Saturday 30 April 2016

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Mk.III/Mk.IIIA - British Users

In  1922 the 14/22 specification was issued by the Air Ministry for an all-metal single-seat high performance airplane and one Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar powered prototype was ordered from Armstrong Whitworth.

Apart from re-engining the airplane, in order to fit the Jaguar IV engine, Major Green, the original designer of the Siskin, redesigned it with an all-metal fuselage, as the Siskin III.
It was praised by the Air Ministry, which placed a contract for three production aircraft on 13th October 1922, with a further six ordered on  26th January 1923, being one of them a prototype for a two-seat variant.
The Siskin Mk.III flew for the first time on 7th May 1923 and the first deliveries to the RAF took place in January 1924. It was the first all-metal fighter to serve with the Royal Air Force.

The Siskin Mk.III was powered by a 385hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV radial engine and was armed with two Vickers 0.303 machine-guns placed at the sides of the frontern part of the fuselage.

The main production variant, the Siskin Mk.IIIA, was ordered in 1926 and, initially it was powered by a regular Jaguar IV engine, but it was re-engined with the supercharged version of that same engine, the Jaguar IVA. The supercharged engine concept was a novel idea for the time and had little impact on the performance below the 3050m, but it improved the performance and climb rate above that height.
It was powered by a single Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA engine, delivering also 385hp of power, was armed with two Vickers 0.303 machine guns, this time buried in the frontal part of the fuselage, instead of the sides, like the regular Mk.III had and it could carry up to four 9Kg small bombs under the wings.
As Armstrong Whitworth was busy manufacturing the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas, many of the later production of the Siskin was contracted to other firms like Blackburn, Bristol, Gloster and Vickers.



















Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_Whitworth_Siskin
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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