В.Кондратьев Самолеты первой мировой войны
В конце войны появилась очередная перспективная разработка Кольховена - истребитель, оснащенный 320-сильным радиальным "стационаром" ABC "Дрэгонфлай" и получивший название FK.25 "Бэзилиск". Помимо двигателя, он отличался от "Бэнтэма" увеличенными размерами, формой хвостового оперения и традиционным расположением кабины позади бипланной коробки. Несмотря на рекордные летные данные, из-за недоведенности двигателя и окончания боевых действий в серию он не попал.
ЛЕТНО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ ИСТРЕБИТЕЛЯ "Бэзилиск"
Размах, м 7,73
Длина, м 6,22
Площадь крыла, кв.м 19,8
Сухой вес, кг 612
Взлетный вес, кг 946
Скорость максимальная, км/ч 248
Время набора высоты
3000 м, мин.,сек. 75,0
Потолок практический, м 6100
P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
Frederick Koolhoven designed a further fighter for the B.A.T. Company to meet the R.A.F. Type 1 Specification, the F.K.25 Basilisk completed during 1918. The machine was another of those developed to use the power of the 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly radial engine and was on the general lines of the earlier Bantam but with the pilot given more conventional accommodation in a cockpit set further aft in the monocoque fuselage. Two-bay wings were again used and the undercarriage followed Koolhoven’s favourite style of separate units with a broad track. The Basilisk’s armament consisted of a pair of fuselage-mounted Vickers guns. The second prototype embodied minor modifications but the Basilisk failed to make any headway towards production.
F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
B.A.T. F.K.25 Basilisk
It is to be assumed that by the time Frederick Koolhoven arrived at his final wartime fighter design, the F.K.25 Basilisk, he had become disenchanted with his habit of attaching the top wing directly to the top of the fuselage, for in this aircraft the upper wing was built in two halves and joined on the aircraft’s centreline; the wing was located well clear of the fuselage, being braced to it by a single, central N-strut.
The engine was once again the 320hp ABC Dragonfly - alas, still uncured of its self-destructive tendencies - and therein, of course, lay the ultimate fate of the aircraft. Apart from this fatal shortcoming, the Basilisk was a rugged, high performance fighter.
Three prototypes were ordered, and the first of these, F2906, was flown in September. Its two Vickers guns were mounted on the upper decking of the nose, but were soon to be covered by a large tapered fairing which extended aft to form the front coaming of the cockpit; the sides of the cockpit were cut fairly low so that, in conjunction with the cutaway lower wing root trailing edge, the pilot’s field of view downwards was extremely good. The fin and horn-balanced rudder were of continuous contour of attractive shape, but early tests demanded a slight increase in rudder area. Plain ailerons were fitted on all four wings, although these were replaced by extended horn-balanced ailerons on the second aircraft.
The first Basilisk prototype was lost in a tragic accident early in May 1919, which cost the life of Flight-Cdr Peter Legh rn - the first post-War death of a test pilot. In an attempt on the world’s altitude record while flying from Hendon, the Basilisk’s engine caught fire and the aircraft crashed. This accident was cited as the cause of the death of the pilot, who might otherwise have survived had the aircraft been fitted with a metal-asbestos firewall forward of the cockpit, this statement leading to the mandatory introduction of such a firewall on every military and civilian aircraft thereafter.
All three Baslisks came to be built, the remaining two spending much of their time at Martlesham Heath between July 1919 and September 1920, when they were grounded on account of their recalcitrant Dragonfly engines.
Type: Single-engine, single-seat, two-bay biplane fighter.
Manufacturer: The British Aerial Transport Co Ltd, Willesden, London.
Powerplant: One 320hp ABC Dragonfly seven-cylinder radial engine.
Dimensions: Span, 25ft 4in; length, 20ft 5in; height, 8ft 2in; wing area, 212 sq ft.
Weights: Tare, 1,454lb; all-up, 2,182lb.
Performance: Max speed, 142.5 mph at 6,500ft; climb to 10,000ft, 8 min 25 sec; service ceiling, 22,500ft; endurance, 3 1/4 hr.
Armament: Two synchronized 0.303in Vickers machine guns on upper nose decking.
Prototypes: Three, F2906-F2908. (F2906 first flown in September 1918). No production.
W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters
B.A.T. F.K.25 BASILISK UK
The last single-seat fighter of Koolhoven design built by the British Aerial Transport Company, the F.K.25 Basilisk was designed around the 350 hp A.B.C. Dragonfly I nine-cylinder radial engine and carried the usual armament of twin synchronised 0.303-in (7,7- mm) Vickers guns. Of wooden construction with a monocoque fuselage, the Basilisk featured a hood-like fairing, ahead of the cockpit, which enclosed the guns and shielded the pilot. Three prototypes were ordered, the first of these flying during the summer of 1918. The second prototype, completed in 1919, differed from its predecessor primarily in having a deeper fairing ahead of the cockpit. Further work on the Basilisk was abandoned at the end of 1919.
Max speed, 142 mph (228 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1 980 m).
Time to 10,000 ft (3 050 m), 8.4 min.
Endurance, 3.25 hrs.
Empty weight, 1,454 lb (659 kg).
Loaded weight, 2,182 lb (990 kg).
Span, 25 ft 4 in (7,72m).
Length, 20 ft 5 in (6,22m).
Height, 8 ft 2 in (2,49 m).
Wing area, 212 sq ft (19,69 m2).
J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
B.A.T. F.K.25, the Basilisk
THE stumpy little Basilisk was built in 1918. It was a single-seat fighter developed from the Bantam, and was fitted with the more powerful A.B.C. Dragonfly I radial engine of 320 h.p.
Once again Koolhoven produced a machine having a wooden monocoque fuselage, two-bay wings of equal span, and the typical wide-track undercarriage with independent springing of each wheel. In the Basilisk the wing and cockpit arrangements were more conventional than those of the Bantam. The upper wing was made in two halves which were connected to the fuselage by a single N-strut on the aircraft’s centre-line. The pilot sat behind and slightly below the upper wing. Only the lower wing was rigged with dihedral. On the first prototype, F.2906, plain ailerons were fitted to upper and lower wings, but the second Basilisk had horn-balanced ailerons. The later machine also had a larger fairing over the machineguns.
Some rather exaggerated claims have been made for the Basilisk’s performance, and figures quoting a speed of 162 m.p.h. at ground level have gained some credence. The performance details given below come from a Martlesham Heath test report dated October, 1919, and are probably much more realistic. It will be seen that the performance was still very good, however. The Basilisk suffered (as did so many of its contemporaries) from the shortcomings of its A.B.C. Dragonfly engine. The Dragonfly was developed from August, 1917, onwards, and seemed to hold such promise that large-scale production was ordered in 1918. It is therefore not surprising that so many prototype aircraft of that year were fitted with the Dragonfly. This engine is discussed in the history of the Nieuport Nighthawk.
One of the Basilisks crashed in 1919, killing its pilot, Peter Legh, who had been one of the B.A.T. team of test pilots.
SPECIFICATION
Manufacturers: The British Aerial Transport Co., Ltd., Hythe Road, Willesden, London, N.W.
Power: 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly I.
Dimensions: Span: 25 ft 4 in. Length: 20 ft 5 in. Height: 8 ft 2 in. Chord: 4 ft 6 1/2 in. Gap: 4 ft 4 in. Stagger: nil. Span of tail: 9 ft 10 in. Airscrew diameter: 8 ft 8 in.
Areas: Wings: 212 sq ft. Ailerons: each 7-5 sq ft, total 30 sq ft. Tailplane: 13-7 sq ft. Elevators: 8-3 sq ft. Fin: 2-6 sq ft. Rudder: 4-5 sq ft.
Weights and Performance: No. of Trial Report: M.267. Date of Trial Report: October, 1919. Type of airscrew used on trial: A.B.9331. Weight empty: 1,454 lb. Military load: 218 lb. Pilot: 180 lb. Fuel and oil: 330 lb. Weight loaded: 2,182 lb. Maximum speed at 6,500 ft: 142-5 m.p.h.; at 10,000 ft: 141 m.p.h.; at 15,000 ft: 135 m.p.h. Climb to 6,500 ft: 4 min 50 sec; to 10,000 ft: 8 min 25 sec; to 15,000 ft: 15 min 5 sec. Service ceiling: 22,500 ft. Endurance: 3 1/4 hours.
Tankage: Petrol: 40 gallons.
Armament: Two fixed and synchronised Vickers machine-guns mounted on top of the fuselage, firing forward. These guns were slightly staggered: the port gun was a few inches forward of the starboard.
Serial Numbers: F.2906-F.2908. At least two, F.2906 and F.2907, were built.
