Vickers F.B.26 Vampire

Vickers F.B.26 Vampire Production
By the time the Vickers F.B.26 Vampire fighter design reached the end of it's prototype evolution, "pusher" type aircraft were deemed virtually obsolete. When tested for potential military use, the Vampire's handling was deemed to be inadequate for a fighter, so with WW1 visibly coming to an end, the aircraft never entered production and only a handful of Vampire prototypes were ever built.

Vickers F.B.26 Vampire Obsolescence
As far as WW1 fighter design was concerned the Vickers F.B.26 Vampire represented the end of "pusher designs" with their main advantage having been negated by the introduction of interrupter gear, which allowed a machine gun to fire through the propeller arc. In some applications, such as small amphibian aircraft and bombers, the pusher design survived until well after WW2.

Various scale models, model kits and plans of this aircraft have been available in the market place.

Vickers F.B.26 Vampire Specifications:

Vickers F.B.26 Crew: Pilot only
Vickers F.B.26 Length: 23 ft 5 in (7.14 m)
Vickers F.B.26 Wingspan: 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Vickers F.B.26 Height: 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)
Vickers F.B.26 Empty weight: 1,467 lb (667 kg)
Vickers F.B.26 Loaded weight: 2,030 lb (923 kg)
Vickers F.B.26 Engine: Single 200 hp (149 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8 water-cooled V-8 piston engine
Vickers F.B.26 Maximum speed: 121 mph (195 km/h) @ 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
Vickers F.B.26 Service ceiling: 20,500 ft (6,250 m)
Vickers F.B.26 Endurance: 3 hours

Vickers F.B.26 Vampire Fighter Armament:

Guns:
Twin 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns