Westland Wizard

Westland Aircraft

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1915
Headquarters	Yeovil , United Kingdom

The Westland Wizard represented Westland Aircraft's inaugural venture into designing a monoplane fighter. This initiative was financed privately, with the prototype's design developed during the engineers' personal time. The effort took place in 1926, focusing primarily on achieving high-speed capabilities.

Design and development

The origins of the aircraft later named the Westland Wizard trace back to 1925, when a group of Westland engineers independently drafted plans for a single-seat racing monoplane called the Westland Racer. This design featured a parasol wing configuration and employed mixed materials: a forward fuselage constructed from Duralumin and steel tubing covered with metal and fabric, complemented by a wooden and fabric rear fuselage and wooden wings. The design drew inspiration from the monoplane layout of the Westland Widgeon. After obtaining approval from company management, a prototype was built, powered by a surplus 275 hp (205 kW) Rolls-Royce Falcon III engine retrieved from the prototype Westland Limousine transport following its damage in a taxiing incident.

The Racer completed its initial flight in spring 1926. Later that year, it suffered significant damage during an emergency landing at Westland’s Yeovil facility. Subsequently, it was decided to reconstruct the aircraft as a fighter with an all-metal fuselage. The original Falcon engine was replaced by a more powerful Rolls-Royce F.XI (later known as the Kestrel) producing 490 hp (366 kW), housed in a sleeker nose section. Armament comprised two semi-external Vickers machine guns mounted on either side of the fuselage. The wooden parasol wing from the Racer was retained, positioned close to the fuselage on tandem pylons aligned along the centreline. The undercarriage was of conventional tailwheel type. The wing’s thick cross-section allowed fuel tanks to be embedded within it, conserving fuselage space while maintaining low aerodynamic drag and enabling gravity-fed fuel supply to the engine, thereby reducing fire hazards. The cockpit was aligned approximately with the wing’s trailing edge, with pilot eye level near wing height to facilitate visibility both above and below the wing. Pilot seat height could be adjusted on the ground, and rudder bar settings accommodated two positions for different pilots.

This rebuilt version, designated the Wizard, took to the air in November 1927.

The Wizard demonstrated notable speed and climb capabilities and underwent evaluation by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Martlesham Heath starting late January 1928. While test pilots commended its performance metrics, they expressed concerns regarding limited forward visibility and found the aileron control forces excessive. In summer 1928, the Wizard debuted publicly at the Royal Air Force Display held at Hendon, showcased alongside other contemporary single-seat fighters. Its sleek design and distinctive parasol monoplane configuration attracted significant attention since such layouts had not been part of RAF service since World War I when some Morane-Saulnier monoplanes were used; subsequently, RAF fighters had predominantly been biplanes or sesquiplanes.

The Air Ministry maintained interest in further development of the Wizard and awarded Westland a contract for enhancements. These included fitting an all-metal wing with increased span but reduced chord, featuring a thinner centre section to improve pilot visibility and supported by conventional cabane struts. The wing also incorporated new inset ailerons. The powerplant was upgraded to a supercharged Rolls-Royce F.XIS delivering 500 hp (373 kW). This revised model was designated as the Wizard II.

Despite these modifications, the Wizard II exhibited reduced performance compared to its predecessor and failed to convince the Air Ministry to abandon its longstanding preference for biplane fighters.

Specifications (Mk.II)

File:Westland Wizard 3-View L'Air January 1,1929.png

Three-view illustration of the Westland Wizard from L'Air, January 1, 1929

References

• James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-847-X.
• Jarrett, Philip. "Limited Editions: Westland Wizard". Aeroplane Monthly, February 1997, Vol. 25, No. 2. pp. 24–30. Template:ISSN.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
• "The Westland "Wizard": Rolls-Royce F.XI Engine". Flight International, 1 November 1928, pp. 948–950.