Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Avro Avocet

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Top speed
  
214 km/h

Length
  
7.47 m

Manufacturer
  
Avro

Wingspan
  
8.84 m

First flight
  
1927

Designer
  
Roy Chadwick

Avro Avocet httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The Avro Type 584 Avocet was a British single-engined naval fighter prototype, designed and built by Avro. While the Avocet was not built in numbers, one of the prototypes was used as a seaplane trainer for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) High Speed Flight.

Contents

Design and development

The Avro 584 Avocet was designed by Avro's chief designer, Roy Chadwick to meet the requirements of Specification 17/25 for a Naval fighter. It was a single-engined, all-metal biplane, powered by a 230 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine, having interchangeable wheels and floats. Although it did not have folding wings, it was designed to be easily dismantled for storage onboard ship.

Two prototypes were built, the first flying as a landplane in December 1927 and the second prototype flying as a seaplane in April 1928. Both prototypes were evaluated for the Fleet Air Arm at RAF Martlesham Heath, where, owing to the low-powered engine, their performance was seen to be unimpressive, and it was not ordered into production.

Operational history

Although no production occurred, the second prototype was used by the RAF's High Speed Flight at Calshot as a seaplane trainer for Schneider Trophy pilots.

Operators

 United Kingdom
  • Royal Air Force
  • High Speed Flight RAF
  • Specifications (Avocet (Wheeled undercarriage))

    Data from The British Fighter since 1912

    General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.50 m)
  • Wingspan: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 8⅜ in (3.57 m)
  • Wing area: 308 ft² (28.6 m²)
  • Empty weight: 1,612 lb (733 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 2,495 lb (1,134 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV seven cylinder radial, 230 hp (172 kW)
  • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 133 mph (116 kn, 214 km/h)
  • Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
  • Wing loading: 8.10 lb/ft² (40 kg/m²)
  • Power/mass: 0.092 hp/lb (0.15 kW/kg)
  • Armament

  • 2 × fixed .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
  • References

    Avro Avocet Wikipedia