Vickers Vildebeest

what is it?

The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent are single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown in 1928, they remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last Vildebeests flying against Japanese forces over Singapore and Java in 1942.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · biplane · 14.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 230 km/htop speed
• size 3,856 kgmax take-off weight
• built 260made 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 98 years ago, in 1928.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.9 m: about 3 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

1928-04

introduced

1933

retired

1941

status

retired

number built

260

role

torpedo bomber / army co-operation

makers

Airbus Defence and Space S.A., Vickers Limited

engines

1× Bristol Pegasus II-M3

length

11.2 m

wingspan

14.9 m

height

4.5 m

max take-off weight

3,856 kg

top speed

230 km/h

range

—

ceiling

5,791 m

wings

biplane

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