Austin Ball A.F.B1The Austin-Ball A.F.B.1 was a British fighter plane of World War I built by car manufacturer Austin with input from Britain's leading fighter ace at the time, Albert Ball. It was a two-bay biplane of largely conventional configuration with unstaggered, equal-span wings. The top wing was attached to the upper fuselage, granting the pilot excellent visibility on all sides and above. The armament was ususual: the fixed, forward-firing Lewis gun fired through the hollow propeller shaft; but its muzzle was located aft of the powerplant. A second Lewis gun with an upwards firing arc was mounted on the upper wing. This weapon, combined with the excellent topside visibility was well-suited to Ball's favoured method of attack, from below the enemy.
Only a single prototype was built. Although the fighter promised excellent performance, the SE.5a was already in production, and the A.F.B.1 would have competed with it for production facilities (Austin was a major SE.5a contractor) and engines (since both fighters used the Hispano-Suiza 8). Moreover, Ball had already been killed in action by the time the aircraft was ready for its first flight.
General characteristicsCrew: 1 Length: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) Wingspan: 30 ft (9.14 m) Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.84 m) Wing area: 290 ft2 (26.9 m2) Empty weight: 1,525 lb (693 kg) Loaded weight: 2,077 lb (942 kg) Powerplant: 1× Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, 200 hp (150 kW)
PerformanceMaximum speed: 138 mph (222 km/h) (222 km/h) Service ceiling 22,000 ft (6,700 m) Rate of climb: 1,120 ft/min (5.7 m/s)
Armament1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Lewis gun 1 × hinged upward-firing .303 Lewis gun
Only a single prototype was built. Although the fighter promised excellent performance, the SE.5a was already in production, and the A.F.B.1 would have competed with it for production facilities (Austin was a major SE.5a contractor) and engines (since both fighters used the Hispano-Suiza 8). Moreover, Ball had already been killed in action by the time the aircraft was ready for its first flight.
General characteristicsCrew: 1 Length: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) Wingspan: 30 ft (9.14 m) Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.84 m) Wing area: 290 ft2 (26.9 m2) Empty weight: 1,525 lb (693 kg) Loaded weight: 2,077 lb (942 kg) Powerplant: 1× Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, 200 hp (150 kW)
PerformanceMaximum speed: 138 mph (222 km/h) (222 km/h) Service ceiling 22,000 ft (6,700 m) Rate of climb: 1,120 ft/min (5.7 m/s)
Armament1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Lewis gun 1 × hinged upward-firing .303 Lewis gun
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