Vickers Type 161 COW-gun fighter
The Coventry Ordnance Works (C.O.W.) designed and built in 1915 a small 37 mm cannon capable of firing a 1 pound, and then later 1.5 pound high-explosive shell. Vickers had acquired in the early twenties the rights for this gun and after a proposal to the Air Staff a specification was issued to develop a dedicated aircraft to carry such a large calibre weapon. Originally the design was specified for a twin-engine plane carrying two of the ’1.5 pounder’ 37 mm weapons, which was more widely known as the C.O.W.-gun. Although two such cannon-planes were actually built (the Bristol Bagshot and the Westland Westbury) they simply lacked the power and performances, and the idea never materialized. Later, a new specification, Spec. F29/27 was issued for a bomber-destroyer carrying a single COW gun. Vickers submitted their Type 161 to meet this specification.
Development and flight testing:
The resulting design was far from orthodox. The Type 161 showed a revolutionary shape with a centrally placed Jupiter radial engine driving a four-bladed propeller housed in the middle of the central fuselage. The tail-plane was supported with two additional horizontally placed struts, giving the biplane a very unusual appearance. The open cockpit was placed in the front fuselage section with the massive C.O.W.-gun protruding upwards in a fixed position under an angle of 45°. It was the intention to intercept enemy bombers by flying under them from astern and destroy them by firing a single shot from the C.O.W.-gun.
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