15.7 lb/ft² (76.8 kg/m²)
  • Power/mass: 0.179 hp/lb (0.294 kW/kg)
  • Climb to 10,000 ft: 5 min 15 sec
  • Armament

  • 2 × forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
  • References

    Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar Wikipedia