Armstrong Whitworth Siskin

1924 GOLDEN AGE WORLD WAR 2

• 1 The Story of Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
• 2 Development
• 3 Variants
• 4 Tour
• 5 Running
• 6 Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Specification
  • 6.1 Basic
  • 6.2 Production
  • 6.3 Roles
  • 6.4 Dimensions
  • 6.5 Weight
  • 6.6 Performance
  • 6.7 Performance
  • 6.8 Armor
  • 6.9 Changes

The Story of Armstrong Whitworth Siskin

The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin (siskin is a yellowish finches) was the main aircraft of many RAF pilots in their heyday. It represented one of the earliest British aircraft designs in the post-war (post World War I) world and became the country's first "all-metal" fighter jet. It proved itself to be a capable fighter in the 1920s and even stood its ground in the 1930s before being replaced by more modern equipment.

The aircraft served several overseas countries and became a popular acrobatic platform and racing car during the "golden years" of aviation in the 1920s.

Development

The origins of Siskin can be traced back to the RAF Type 1 specification, which called for an overly optimistic 320 hp ABC Dragonfly radial piston engine - ABC Motors Limited ("ABC" stands for "All England Engines"). The Dragonfly found its origins as a product developed in the last years of the First World War. The engine proved to be optimistic, promising to deliver outstanding performance to take the new generation of Hunters to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, Libelle proved to be very unreliable and moody, performing well below the advertised figures. The engine was eventually scrapped when all its shortcomings could not be fully addressed.

The Siskin evolved from the Siddeley-Deasy SR 2 Siskin aircraft designed by Major F. M. Green. Greene worked as chief engineer at the Royal Aircraft Works and is now part of the Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company. The Siddeley-Deasy brand is not limited to the production of automobiles, but is also involved in the manufacture of engines and aircraft. Headquartered in Coventry, the company was founded by Henry Hugh Peter Deasy. When Deasy left the company in 1908, JD Siddeley joined and changed the company's name to Siddeley-Deasy.

The company has since evolved into Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft (formally known as Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Co. Ltd after its merger with Armstrong Whitworth in 1920), which has since been responsible for most of Siskin's production.

The first all-wood Siskin first flew in May 1919, powered by the ill-fated Dragonfly engine. The aircraft itself proved to be a capable mount, although the engine left a lot to be desired. As such, the 325 hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was chosen to replace the Dragonfly in future Siskin flights.

The new Siskin first flew on March 20, 1921.

By this time, the Air Ministry had decided to develop all-metal fighter jets for their future needs - fearing that another war could lead to a shortage of timber, affecting the UK's ability to produce timber fighter jets. For this reason, the 1923 Siskin was redesigned to incorporate an all-metal aluminum alloy inner frame.

The new design was named the Siskin III and flew for the first time on May 7, 1923. The Royal Air Force (RAF) noticed and ordered six such systems for evaluation. Tests took place in January 1924, and the results proved so promising that the Siskin III was officially commissioned by the RAF.

The Siskin became the RAF's first all-metal fighter jet, with 64 initially produced for the RAF.

Variants

Overall, siskin is present in only a few variants. There were three Siddeley Deasy S.R.2 Siskin development aircraft, followed by two civilian Siskin II prototypes - the second became a prototype fighter model.

The series got even better with the arrival of the Siskin III, which is now an all-metal design, with 64 of them being produced for the Royal Air Force.

The last Siskin became the Siskin IIIA, with approximately 348 produced, 340 for the RAF and the remaining 8 for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The IIIA brings a longer hull and taller spine, as well as a redesigned surface. Performance specs include a top speed of 156 mph, a range of 280 miles, a service ceiling of 27,000 feet and a rate of climb of 2,953 feet per minute.

The turbocharged 1 x Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV series radial piston engine provides a good "burst" of power to over 10,000 feet with a range of about 1 hour 12 minutes. The new engine also forced the boxy body to adopt a more rounded appearance.

The Siskin IIIA can reach 10,000 feet in a little over 7 minutes (7 minutes 5 seconds).

Siskin IIIB is a one-off experimental prototype with an improved engine in the Townend ring. The Siskin IIIDC is a two-seat, dual-control training aircraft, 53 of which have been built and delivered to the RAF, Canada and Estonia. Siskin IV is an example of a civilian racer.

The Siskin V were two airframes intended for civilian use, originally intended for delivery to Romania. Romania evaluated the plane for its own needs, but pulled out of the order for 65 planes when their assessment Siskin crashed and killed their pilot.

However, the cancellation of that contract resulted in two production Siskin Vs being used in the flying races popular in the 1920s. The Siskin V won the 1925 King's Cup race with a top speed of over 151 mph.

Tour

Despite its appearance in World War I, the Siskin was an advance in British military aviation design that led directly to the fighter jet designs encountered during World War II. The air-cooled radial-piston engine was mounted at the very forward end of the fuselage, without a fairing, and powered by a two-bladed propeller.

The fuselage itself, although the internal structure is all metal, is still covered with dense cloth, which originally had a plate-like and boxy appearance. This later gave way to a more rounded design due to the installation of an all-new engine.

As a biplane, the Siskin has an upper and lower straight wing configuration with unequal spans and a slight V shape. Arranged in a separate bracket and equipped with V-shaped struts, the wings are further supported to the fuselage by additional struts located in front of the cockpit.

The cockpit itself, located slightly aft of the engine, is open air, with only the windshield and shoulder-height side panels to protect the pilot. It must have been a very frigid experience for the pilot, considering the plane could have hit the ceiling more than 20,000 feet. The rear of the fuselage is covered by a conventional fin with a circular vertical fin and applicable horizontal plane.

The landing gear was fixed and consisted of two single-wheeled main gear legs with a simple empennage at the stern.

Weapons are 2 x . 303 (7.7mm) Vickers brand machine gun, fired synchronously through the breaker gear by rotating the propeller. They are mounted on the forward fuselage in front of the pilot's windshield.

The solid Siskin fuselage can be loaded with ammunition and can include 4 x 20lb bombs under the wings (two per wing).

Running

1st, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 29th, 32nd, 41st, 43rd, 54th, 56th and 111st Squadrons used Siskins in British service. The 41st Squadron was the first to receive the type (basically the Siskin III) in May 1924 and operated out of Northolt, with the 111th Squadron following closely. The Siskin IIIA is now in service and proved to be a formidable RAF mount before being replaced by the greatly improved Bristol Bulldog in October 1932.

The Bulldog was another full metal/fabric covered biplane introduced in 1929. Regardless, Siskin made up a large part of the RAF combat force during her tenure.

Siskin flew with the No. 1 Squadron while serving in Canada. Canada initially evaluated two Siskin III models and eventually ordered 12 IIA systems from 1926 to 1931. The evaluation version was first field tested with two British borrowed aircraft to validate flight operations in a winter environment.

Canada's use of Siskin spanned from 1926 to an astonishing 1939. The Siskin was eventually replaced by the more modern Hawker Hurricane in 1939.

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes