![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
IV/Wessex | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Westland Wessex of SABENA. This aircraft was originally built as a Westland IV, registered as G-AAJI, then upgraded to a Wessex and sold to SABENA as OO-AGC, then later sold to Cobham Air Routes and registered again as G-ABAJ. | |
General information | |
Type | Light transport aircraft |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Westland Aircraft |
Designer | Arthur Davenport, Robert Bruce [1] |
Primary user | Sabena |
Number built | 10 |
History | |
First flight | 22 February 1929 |
The Westland IV and Westland Wessex were British high wing, three-engined light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft.
In 1928, Westland began work on a small three-engined airliner, suitable for low volume, "feeder-liner" type operation, as a follow-on to its single-engined Westland Limousine transport. The new type was known as the Limousine IV early in development, which soon became the name Westland IV. [1] [2] The Westland IV was a high-winged monoplane with a mainly wooden structure. The fuselage was of square section and built around spruce longerons and ash frames, with internal wire bracing and fabric covering. The wings had wooden box spars and spruce wing ribs in a Warren girder arrangement and were braced to the fuselage by streamlined struts. The aircraft had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. [3]
The Westland IV first flew on 21 February 1929 at which time it was powered by the 95 hp (71 kW) Cirrus engine. This prototype was registered as G-EBXK and was certified for a crew of two and four passengers. The second machine had Hermes engines and a metal rear fuselage. The third machine, G-ABAJ, was modified to take the 105 hp (78 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major engines as well as some other changes and became the prototype Westland Wessex. The two Westland IVs were subsequently converted to Wessexes giving 10 aircraft in total.
The Wessex was noted for its reliability and ability to make short landing runs. This made it attractive to Sir Alan Cobham in 1935 when he was looking for a small airliner to use for a service between Guernsey and the British mainland. Previously, flying boats had provided a service between Portsmouth and St Peter Port on the island. There was no public airfield at the time on Guernsey, only the private airfield at L'Eree run by the Guernsey Aero Club, of which Cobham was a member. The Wessex was certified as the only commercial aircraft to use L'Eree. Cobham's airline, Cobham Air Routes Ltd, used the following Wessex aircraft:
G-EBXK – Westland serial number 1771, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 21 March 1929. Originally the prototype Westland IV and retained as a demonstrator, later converted to a Wessex and sold to Cobham Air Routes Ltd in 1935 and withdrawn from use in 1936.
G-ABAJ – Westland serial number 1897, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 27 May 1930. Built as a Westland IV and registered as G-AAJI, originally intended for service in Kenya with Wilson's Airways but the order was never taken up. Instead, G-AAJI was rebuilt as a Wessex and sold to Sabena with Belgian registration OO-AGC, before being in turn sold to Cobham in 1935. This aircraft was used by Trafalgar Advertising in 1936.
G-ADEW – Westland serial number 1899, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 6 August 1930, sold to Sabena and registered as OO-AGF, then bought by Cobham in 1935. Unfortunately, this aircraft was lost in the Channel on 3 July 1935, 3 to 4 miles south of The Needles. The only passenger on board, a Mr C F Grainger, was picked up by the SS Stanmore and taken to Fowey. The pilot, W H Ogden, was presumed drowned within the aircraft and was never found. The blame was largely placed on Ogden, but was probably also due to the age of the Wessex airframes and their engines. This accident was the last straw for Sir Alan, who was struggling operationally, and he sold his airline to Olley Air Service.
G-ADFZ – Westland serial number 1900, granted its certificate of airworthiness on 30 August 1930, sold to Sabena and registered as OO-AGF, and bought by Cobham in 1935. G-ADFZ went on to work for Trafalgar Advertising with G-ABAJ, and it was decided to take G-ADFZ to Blackpool for the air display in September 1935. On 7 September 1935 it was involved in a collision over Blackpool with an Avro 504N (G-ACOD), the Wessex crashing in Cedar Square with the crew safe but all three occupants of the Avro being killed. Repaired, G-ADFZ was finally withdrawn from service on 1 December 1946.
Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III [4]
General characteristics
Performance
The Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne, better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline and flag carrier of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, SN Brussels Airlines was formed through a takeover of former subsidiary Delta Air Transport and took over part of Sabena's assets in February 2002. SN Brussels Airlines merged with Virgin Express in 2007 to form Brussels Airlines. The airline's corporate headquarters were located in the Sabena House on the grounds of Brussels Airport in Zaventem.
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft. One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.
The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine-powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same Saunders-Roe P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and is based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter. It fulfilled the requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry a useful load of two homing torpedoes.
The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War.
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outdated plywood construction.
The Handley Page Hinaidi was one of two twin-engine bombers built by Handley Page that served with the Royal Air Force between 1925 and 1935. The aircraft was developed from the Handley Page Hyderabad and named after Hinaidi, an RAF station in Iraq.
The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 was an Italian three-engine airliner that flew in the 1930s and early 1940s. The aircraft entered service in March 1935 with a production run of 48 aircraft. Four were exported to Belgium for SABENA, while seven others were produced by SABCA. The main customer was the Italian airline Ala Littoria.
The Avro Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on Avro's four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner. Customers saw the aircraft as little more than a pressurised DC-4, and few orders were forthcoming, important customers preferring to buy US aircraft. The tailwheel undercarriage layout was also dated and a disadvantage.
The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range biplane airliners designed and built by Handley Page.
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service.
The de Havilland DH.50 was a 1920s British large single-engined biplane transport built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, and licence-built in Australia, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia.
The Spartan Cruiser was a 1930s British three-engined transport monoplane for 6 to 10 passengers built by Spartan Aircraft Limited at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was a development of the Saro-Percival Mailplane for passenger use.
The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry was three-engined ten-seat biplane airliner designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited. It was the company's first powered aircraft to be produced.
The Westland Westminster was a British helicopter of the 1950s from Westland Aircraft. A large cargo design, it was powered by two turboshaft engines driving a single, five-bladed rotor. Initially unclad, the all-metal airframe was later enclosed in a fabric covering. Designed and built as a private venture without government assistance, it was cancelled when Westland took over rival helicopter producers and their more advanced projects.
The Dewoitine D.338 was a 1930s French 22-passenger airliner built by Dewoitine. The D.338 was late 1930s airliner of France and served on long-distance routes, when WW2 came it was pressed into military service.
The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian flying boat designed and built by Saunders-Roe as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the Royal Air Force for pilot and navigator training.
The Westland Widgeon was a British light aircraft of the 1920s. A single-engined parasol monoplane, the Widgeon was built in small numbers before Westland abandoned production in 1929.
The de Bruyne DB-2 Snark was a British experimental four-seat cabin monoplane designed by N. A de Bruyne and built by Aero Research Limited (ARL) of Cambridgeshire. It was built to test low weight, bakelite-bonded plywood, stressed skin wing and fuselage structures.
Cobham Air Routes was a 1930s British airline formed in 1935 to operate a service between Croydon and the Channel Islands. Following the loss of an aircraft in a fatal accident the airline was sold to Olley Air Service.
The S.A.B.C.A. S.XII or S.A.B.C.A S.12 was a four-passenger light transport aircraft with three engines and a high wing, built in Belgium in the early 1930s.