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The Westland Westbury was a British twin-engined fighter prototype of 1926. Designed by Westland Aircraft it never entered service but played a useful role in the testing of the COW 37 mm gun. Only the two prototypes were completed. ==Development== In 1924 the British Air Ministry issued specification 4/24 for a twin-engined home defence fighter, which would be employed to defend Britain against night attacks by enemy heavy bombers. The aircraft had to have a top speed of at least 125 mph (201 km/h) and a landing speed of not more than 50 mph (80 km/h). In September 1925 the Air Staff amended the specification to specify the use of the 37-mm COW gun and supercharged engines. From the design proposals submitted by the manufacturers, two types were selected for prototypes development, the Bristol Bagshot and the Westland Westbury.〔Meekcoms, K.J., and Morgan, E.B; The British Aircraft Specifications File. Air-Britain, UK, 1994.〕 Two airframes were ordered from Westland, allotted serial numbers J7765 and J7766. The Westbury was a twin-engined three-bay biplane of conventional layout, large for its day irrespective of type and remarkably so for a fighter. The first prototype, J5565 was of all-wooden construction, while the second, J7766, had a mixed construction wing with a duralumin mainspar and wooden ribs. All surfaces were covered with fabric. The wings were of equal span, with three pairs of struts on each side and wire bracing. The fuselage was deep, of rectangular cross-section, and had a blunt nose. The crew of three had open cockpits in the nose (front gunner), in front of the wing (pilot) and aft of the wing (rear gunner). The landing gear was fixed. The Bristol Jupiter VI air-cooled radial engines were installed without cowls on nacelles that were attached on top of the lower wing, at the innermost pair of struts. Each drove a two-bladed propeller. The first aircraft J7765 was delivered to the A&AEE at RAF Martlesham Heath in 1926 and 1927. J7766, delivered the following year, was distinguished by having engine nacelles that extended aft of the trailing edge of the wing, the wing with duralumin spars and a metal-covered wing centre section, and a more rounded nose shape.〔Mason, Tim. British Flight Testing Martlesham Heath 1920-1939. Putnam, UK, 1993〕 The modified nose and nacelle shapes were also introduced on the first prototype.〔Green, William, and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. Greenwich Editions, UK 2004.〕 Although the Westbury was judged to have good flying characteristics, and the competing Bristol Bagshot monoplane had serious structural problems,〔 it was not put into production. It was clear that the performance of the Westbury was insufficient to make it a useful fighter aircraft. However, it did serve for several years as an armament trials platform, mostly for the 37 mm COW gun. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Westland Westbury」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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