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Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10

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FK.10
F.K.10
Type Fighter
Manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth
Designed by Frederick Koolhoven
Maiden flight 1916
Number built 9 (1 F.K.9 + 8 F.K.10)

The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 was a British two seat quadriplane (i.e., four wings) fighter aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth during the First World War. While it was ordered in small numbers for the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, it was not used operationally. It is one of the few quadruplane aircraft to reach production.

Development

The F.K.10 was designed in 1916 by Frederick Koolhoven,[1] the chief designer of Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft as a single engined two seat fighter. Koolhoven chose the novel quadruplane layout, also used by Pemberton-Billing (later known as Supermarine) for the P.B.29E and Supermarine Nighthawk anti-Zeppelin aircraft, and the contemporary Wight Quadruplane scout. At roughly the same time, Sopwith were building the successful Sopwith Triplane fighter.

The first prototype, the F.K.9 [2] was built and first flown in the summer of 1916, powered by a 110 hp Clerget 9Z engine. It had a shallow fuselage, with the wings joined by plank-like interplane struts,[3] similar to those used by the Sopwith Triplane. After evaluation at the Central Flying School in late 1916, a production order for 50 was placed by the RFC for a modified version, the F.K.10.[2]

The production F.K.10 had a new, deeper fuselage, and a new tail, but retained the wing planform of the F.K.9. The F.K.10 showed inferior performance to the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, which was already in service as a successful two seat fighter, and only five were built of the RFC order, with a further three built for the RNAS.[2] They were not used operationally and the design was not developed further.[3]

Variants

F.K.9
Prototype powered by 110 hp Clerget 9Z engine.
F.K.10
Production version with revised fuselage and tail, powered by 130 hp Clerget 9B or Le Rhône 9J engine. 50 ordered, 8 built.

Operators

Template:UK

Specifications (F.K.10 (130 hp Clerget))

Data from Warplanes of the First World War, Fighters Volume One, Great Britain [3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: One
  • Length: 22 ft 3 in (6.78 m)
  • Wingspan: 27 ft 10 in (8.48 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.50 m)
  • Wing area: 390 ft² (26.3 m²)
  • Empty weight: 1,236 lb (562 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 2,019 lb (918 kg)
  • Powerplant:Clerget 9B rotary engine, 130 hp (97 kW)

Performance

Armament

  • One forward firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and one .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun in observer's cockpit

  • See also

    Comparable aircraft
    Sopwith 1½ Strutter
    Bristol F.2 Fighter

    References

    1. Mason, Francis K (1992). The British Fighter since 1912. Naval Institute Press. ISBN ISBN 1-55750-082-7. 
    2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Green, W; Swanborough, G (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. Smithmark. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8. 
    3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bruce, J.M. (1965). Warplanes of the First World War, Fighters Volume One, Great Britain. London: Macdonald. 

    External links

    Virtual air museum
    British Aircraft Directory

    Template:Armstrong Whitworth aircraft

    cs:Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 de:Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 es:Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
    It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10".