Avro Pike Country: Avro Type: Combat Manufacturer: Avro Service: 1916 - 1918 First Flight: May 1916 Production: 2

The Avro 523 Pike (the first Avro aircraft to receive a name) was a British multi-role combat aircraft of the First World War that did not progress past the prototype stage. It was intended to provide the Royal Naval Air Service with an anti-Zeppelin fighter that was also capable of long-range reconnaissance and light bombing. It was a large, three-bay biplane of conventional layout driven by two pusher propellers. Three open cockpits were provided, the centre one for the pilot, and gunners fore and aft of him. The Admiralty evaluated the type, but rejected it. Avro then built a second prototype, replacing the original Sunbeam engines with Green engines and designating it the 523A. The Admiralty evaluated this version in November, but found that the type was now obsolete and did not place an order. The two prototypes flew as testbeds with Avro for the remainder of the war.

General characteristics