Parnall Plover

infobox Aircraft
name = Plover
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Parnall & Co



caption =
designer = Harold Bolas
first flight = 1922
introduced = 1923
retired = 1924
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users =
produced =
number built = 13
variants with their own articles = The Parnall Plover was a British single seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s. Designed and built by George Parnall & Co. for use off the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, it was ordered into small scale production, but after extensive evaluation, the Fairey Flycatcher was preferred for large scale service.

Development and design

The Parnall Plover was designed by Harold Bolas, chief designer of the reformed George Parnall & Co. to meet the requirements of the British Air Ministry Specification 6/22 for a single seat fighter aircraft to replace the Nieuport Nightjar, powered by either a Bristol Jupiter or Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine capable of being operated both from the decks of aircraft carriers or as a floatplane. The Plover was a single bay biplane of wood and fabric construction, fitted with full span flaps, and could be fitted either with a conventional wheeled undercarriage, or, as an alternative floats (with wheels protruding through the bottom of the floats) could be used to allow amphibious operation. The first prototype flew in late 1922, powered by a Bristol Jupiter. Two more prototypes followed, with the second a floatplane, also powered by a Jupiter, and the third a landplane powered by a Jaguar engine Cite book|author=Mason, Francis K|title=The British Fighter since 1912|publisher=Naval Institite Press|year=1992|isbn= ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

The three prototypes proved to be similar in performance to the competing Fairey Flycatcher, with small orders being placed for both types to allow more detailed operational evaluation. Ten Plovers were therefore ordered Cite book |author=Thetford, Owen|title=British Naval Aircraft since 1912 |Edition =Fourth Edition |publisher=Putnam |location= London|year=1994 |id= ISBN 0 85177 861 5.

Operational history

Six of the Plovers entered service with 403 and 404 Fleet Fighter Flights of the Royal Air Force in 1923, allowing the type to be evaluated in service against the Flycatcher, and the Nightjar, which both types were planned to replace. The Flycatcher was preferred, being a more popular aircraft to fly as well as being easier to rig , replacing the Plover in 1924.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force

pecifications (Plover)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=The Complete Book of Fighterscite book |last= Green|first= W |coauthors=Swanborough, G |title= The Complete Book of Fighters |edition= |year= 1994|publisher= Smithmark |isbn= 0-8317-3939-8

crew=One
capacity=
length main= 23 ft 0 in
length alt= 7.00 m
span main= 29 ft 0 in
span alt= 8.84 m
height main= 12 ft 0 in
height alt= 3.65 m
area main= 306 ft²
area alt= 28.4 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 2,035 lb
empty weight alt= 923 kg
loaded weight main= 2,984 lb
loaded weight alt= 1,354 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)= Bristol Jupiter III
type of prop= radial engine
number of props=1
power main= 436 hp
power alt= 325 kW
power original=
max speed main= 123 knots
max speed alt= 142 mph, 228 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 23,000 ft
ceiling alt= 7,000 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 9.75 lb/ft²
loading alt= 47.7 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.15 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 0.24 kW/kg
more performance=*Climb to 20,000 ft: 25 min 12 sec

armament=* Two fixed forward firing .303 in Vickers machine guns

avionics=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=Fairey Flycatcher

sequence=Panther - Puffin - Plover - Possum - Pixie - Perch

lists=

see also=

References

External links

[http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=537 British Aircraft Directory]
[http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/parnall_plover.php Virtual Aircraft Museum]