January 21, 1931-the first flight of the Vickers Type 161 fighter.
Although cannon armament on aircraft appeared during the First World War, it was not widely used. In 1924, the British Air Ministry published the specification F. 29 / 27 for a fighter bomber with a 37 mm COW gun. One of the projects for this specification was the Type 161, developed by Vickers Limited.
When designing the Type 161, Vickers designers were inspired by their successful World War I fighter, the F. B. 5 (aka Gunbus). As a result, they got an unusual biplane with a pusher propeller. Mounted in the bow, the gun fired upward at an angle of 45°. Type 161 was supposed to fly below its target. The Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine could reach speeds of up to 298 km/h.
Tests showed problems with handling. And, although after the improvements, there were no serious comments from the pilots, the project was eventually canceled. Only 1 Type 161 prototype was built.
Excellent article of the type was published on our web site by our author Nico Braas!
