Parnall Panther
Encyclopedia
The Parnall Panther was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
based spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed and developed by Parnall and Sons
Parnall
Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer, that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England.-History:...
in the latter years of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, continuing in service until 1926. A total of 150 Panthers were built by Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
since after the end of the First World War, Parnall had stopped aircraft manufacture.
Development
The Parnall Panther was designed by Harold Bolas, who had joined Parnall and SonsParnell
Parnell may refer to:People* Bobby Parnell, a baseball pitcher for the New York Mets* Charles Stewart Parnell , Irish politician* Chris Parnell, actor and comedian* Lee Roy Parnell, country & western singer...
after leaving the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
's Air Department
Air Department
The Air Department of the British Admiralty was established prior to World War I by Winston Churchill. Its function was to foster naval aviation developments and later to oversee the Royal Naval Air Service . Its first director was Captain Murray Sueter...
, where he had served as deputy chief designer under Harris Booth. It was planned to meet the requirements of Admiralty Specification N.2A for a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft capable of operating from aircraft carriers. The first prototype, (serial N91) flew in 1917, with a further five prototypes being produced.
Design
The Panther was a wooden, single bay biplaneBiplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, which unusually for the time, was fitted with a birch plywood monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
, which could be folded for shipboard storage, the fuselage being hinged aft of the observers cockpit. The pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and observer were seated in individual cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
s in the deep fuselage, this giving a good view for landing, but restricting access to the pilots cockpit. Inflatable floatation air bags were fitted beneath the wings to keep the aircraft afloat in the event of ditching into the sea, with a hydrovane fitted in front of the undercarriage in order to stop the aircraft nosing over.
Operational history
After evaluation, an order for 300 Panthers was placed with Parnall in 1918. However, this was reduced to 150 following the end of the year. Parnall, who had been purchased by W. & T. Avery Ltd. rejected this reduction in the order, so the order was transferred to the Bristol Aeroplane CompanyBristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
, the order being completed between 1919 and 1920.
The Panther served with Spotter Reconnaissance Flights aboard the aircraft carriers HMS Argus
HMS Argus (I49)
HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918–1944. She was converted from an ocean liner under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight...
and HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...
. While the Panthers handled well in the air, the elderly Bentley engines proved unreliable, and the system of longitudinal arrestor wires in use aboard British aircraft carriers at the time, was unsatisfactory, resulting in many accidents. Panthers continued in service with the Fleet Air Arm until 1926, being replaced by the Fairey III
Fairey III
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants...
D.
Twelve Panthers were sold to the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in 1921-22, with two being sold to the US Navy in 1920.
Operators
- Fleet Air ArmFleet Air ArmThe Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- No. 205 Squadron RAFNo. 205 Squadron RAFNo. 205 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918. Prior to this it had existed as No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service. In 1929, it became the first RAF squadron to be permanently based in Singapore, taking as its motto Pertama di Malaya . No...
- No. 205 Squadron RAF
- Imperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceImperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceThe Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
United States
- United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...