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Westland Wyvern

From Alfawiki
Westland Aircraft
IndustryAerospace
Founded1915
Headquarters
Yeovil
,
England, United Kingdom
ProductsAircraft, including the Westland Wyvern


Template:Infobox aircraft

The Westland Wyvern was a British single-seat, carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that operated during the 1950s and participated in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Production versions were powered by a turboprop engine driving distinctive large contra-rotating propellers, with capability to carry aerial torpedoes.

Design and development

File:Westland Wyvern prototype in flight c1948.jpg
A prototype Wyvern fitted with the Rolls-Royce Eagle piston engine

Originating as a Westland initiative for a naval strike fighter, the Wyvern featured an engine positioned behind the pilot, which transmitted power to a nose-mounted propeller via a lengthy shaft beneath the cockpit floor, reminiscent of the layout found on the Bell P-39.[1] This arrangement allowed the pilot to be seated for optimal forward visibility, crucial for carrier landings.[1] The project attracted official attention, leading to the issuance of Air Ministry Specification N.11/44 calling for a long-range naval fighter powered by the 24-cylinder H-block Rolls-Royce Eagle 22 piston engine (distinct from the earlier World War I-era engine of the same name), which formed the basis for Westland’s design.[1] The specification also required an airframe adaptable to future turboprop engines once available. Concurrently, a similar specification for the Royal Air Force, F.13/44, was issued, with Hawker submitting the P.1027—a further development of the Tempest. However, that RAF project was cancelled in 1945 when it was decided all future fighters would be jet-powered.[1]

File:Westland Wyvern S.4 VZ765 '181' Stretton 25.06.55 edited-2.jpg
Wyvern S.4 strike aircraft from 813 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Stretton in 1955

The initial design evolved into the more conventional Westland W.34, featuring a nose-mounted Rolls-Royce Eagle engine producing approximately 3,500 hp (2,610 kW), driving large contra-rotating propellers. The pilot’s position was elevated within a humped fuselage to enhance forward visibility. The airframe incorporated standard features including low wings, tailwheel undercarriage, and double-folding wings equipped with inner Youngman flaps and outer conventional flaps. Armament consisted of four wing-mounted Hispano 20 mm cannon and provisions to carry either an under-fuselage torpedo or various bombs and rockets on wing hardpoints.

The W.34 prototype—designated Wyvern TF.1—undertook its maiden flight at Boscombe Down on 16 December 1946[lower-alpha 1] piloted by Westland’s test pilot Harald Penrose. This aircraft was lost on 15 October 1947 due to propeller bearing failure during flight; Westland’s assistant test pilot Squadron Leader Peter Garner was fatally injured while attempting an emergency landing. From the third prototype onwards, aircraft were adapted for naval use and equipped with intended weaponry.[1]

File:Westland Wyvern TF.2 Farnborough 13.09.53 edited-2.jpg
Wyvern TF.2 demonstrated at the Farnborough Air Show in 1953 by a Westland pilot

Around this period, cancellation of the Eagle engine occurred and insufficient pre-production units were available to complete all prototypes and pre-production aircraft. Consequently, Specification N.12/45 was issued for the Wyvern TF.2 variant powered by turboprop engines—either the Rolls-Royce Clyde or the Armstrong Siddeley Python. One prototype with a Clyde engine and two with Python engines were ordered. The Clyde-powered TF.2 made its first flight on 18 January 1949; both piston and turboprop versions shared many components including wings, tail units, and essentially identical cockpit structures.[2] However, this flight lasted only three minutes due to smoke entering the cockpit caused by fuel leakage onto exhaust ducts.[1] Development of the Clyde engine was discontinued by Rolls-Royce after only about fifty hours of flight testing on the TF.2; subsequently, this airframe was sent to Napier & Son for installation of a Nomad turbo-compound engine that ultimately never entered service—this aircraft was later used for crash barrier testing.[1]

The first Python-powered TF.2 flew on 22 March 1949 and introduced ejection seats to the Wyvern series. A total of twenty TF.2s were completed with Python engines; over three years of testing led to numerous aerodynamic refinements on this advanced design. Due to poor throttle response from the Python engine, power control relied on maintaining constant engine speed while adjusting propeller pitch. Although declared operationally ready in 1952,[1] these aircraft never entered active squadron service.[1]

The final production model was designated TF.4 (later renamed S.4). An initial order for fifty S.4 units was placed; these were supplemented by seven TF.2 airframes modified during construction to S.4 standard. S.4 models entered limited frontline shore-based service in May 1953 with 813 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Ford, replacing the problematic but similar Blackburn Firebrand. Several secondary squadrons also operated Wyverns around this time.

In total, production reached 127 airframes with completion of 124 aircraft; three final Eagle-powered piston-engined airframes (VR138, VR139, VR140) were never finished.[3][4]

Operational history

Initial carrier evaluations were conducted using the first pre-production Wyvern TF.2 aboard HMS Illustrious on 21 June 1950. However, when the Wyvern S.4 was introduced to 813 Naval Air Squadron in May 1953, it had yet to receive official approval for carrier operations—a clearance that was only granted in April 1954. The Wyvern remained active within the Fleet Air Arm from 1954 until 1958, serving with squadrons including 813, 827, 830, and 831.

In September 1954, 813 Squadron deployed their Wyverns aboard HMS Albion for Mediterranean carrier duties. Early operations revealed a troubling tendency for flameouts during catapult launches due to fuel starvation caused by intense G forces. Several aircraft were lost over Albion's bow. Notably, on 13 October 1954, Lt. B. D. Macfarlane became the first pilot to successfully eject underwater using a Martin-Baker Mk.1 ejection seat after his aircraft ditched on launch and was severed by the carrier’s bow. Following resolution of these issues, 813 Squadron resumed operations on Albion in March 1955.

During Operation Musketeer (1956), the military response to the Suez Crisis, 830 Squadron flew 79 combat sorties from HMS Eagle. Two Wyverns were lost due to damage inflicted by Egyptian light anti-aircraft fire; both pilots ejected safely over water and were recovered by Eagle's search and rescue helicopter. After the campaign, the squadron returned to the United Kingdom aboard Eagle and disbanded in January 1957. Subsequently, 813 Squadron became the final Wyvern unit, disbanding on 22 April 1958.

By 1958, all Wyverns had been retired from active duty. Throughout their operational lifespan and testing phases, there were a total of 68 accidents involving the type, resulting in the loss of 39 aircraft and 13 fatalities, which included two Royal Air Force pilots and one pilot from the United States Navy.

Variants

File:Westland Wyvern T3 prototype c1950.jpg
The only Wyvern T.3 prototype, circa 1950
  • W.34 Wyvern
Six prototype units ordered in August 1944; the maiden flight occurred on 12 December 1946. These were powered by the Rolls-Royce Eagle Mk 22 H-block piston engine.
  • W.34 Wyvern TF.1
Pre-production batch commissioned in June 1946 with a planned total of twenty; only seven were completed due to cancellation of the Eagle engine program.
  • W.35 Wyvern TF.2
The initial production variant equipped with the Armstrong Siddeley Python turboprop engine, replacing the discontinued Eagle piston engine used in W.34 prototypes. Three prototypes were ordered in February 1946, followed by a production contract for twenty aircraft in September 1947; nine production units were completed as TF.2s while eleven others were finished as S.4 models.
  • W.38 Wyvern T.3
A two-seat trainer conversion variant; one prototype (serial VZ739) was ordered in September 1948 and first flew in February 1950.
  • W.35 Wyvern TF.4
The definitive production model, initially ordered in October 1948 (50 units), with additional orders placed in December 1950 (13 units), January 1951 (13 units), and February 1951 (11 units). A total of ninety-eight aircraft were built, including eleven originally started as TF.2s. This version was later redesignated as the S.4.

Survivors

File:Westland Wyvern TF.1 VR137 YVTN 17.07.71 edited-3.jpg
The final remaining Wyvern, a TF.1 model, displayed outdoors at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton in 1971
File:Westland Wyvern TF1.jpg
Wyvern TF.1 exhibited at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

An unflown pre-production example fitted with the original Eagle piston engine—bearing serial number VR137—is preserved at the Fleet Air Arm Museum located in Yeovilton, England.

Operators

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Specifications (Wyvern S.4)

File:Westland Wyvern S4 silhouette.jpg

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See also

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Notes

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named n1

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Williams 1989, Chapter 21.
  2. ↑ "Westland Wyvern: Design and Development of the Navy's Turboprop Strike Fighter." (pdf) Flight, 15 June 1956. Retrieved: 21 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Ovčáčík 2003, p. 3.
  4. ↑ Blackbushe 1973, p.19.

Bibliography

  • Bussey, Geoffrey. "Type Analysis: Westland Wyvern". International Air Power Review, Volume 9, Summer 2003.
  • A History of the Westland Wyvern. Camberley: Blackbushe Aviation Research Group,1973.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Westland's Winged Dragon". Air Enthusiast Quarterly, No.1.
  • James, Derek N.Westland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam & Company,1991.
  • James, Derek N.Westland: A History. Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing,2002.
  • Mondey, David.Westland(Planemakers2). London: Jane's Publishing Company,1982.
  • Ovčáčík,Michal and Karel Susa.Westland Wyvern TF Mks.1,2,T Mk.3,S Mk.4. Prague: Mark1,2003.
  • Smith, John T."Wrath of a Mythical Monster: Westland Wyvern Operations in the Suez Campaign".Air Enthusiast No.74.
  • Sturtivant, Ray and John Hamlin.Royal Air Force flying training and support units since1912. Tonbridge: Air-Britain(Historians),2007.
  • Sturtivant, Ray,Mick Burrow and Lee Howard.Fleet Air Arm Fixed-Wing Aircraft Since1946. Tonbridge,Kent:Air-Britain(Historians),2004.
  • Swanborough,Gordon."Wyvern: Westland's Bedevilled Dragon".Air International,Vol52 No1 January1997.
  • "Westland W.34 Wyvern." Control Column, Official Organ of British Aircraft Preservation Council Vol11 No8 November/December1977.
  • Williams, Ray.Fly Navy: Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm since1945. London:Airlife Publishing,1989.

Further reading

External links

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