48020 VICKERS COW GUN FIGHTER

The Vickers COW (another designation: Vickers Type 161) was a British prototype biplane fighter from the interwar period. The prototype's flight took place in 1931, but the machine never entered mass production. The plane was 7.16 meters long with a wingspan of 9.75 meters. The drive was provided by a single Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine with 530 HP. The maximum speed of the aircraft was up to 298 km / h. The on-board armament consisted of a single 37 mm COW cannon. The machine was commissioned by the British Ministry of Aviation, which aimed to obtain an aircraft capable of firing a 37mm cannon at an angle of 45 degrees. The concept of using this aircraft assumed firing enemy machines from below. The new interceptor was also supposed to have good climb speed and nice top speed. The Vickers company, responding to these unusual requirements, developed a biplane with a pusher propeller and an open cockpit. Despite a successful flight, the entire program was abandoned as unrealistic and the Vickers COW did not go into series production.