PARNALL PLOVER (SILVER SERIES)

The Parnall Plover was a British fixed landing gear biplane fighter from the interwar period. The drive was provided by a single Bristol Jupiter III engine with 436 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1922, shortly after the pre-series production began, ending with the production of only about 10-15 copies of this aircraft. The deck armament consisted of two 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns. The Parnall Plover was developed in response to the Royal Navy's need for an on-board fighter to succeed the Nieuport / Gloster Nightjar aircraft. The new fighter retained the traditional for those times design, and could be easily adapted to the hydrofoil function. After the prototype flight, the Royal Navy ordered a small production batch of these aircraft to be tested on its own aircraft and compared with another fighter - the Fairey Flycatcher. After several months of tests and trials, in 1924 the Fairey design won the competition, as it was easier to pilot and more maneuverable. Parnall Plover never entered mass production.