Vickers Type 163

The Vickers Type 163 was a prototype British biplane bomber design of the 1930s, built by Vickers-Armstrong.

Type 163
Role	Bomber
Manufacturer	Vickers
First flight	12 January 1931
Status	Prototype only
Number built	1

It was based on the Vickers Vanox (Vickers "Type 150") scaled up to take four engines in paired mountings. It was submitted both as a bomber and as a troop carrier to Air Ministry specifications B.19/27 and C.16/28 respectively, first flying on 12 January 1931. Only one was produced.

Specifications (Type 163)

Data from The British Bomber since 1914 [1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Capacity: provision for ten armed troops
• Length: 66 ft 9 in (20.35 m)
• Wingspan: 90 ft 0 in (27.43 m)
• Height: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
• Wing area: 1,948 sq ft (181.0 m²)
• Gross weight: 25,700 lb (11,657 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce F.XIVS evaporatively-cooled V12 engines, 480 hp (360 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn) at 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
• Range: 1,150 mi (1,850 km, 1,000 nmi) at 140 mph (120 kn; 230 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 25,200 ft (7,700 m)
• Time to altitude: 18 min 15 s to 10,000 ft (3,000 m)

Armament

• Guns: 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns (nose and tail gunners positions)
• Bombs:
  
  • Up to 12 × 250 lb (110 kg) bombs under fuselage and
  • 4 × 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs

References

1. Mason 1994, p. 228–229.

• Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
• Vickers 163 – British Aircraft Directory