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Britain's Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bomber, Vincent general purpose¹

Vickers Vildebeest Mk IV torpedo bomber:

Vickers Vildebeest Mk IV torpedo bomber:

Vickers Vincent general purpose:

Design

 

Prototype

The Vildebeest prototype first flew in April 1928.¹

Production

The first Vildebeest Mk Is were delivered in September 1932.¹ The Vildebeest Mk I was first delivered in November 1932.¹ The Vildebeest Mk II was delivered in 1933.¹ The last Vildebeest Mk III was delivered in September 1937.¹ The Vildebeest Mk IVs were delivered in 1937.¹

Deliveries of the Vincent were from July 1934 to October 1936.¹

• Vildebeests: 209¹
  • Produced by: Vickers (183)¹, CASA (26)¹
• Vincent: 197¹

Variants

• Prototype: Had a Bristol Jupiter radial engine.¹
• Vildebeest:
• Vincent: Based on the Vildebeest Mk III.¹ Had longer range fuel tank.¹

Usage

Britain, New Zealand, and Spain used the Vildebeest and / or Vincent.¹

Start of World War II

The Vildebeest was the Royal Air Force's (RAF) only torpedo bomber available at the start of World War II.¹ There were approximately 100 Vildebeests remaining in RAF service in September 1939.¹ These typically flew patrols around the coast of Britain.¹

There were 84 Vincents in the Middle East at the start of World War II.¹ They saw action against the Italians in East Africa.¹ The Vincents also saw action in the Iraqi rebellion of 1941.¹ Some Vincents were still being used as night bombers and communications aircraft up until 1943.¹

Singapore

There were two squadrons of Vildebeests based in Singapore at the time of the Japanese attack.¹ All were lost by March 1942.¹

Ceylon

Flying out of Ceylon, until August 1942, Vildebeests conducted anti submarine patrols.¹

Spain

In Spain CASA built 26 Vildebeest float plane versions.¹ It used a Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr V 12 engine (595 HP).¹

	Vickers Vildebeest Mk I1	Vickers Vildebeest Mk II1	Vickers Vildebeest Mk III1	Vickers Vildebeest Mk IV1	Vickers Vincent1
Type	Torpedo bomber1	Torpedo bomber1	Torpedo bomber1	Torpedo bomber1	General purpose1
Crew	2 - 31	2 - 31	2 - 31	2 - 31
Engine (Type)	Bristol Pegasus IIM31	Bristol Pegasus IIM31	Bristol Pegasus IIM31	Bristol Pegasus VIII1	Bristol Pegasus IIM31
Cylinders	Radial 91	Radial 91	Radial 91	Radial 91	Radial 91
Cooling
HP	6601	6601	6601	8251	6601
Propeller blades				31
Dimensions
Span	49'1 14.93 m1	49'1 14.93 m1	49'1 14.93 m1		49'1 14.93 m1
Length	36' 8"1 11.18 m1	36' 8"1 11.18 m1	36' 8"1 11.18 m1	37' 8"1 11.48 m1	36' 8"1 11.18 m1
Height	14' 8"1 4.47 m1	14' 8"1 4.47 m1	14' 8"1 4.47 m1		14' 8"1 4.47 m1
Wing area
Weight
Empty				4,724 lb1 2,143 kg1	4,229 lb1 1,918 kg1
Loaded				8,500 lb1 3,855 kg1	8,100 lb1 3,674 kg1
Performance
Speed @ 4,290' / 1,305 m					142 mph1 228 kph1
Speed @ 5,000' / 1,524 m				156 mph1 251 kph1
Climb				840'/minute1 256 m/minute1	765'/minute1 233 m/minute1
Service ceiling				19,000'1 5,790 m1	17,000'1 5,180 m1
Range				625 miles1 1,006 km1	1,250 miles1 2,011 km1
Armament
Nose	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1
Rear cockpit	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1	1: 0.303" MG1
Torpedo	1: 18"1 1: 45.7 cm1	1: 18"1 1: 45.7 cm1	1: 18"1 1: 45.7 cm1	1: 18"1 1: 45.7 cm1
OR
Bombs	1,000 lb1 454 kg1	1,000 lb1 454 kg1	1,000 lb1 454 kg1	1,000 lb1 454 kg1	1,100 lb1 499 kg1

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

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