Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter

Westland Aircraft

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1915
Headquarters	United Kingdom

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter represented an effort to create a fighter equipped with a large-calibre automatic weapon. The aircraft was armed with the Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) 37 mm automatic cannon, which had been specifically designed for this application several years prior.

Design and development

This aircraft was developed in response to the Air Ministry specification F.29/27. It featured a single-engine, open cockpit metal monoplane structure with fabric covering. An earlier iteration of this design had been submitted for specification F.20/27 as the Westland Interceptor, but it was ultimately outperformed by the Gloster Gauntlet. The gun was installed within the fuselage and angled upwards, enabling attacks on enemy bombers from beneath—a concept akin to the German Schräge Musik system employed during World War II. The prototype's maiden flight occurred late in 1930; however, the subsequent evaluations failed to produce results sufficient to justify further development.

The COW cannon itself was developed by 1918 for aerial applications and had previously undergone testing on the Airco DH.4.

Specifications (C.O.W. Gun Fighter)

{{Aircraft specs |ref= Westland Aircraft since 1915

|prime units?=imp |crew=1 |length ft=29 |length in=10 |length note= |span ft=40 |span in=10 |span note= |height ft=10 |height in=7 |height note= |wing area sqft=223 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil=RAF 34 |empty weight lb=2615 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=3885 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Bristol Mercury IIIA |eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine |eng1 hp=485 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note= |max speed mph=185 |max speed note=at 13,000 ft (3,962 m) |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |range miles= |range note= |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=27900 |ceiling note=

• Absolute ceiling: 29,400 ft (8,961 m)

|climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=10,000 ft (3,048 m) in 7 minutes |wing loading lb/sqft=17.4 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass=0.12 hp/lb (0.20 kW/kg) |}

• Armament:* One fixed upward-firing 37 mm (1½ lb) COW 37 mm gun with a total of 39 rounds available

Bibliography

• James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-847-X.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

External links

• Westland COW Gun Fighter – Directory of British Aircraft
• Westland history Archived 23 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 February 2007
• http://users.skynet.be/Emmanuel.Gustin/history/NoAllowance.html Archived 18 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 February 2007