Avro 523 Pike1916 |
FIGHTER | Virtual Aircraft Museum / United Kingdom / Avro |
Flown for the first time in May 1916, the Pike three-seat twin-engined biplane was designed primarily to meet an Admiralty requirement for a long-range escort and anti-airship fighter. The pilot was seated just ahead of the mainplanes with gunners' cockpits, each with a free-mounted 7.7mm Lewis, fore and aft. Of wooden construction with fabric skinning, the first prototype Pike had two 150hp Sunbeam eight-cylinder liquid-cooled engines mounted as pushers driving two-bladed propellers via extension shafts. A second Pike, the Avro 523A, differed primarily in having two 150hp Green six-cylinder liquid-cooled engines driving tractor propellers and a Scarff-type ring mounting for the forward Lewis gun. No production of the Pike was ordered following completion of official trials.
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