Vickers Vixen
| Vixen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Vickers Vixen | |
| Role | Light Bomber / Reconnaissance / Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Vickers |
| First flight | February 1923 |
| Primary user | Chile |
| Number built | 20 |
| Variants |
Vickers Venture |
The Vickers Vixen was a British general-purpose biplane of the 1920s. Designed and developed by Vickers in a number of variants, with 18 Vixen Mark V sold to Chile. A prototype of a version with metal wings was built as the Vickers Vivid. The Vixen also formed the basis of the closely related Venture and Valparaiso aircraft, which were also built and sold in small numbers in the 1920s
In 1922, Vickers designed a two-seat biplane as a private venture as a possible replacement for the Airco DH.9A and Bristol F.2 Fighter. Building on the experience of the unsuccessful wartime FB.14 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, the Vixen was a single-bay biplane with a steel tube fuselage and wooden wings, powered by a 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion engine. The first prototype aircraft, the Type 71 Vixen I, given the civil registration G-EBEC, flew in February 1923. It was tested at Martlesham Heath and showed good performance, prompting modification to a day bomber role as the Type 87 Vixen II, which was fitted with a ventral radiator between the undercarriage legs replacing the car-type radiator of the Vixen I, first flying in this form on 13 August 1923. The Vixen I and II formed the basis of the Venture army co-operation aircraft for the Royal Air Force and the Valparaiso for export purposes.
The next version of the Vixen was the Vickers Type 91 Vixen III, first flying in April 1924 which was fitted with larger wings (with wingspan of 44 ft/13.4 m rather than 34 ft 6 in/10.5 m earlier aircraft) for increased performance at altitude, and reverted to a nose-mounted radiator. The Vixen III was tested with both wheel and float undercarriages, and was later converted back to a landplane, and used for air racing, competing in the 1925, 1926 and 1927 King's Cup Races. The Vixen III formed the basis of the Type 116 Vixen V, fitted with a high-compression Lion V engine and a modified tail, of which 18 were purchased by Chile.
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