Westland Wapiti Mk.IIA ‘RAF Service’

The Westland Wapiti was a British-built two-seat general purpose military biplane of the 1920s. It was used in the Army Co-operation role, as a bomber or reconnaissance aircraft. The prototype flew in March 1927 and the type entered service with the RAF one year later. It was in production until 1932, with a total of 565 aircraft being built. The initial production comprised the wooden fuselage, tail and wings which were replaced by metal structures in the Wapiti Mk.II and IIA. It was a conventional two-bay biplane with tandem open cockpits and a fixed main undercarriage. The forward fuselage was of metal covering, while the rear fuselage was fabric covered. The Wapiti was powered by a Bristol Jupiter radial engine turning two-blade wooden propeller. It was armed with a forward-firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun for the observer, and it could carry up to 580 lb of bombs of various types under the fuselage and wings. It was also fitted with a radio and photographic instruments. The Wapiti equipped twenty squadrons of the RAF, serving both at home and overseas – in India and Iraq. It remained in RAF service until 1940.