Supermarine Nighthawk
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The P.B.31E "Night Hawk", the first project of the Pemberton-Billing operation after it became Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd., was a prototype anti-Zeppelin fighter with a crew of three to five and an intended autonomy of 9 to 18 hours. It was first flown by Clifford Prodger in February 1917.
It had six bay swept quadruplane wings, the fuselage filled the gap between the second and third wings, and a biplane tailplane with twin fins and rudders. The cockpit was enclosed and heated.
For armament, it had a trainable nose-mounted searchlight, a 2-pounder Davis gun mounted above the top wing with 20 shells, and 2 .303-inch Lewis guns.
It was advertised as being able to reach 75 mph, but the prototype only managed 60 mph at 6500 ft and took an hour to climb to 10,000 ft (which was totally inadequate for intercepting Zeppelin). Given the Anzani's reputation for unreliability and overheating, it is unlikely that the airplane would have delivered the advertised endurance either.
Contents |
[edit] Specifications (Prototype)
General characteristics
- Crew: Five (2 pilots, 3 gunners)
- Length: 37 ft (11.4 m)
- Wingspan: 60 ft (18.5 m)
- Height: 17 ft 8.5 in (5.5 m)
- Wing area: 962 sq ft ()
- Empty weight: 3,677 lb ()
- Loaded weight: 6,146 lb ()
- Powerplant: 2× Anzani with four blade propellers , 100 hp () each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 75 mph
Armament
One 2 pdr Davis gun and one Lewis gun above upper wing, and one Lewis gun in the nose
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