PORT VICTORIA P.V.7 - BRITISH WWI AIRSHIP INTERCEPTOR

Victoria's PV7 Grain Kitten Harbor was a British, prototype, on-board fighter aircraft from the First World War. The drive was provided by a single ABC Gnat engine with a power of 35 HP. The prototype's flight took place in 1917, but the machine never entered mass production. The deck armament consisted of a single 7.7mm Lewis machine gun. The PV7 was developed at the Royal Navy's experimental facility on Grain Island as an attempt to create a light fighter aircraft capable of operating from cruiser or destroyer mounted catapults. Aircraft of this type were to provide an air umbrella over the Royal Navy in the event of an attack by German bombers or zeppelins. The Royal Navy planned to purchase relatively large batches of this new fighter. However, Port Victoria PV7 - in the course of test flights - turned out to be a very difficult aircraft to pilot, using an engine with much too low power and unstable in flight, especially in strong winds. All this meant that the PV7 never entered mass production.