Armstrong Whitworth Siskin

what is it?

The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a sesquiplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as being one of the first new fighters to enter service following the end of the First World War. Development of the Siskin was heavily influenced by RAF Specification Type I, including its initial use of the ABC Dragonfly radial engine.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 251 km/htop speed
• size 1,366 kgmax take-off weight
• built 485made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 107 years ago, in 1919.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1919

introduced

1923

retired

1932

status

retired

number built

485

role

fighter

makers

Armstrong Whitworth

engines

1× Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV

crew

1

length

7.7 m

wingspan

10.1 m

height

3.1 m

max take-off weight

1,366 kg

top speed

251 km/h

range

—

ceiling

8,230 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.