Vickers Jockey

Vickers

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1828
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Aircraft, including Vickers Type 151 Jockey

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The Vickers Type 151 Jockey was a prototype interceptor fighter featuring a low-wing monoplane design and powered by a radial engine. It underwent modification to become the Type 171 Jockey II, which incorporated a more powerful powerplant along with various refinements. Only one unit was constructed; it was lost before full development could be completed, but the insights gained from its testing contributed to the creation of the improved Venom.

Development

During the late 1920s, the concept of an interceptor fighter was emerging to counteract bombers capable of higher altitudes and greater speeds. Such fighters required rapid climb rates and high-speed performance at altitude. The Air Ministry sought to identify the optimal aircraft configuration by issuing specification F.20/27, inviting manufacturers to produce biplanes as well as monoplanes with low and high wings. Vickers was tasked with developing a low-wing fighter prototype, informally dubbed the "Jockey" or sometimes "Jockey I". This designation encompassed both the Types 151 and 171; the term Jockey II was an early reference to what became the later Vickers Venom.

File:Vickers 151 Jockey right side.jpg

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The Type 151 Jockey was a small, angular low cantilever wing monoplane constructed using the Wibault-Vickers corrugated all-metal skinning technique previously applied on the Vireo. Its largely duralumin framework was covered by riveted, unstressed metal panels, with a few steel tubes forming critical load-bearing elements. The wing featured a parallel chord with square tips and employed the thick, high-lift RAF 34 airfoil section, as used on the Viastra. The tailplane had a rectangular shape while the vertical fin was truncated. Control surfaces were unbalanced except for the rudder. The pilot occupied an open cockpit positioned at mid-chord on the fuselage’s highest point. Initially, a 480 horsepower (360 kW) Bristol Mercury IIA nine-cylinder radial engine was installed without any cowling. The undercarriage consisted of a single axle with struts connected to both front and rear wing spars.

The Jockey conducted its maiden flight at RAF Martlesham Heath in April 1930 followed by evaluation trials.Andrews & Morgan 1988, pp. 240–1</ref> Early testing revealed vibrations in the rear fuselage initially attributed to aerodynamic causes but later identified as structural issues; these were resolved after internal bracing was redesigned by Barnes Wallis. Modifications included removal of rudder balance and addition of a trim tab, installation of spats over the undercarriage wheels, and fitting a Townend ring around the engine. When the Mercury engine was replaced by a supercharged 530 horsepower (400 kW) Bristol Jupiter VIIF, the aircraft was redesignated as Type 171 Jockey. Plans to install a supercharged Mercury IVS2 engine did not materialise due to the loss of the only Jockey in a flat spin accident on 5 July 1932 near Woodbridge, Suffolk, where the pilot successfully bailed out at approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) altitude. Despite this setback, test results were promising enough for Vickers to further develop this design into what became known as the Vickers Venom.

Variants

Type 151 Jockey

This was the initial prototype single-seat fighter, with only one unit produced (J9122).

Type 171 Jockey

A development of the Type 151 featuring a redesigned rear fuselage and equipped with a Jupiter VIIF engine housed within a Townsend ring.

Type 196 Jockey III

A single-seat fighter powered by the same engine as the Type 171. Construction began but was never finished. The registration G-AAWG was reserved by Vickers on 5 April 1933.

Specifications (Type 171)

File:Vickers 151 Jockey 3-view L'Aérophile September,1929.png

Three-view illustration of the Vickers 151 Jockey from L'Aérophile, September 1929

Bibliography

• Andrews, C. F., and E. B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. 2nd ed., Putnam, London, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
• Lumsden, Alec, and Terry Heffernan. "Probe Probare: Part 1." Aeroplane Monthly, vol. 12, no. 1, January 1983, pp. 14–17. ISSN 0143-7240.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.