Austin Osprey
title: "Austin Osprey" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910s-british-fighter-aircraft", "triplanes", "austin-motor-company-aircraft", "cancelled-military-aircraft-projects-of-the-united-kingdom", "rotary-engined-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1918"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Osprey" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | A.F.T.3 Osprey |
| image | OspreyTriplane.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Fighter aircraft |
| national_origin | British |
| manufacturer | Austin Motor Company |
| status | Prototype |
| number_built | 1 |
| first_flight | 1918 |
| :: |
| name = A.F.T.3 Osprey | logo = | logo_size = | image = OspreyTriplane.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Fighter aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = British | manufacturer = Austin Motor Company | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = Prototype | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 1918 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = The Austin A.F.T.3 Osprey was a prototype British fighter triplane of the First World War. Developed by the motor car manufacturer Austin as a replacement to the Sopwith Camel, only one was built, the Sopwith Snipe being preferred.
Development and design
In 1917, Britain's War Office issued Specification A.1.A for a single-seat fighter to replace the Sopwith Camel. To meet this requirement, the Austin Motor Company, already a large scale manufacturer of aircraft to Royal Aircraft Factory designs, produced its own design for a single-engined triplane, the A.F.T.3 Osprey, receiving a licence to build three prototypes as a private venture.
The Osprey was of conventional wood and fabric construction, with single-bay triplane wings. It was powered by a Bentley BR2 rotary engine, and featured the required armament of two Vickers machine guns and a single Lewis gun. The synchronised Vickers guns were mounted ahead of the pilot, while the Lewis gun was mounted on a movable mounting on the centre section of the middle wing, where it had a very limited field of fire, with the large diameter propeller blocking any forward fire. Like a similar gun mounted on the Snipe it would probably have been deleted had the type gone into production.
The first Osprey flew in February 1918, being tested at Martlesham Heath in March. It was heavier than expected, and its performance was inferior to Sopwith's Snipe. When the Snipe was selected as the winner of the competition for the new fighter, Austin abandoned development of the Osprey, with the second and third prototypes not completed. The first prototype was briefly used for trials at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough until at least June 1918.
Specifications
|ref=British Aeroplanes 1914-18 |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=1 |capacity= |length m= |length ft=17 |length in=7 |span m= |span ft=23 |span in=0 |height m= |height ft=10 |height in=8 |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=233 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=1106 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=1888 |gross weight note= |fuel capacity=40 impgal |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Bentley BR2 |eng1 type=nine-cylinder rotary engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=230
|prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop note= Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=118.5 |max speed kts= |max speed note=at 10000 ft |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |endurance=3 hr at 15000 ft |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=19000 |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |time to altitude=10 min 20 s to 10000 ft
|more performance= Armament
|guns= 2× forward-firing, synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns and one Lewis gun on semi-free mounting on rear of middle wing |bombs= |rockets=
Notes
References
- Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
- Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War:Volume One: Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1965.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. .
References
- Mason 1992, p.128.
- Bruce 1965, p.27.
- Bruce 1965, p.28.
- Mason 1992, p.273.
- Bruce 1965, p.29.
- Bruce 1957, p.33.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::