Summary

Aircraft History

First introduced into Royal Air Force service in 1924, the Siskin was built by Sir W.G Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd as a biplane fighter powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine. It had originally been designed during the First World War to be fitted with the failed ABC Dragonfly radial engine. The Siskin IIIA entered service with the Royal Air Force in September 1926 and remained in RAF service until 1932. It was also used by the Estonian Air Force and equipped the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1927 until 1939. It was noted for its aerobatic capability and was used by display teams in the RAF and RCAF. The model carries the RAF serial number J9859, representing an aircraft operated by Nos 1, 29, 32 and 43 Squadrons, RAF.

Model History

This 1:24 scale model was donated to the Museum by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd in 1954. It was apparently built as a presentation or display model.

Physical Description

Model of a single-engined biplane aircarft. Nose-mounted radial engine with two-bladed propeller. Fixed tailskid undercarriage. Finished overall in silver paint with dark-coloured panels around and ahead of the cockpit. Red, white and blue roundels on fuselage sides below and behind cockpit and on upper and lower surfaces of upper wings, just inboard of the wingtips. Red, white and blue vertical stripes on both sides of rudder.

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