Sopwith Triplane Typhoon

Avro Types 511 and 514

For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.

Type Description and Production Data

Type 511 Type 514
Production Summary
Type 511
Single seat, single bay scout biplane, designed by H E Broadsmith, the company’s assistant designer. Of all wood and fabic construction, the fuselage was of square cross-section and carried Avro's characteristic "comma" rudder, with no fin. The wings were heavily staggered and had pronounced sweepback, both features intended to improve stability,which gave it the nickname 'Arrowscout'. They were not constructed with the usual spanwise spars, but used a cellular approach. The interplane struts were not the usual single-piece shaped rods, but single, close-set pairs of light-weight interplane struts which were faired between with fabric to form "I" struts. There were conventional midsection "N" type struts between the fuselage and the upper wing. Ailerons were carried on both upper and lower wings. Another unusual feature was the fitting of air-brakes at the lower rear wing roots, consisting of rectangular trailing-edge surfaces which were hinged at their centre lines to stand vertically across the airflow. Mainwheels were mounted on a single axle plus centre-skid undercarriage and there was a tailskid. One 80 h.p. Gnome Monosoupape powerplant.

Type 511 Specification
Span Length Height Wing Area Empty Wt Max AUW Cruise Speed Maximum Speed Range Service Ceiling
26 ft 22 ft 4 in 9 ft 4 in 235 sq ft 675 lb 1165 lb 100 mph/ 87 kn
7.92 m 6.81 m 2.84 m 21.83 m2 306 kg 528 kg 161 km/h

Production Details
C/n Initial
Registration
Notes
 1 aircraft built by A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd., Miles Platting, Manchester. First flew March 1914.
 (none)  (none)  Given racing number 14 in the Aerial Derby Race round London, intended for 23 May 1914, but postponed.
Total Production  1

Type 514
The 511 was modified with a new pair of wings with no sweepback and a V-form (cranked axle), skidless main undercarriage, becoming the Avro 514.
Production Details
C/n Initial
Registration
Notes
 1 aircraft converted by A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd., Miles Platting, Manchester, from the Type 511. First flew June 1914.
 (none)  (none)  Given racing number 20 in the Aerial Derby Race round London, 6 June 1914 (postponed from 23 May), but did not take part.
Total Production  (1)

Production Summary

All Aircraft By Type
Type Built New Conv Canc'd Total
Type 511 1 1
Type 514 (1) 1
1 (1) 0

Production References

  1. Avro Aircraft Since 1908, A.J. Jackson (Putnam, 1990)
  2. British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)
  3. British Aircraft 1809-1914, Peter Lewis (Putnam, 1962)

Page Revision History

Revised at Version 2.0.0
  • Moved from Low Production to a new page.
  • Improved Type Description and Added Specification details.