Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Three-seat torpedo and general-purpose bomber

Power Plant:

One 464 kw (622 hp) Bristol Pegasus IM3 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine gun fixed and firing forward on fuselage on port side; one 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis gun on swivelling mount firing rearward; one 45.7 cm (18 in) aerial torpedo or up to 454 kg (1,000) bombs on underwing bomb racks

History:

The Vildebeest was designed for the RAF by R K Pierson of Vickers (Aviation) Ltd to replace the Hawker Horsley, and the prototype (N230) flew with a Bristol Jupiter VIII engine at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk in April 1928.  Later it was fitted with a Bristol Pegasus I engine.  It was tested at the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment and was later fitted with floats and tested at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe in Suffollk.  A second aircraft was built with an Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA engine and flew in August 1930.  N230 was then taken to Donibristle near Dunfermline in Scotland to undergo service trials with No 100 Squadron, and gunnery and bombing trials at Leuchars in Scotland.  It was displayed at the RAF Display at Hendonin Greater London on 25 June 1932 but crashed at Farnborough in Hampshire later that year.

The first production Mk I (S1707) underwent trials in 1932 and was tested with 12 different propellers. Production Mk Is entered service with No 100 Squadron RAF in 1933.  Later that year the Mk II appeared, this having some 45 minor modifications over the Mk I, followed by the Mk III in September of the following year, the latter differing in having alterations to the rear cockpit and a permanent third crew member, this crew member being to assist in the torpedo-dropping operations.  Total production of these three models was 152 aircraft.  In December 1936 the Mk IV appeared, fitted with a Bristol Perseus VIII engine providing 615 kw (825 hp), and reverting to a crew of two, the third cockpit being covered with a hatch. Seventeen examples were built.  The Vildebeest also served with No 273 Squadron from 1939 to 1942 at China Bay in Ceylon.

Construction was a wire-braced metal box-girder fuselage with fabric covering.  The wing was of equal span, single-bay, square-tipped and staggered, with fabric covering. Fuel capacity was 696 litres (153 Imp gals) contained in two tanks in the upper mainplanes, and an auxiliary tank holding 600 litres (132 Imp gals) could be installed on the torpedo rack.  Ailerons were fitted to all four wings, and Handley Page automatic slats were fitted.  The undercarriage was of the divided axle type in order to accommodate the torpedo, the main wheels incorporating brakes.  The pilot sat ahead of the wings and the gunner/bomb-aimer was separated from the pilot.  For bomb aiming a prone position was adopted beneath the pilot’s seat, where a bomb-aiming hatch and drift sight were located.

In the United Kingdom many Vildebeest became Instruction Airframes, and some were converted for use as target tugs.  The first batch comprised 19 Mk IIs (K2929 to K2945), followed by a batch of 84 (K4105 to K4188), some of these being Mk IIIs (K4588 to K4614), and it was from this batch a number were supplied to New Zealand.  A total of 138 Mks I, II and III was completed for the RAF. Later a contract was let for 56 Mk IVs (K6369 to K6414 and K8078 to K8087) with the Bristol Perseus VIII engine.

At the time of the Japanese attack on Malaya the RAF and Commonwealth units possessed 158 aircraft, comprising Brewster Buffalo fighters, Lockheed Hudson patrol bombers, Bristol Blenheim light bombers, and Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bombers.  The Vildebeest was operated in the Far East by No 100 and No 36 Squadrons RAF, the former operating from Kuala Lumpur in Malaya.  At that time the Vildebeest was all that was available by way of torpedo bombers and they were used against Japanese forces, six being lost in January 1942 whilst attacking a Japanese convoy.  On this occasion 12 Vildebeest and a few Albacores were airworthy.

The 12 Vildebeest from No 100 Squadron, armed with bombs, manned by 36 crewmen of which 14 were Australians and four New Zealanders, attempted to bomb Japanese troopships in the China Sea, the ships being protected by light cruisers and destroyers. A few of the Vildebeest survived but later the attack was joined by Australian-crewed Lockheed Hudsons, escorted by a few Hawker Hurricanes and Brewster Buffalos. This was followed by an attack by nine Vildebeest from No 36 Squadron and three Fairey Albacore, the crews of these aircraft including 18 Australians and four New Zealanders, but by this time the Japanese combat patrol over Endau, Malaya was awaiting and the aircraft were decimated.

Originally plans were to replace the Vildebeest with Australian-built Bristol Beauforts and seven examples arrived.  However, none of these Beauforts were ready for combat, none having any armament installed. One was kept for reconnaissance duties and the other six flown back to Australia for installation of machine guns.  Two Vildebeest managed to escape the fall of Singapore and flew to the island of Java but only survived a short time, remaining in service until March 1942 when they were lost in Sumatra, an island in Indonesia.

In 1934 twelve Vildebeest were ordered for the RNZAF for operation in coastal defence and seaward reconnaissance role. Serials NZ101 to NZ112 were allotted, these aircraft being supplied direct by the manufacturer.  On arrival in 1935 they were allotted to Nos 1 and 2 Bomber Reconnaissance Flights.  In June 1937 they were transferred to Wigram for advanced training.  In 1940-1941 a further 27 ex-RAF Mk III and IV Vildebeest were shipped to New Zealand to equip General Reconnaissance squadrons, receiving the serials NZ121 to NZ127, and NZ136 to NZ139.  By 1943 they had been replaced by Lockheed Hudsons, but a few survived for another year for target towing.  They received little use thereafter and a few were used for instructional airframes.

Components from a number of Vincents and Vildebeest have been salvaged, and from these the RNZAF Museum at Christchurch is reconstructing a Vincent for display.  These components comprise mainly Mk III NZ102, one of the first batch received.  Other parts are believed to have come from NZ105, NZ124, NZ355 and Vincent NZ357 of No 2 Squadron which crashed near Nelson in April 1941.  Parts of a Vildebeest have also been salvaged privately and work commenced on the construction of an aircraft to perhaps be made airworthy.