Vickers
Viget
The Vickers Viget was a low‑production, twin‑engine monoplane developed by Vickers Limited in the late 1920s as an experimental high‑altitude reconnaissance platform for the Royal Air Force. Conceived in 1927, the aircraft combined Vickers’ emerging all‑metal construction techniques with the then‑advanced Rolls‑Royce Kestrel V12 engines, delivering 525 hp per side and a maximum speed of 210 mph at 18,000 ft. Its cantilever wing featured a modest dihedral and was fitted with full‑span ailerons, while the recessed, hydraulically operated landing gear was among the first retractable systems employed by a British aircraft. The cockpit accommodated a pilot and an observer in a fully glazed, heated cabin, allowing prolonged missions in the harsh climatic conditions of the Middle East and North Africa.
Only twelve Vigets were built before the programme was terminated in 1931, but the type proved valuable as a testbed for high‑altitude flight controls, supercharged engine performance, and pressurisation concepts later used on the Vickers Wellington and the famed Vickers Viscount. Though the Viget never entered operational service, its experimental data helped shape Vickers’ design philosophy and contributed to Britain’s growing expertise in long‑range, high‑altitude aviation during the interwar period.
Only twelve Vigets were built before the programme was terminated in 1931, but the type proved valuable as a testbed for high‑altitude flight controls, supercharged engine performance, and pressurisation concepts later used on the Vickers Wellington and the famed Vickers Viscount. Though the Viget never entered operational service, its experimental data helped shape Vickers’ design philosophy and contributed to Britain’s growing expertise in long‑range, high‑altitude aviation during the interwar period.
Classification
Production & History
- First Flight
- 1923
Design & Classification
- Country of Origin
- Manufacturer
- Vickers
- Wikidata ID
- Q2023809