The Westland N.1B was a prototype British single-engined floatplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. The first aircraft to be designed by Westland Aircraft, it was a single-engined tractor biplane. Despite good performance, only two aircraft were built, the Royal Naval Air Service operating landplane fighters from ships instead.
| N.1B | |
|---|---|
| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Westland Aircraft |
| First flight | August 1917 |
| Status | Prototype |
| Number built | 2 |
In 1916, the British Admiralty drew up Requirement N.1B for a single-seat floatplane or flying boat fighter aircraft to operate from the Royal Navy's seaplane carriers, demanding a speed of 110 mph (177 km/h) and a ceiling of 20,000 ft (6,100 m). Three companies submitted designs in response, Blackburn and Supermarine with flying boats (the Blackburn N.1B and Supermarine Baby), while Westland proposed a floatplane, the Westland N.1B. Westland received an order for two aircraft.[1]
Westland's design, which was the first original design built by Westland, was a single-engined tractor biplane of wooden construction.[1] It had a deep fuselage, while its two-bay wings were designed to fold to save space on ship, and were fitted with trailing-edge flaps. It was powered by a single Bentley A.R.1 rotary engine (later known as the BR1) and carried a single synchronised forward-firing Vickers machine gun on the nose, and a Lewis gun firing over the upper wing.[2][3] The first N.1B was fitted with 11 ft (3.35 m) long Sopwith main floats and a 5 ft (1.52 m) long tail float, while the second N.1B had much longer (17 ft 6 in 5.34 m) main floats, which removed the need for a tail float.[4]
The first N.1B, serial number N16 was first flown by Harry Hawker from Westland's Yeovil factory in August 1917.[5] The two N.1Bs were evaluated at the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot in October 1917,[6] demonstrating good performance and handling.[5] By this time, however, the Royal Naval Air Service was operating Sopwith Pup landplanes from flying-off platforms aboard ships, which did not require the carrier to heave-to in order to lower a seaplane to the water, and was planning to carry out similar operations with the Sopwith Camel, and the N.1B programme was cancelled.[6]
Data from Westland Aircraft since 1915 [7]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era