AP 118 · No. 10 Section II · Aircraft Plate 61 / 246

Plate 61 of 246 · Between the wars · General-purpose biplane

Westland Wallace

Wallace II, K6035, painted as K6035, a Westland Wallace II built in September 1935, flown by No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron in 1936–37 and then by No. 1 Electrical and Wireless School at Cranwell, restored by Skysport Engineering and back on display at RAF Museum London, Hendon, since 2023: Westland's two-seat general-purpose biplane, a lengthened development of the Wapiti with a Bristol Pegasus radial in a Townend ring, unstaggered two-bay wings with ailerons on all four wings and Handley Page slots, a gunner's cockpit with a Fairey gun ring and spatted main wheels, shown standing tail-down on its wheels and tail wheel with both cockpits open: silver dope and polished metal panels, black top decking from the cowling to the fin, type A roundels on the fuselage, black 'K6035' on the rear fuselage and 'K' over '6035' on the rudder, and a two-blade wooden propeller with grey-green blades; the museum's airframe has no outer wings and its starboard side is left uncovered, so the wings, their roundels and serials, and the starboard covering are built from the NACA three-view and 1930s practice (shape from the NACA Aircraft Circular 179 three-view, checked against photographs of K6035).

3D model

Turn it over

A procedural model built in Blender from published dimensions, drawings and photographs, painted as K6035, a Westland Wallace II built in September 1935, flown by No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron in 1936–37 and then by No. 1 Electrical and Wireless School at Cranwell, restored by Skysport Engineering and back on display at RAF Museum London, Hendon, since 2023: Westland's two-seat general-purpose biplane, a lengthened development of the Wapiti with a Bristol Pegasus radial in a Townend ring, unstaggered two-bay wings with ailerons on all four wings and Handley Page slots, a gunner's cockpit with a Fairey gun ring and spatted main wheels, shown standing tail-down on its wheels and tail wheel with both cockpits open: silver dope and polished metal panels, black top decking from the cowling to the fin, type A roundels on the fuselage, black 'K6035' on the rear fuselage and 'K' over '6035' on the rudder, and a two-blade wooden propeller with grey-green blades; the museum's airframe has no outer wings and its starboard side is left uncovered, so the wings, their roundels and serials, and the starboard covering are built from the NACA three-view and 1930s practice (shape from the NACA Aircraft Circular 179 three-view, checked against photographs of K6035). Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom · download .glb (1.0 MB)

Data plate

Specification

First flight, number built and top speed are for the whole family (Wapiti, Wallace II); engine, crew and dimensions are for the Wallace II, K6035 modelled here.

History

The Wallace

The Wallace grew out of the Westland Wapiti, the two-seat general-purpose biplane that had replaced the de Havilland DH.9A from 1928. The Wapiti was designed to use as many DH.9A parts as possible, and more than 500 were built; it policed the North-West Frontier of India and Iraq for the RAF into the late 1930s. In 1931 Westland rebuilt a Wapiti as a private venture, the PV-6, with a fuselage lengthened by 20 inches, wheel brakes, spats over the main wheels and a Bristol Pegasus radial in a Townend ring. It first flew on 31 October 1931.

The PV-6 became famous before it became a service type. Re-registered G-ACBR for the Houston Mount Everest Expedition and flown alongside the Westland PV-3, it took part in the first flights over the summit of Everest on 3 April 1933, with Flight Lieutenant David McIntyre and Lord Clydesdale at the controls of the two aircraft. The Air Ministry had already ordered Wapitis converted to the new standard, and 68 were rebuilt as the Wallace I with the 570 hp Pegasus IIM3.

The Wallace II, of which 104 were built new from 1935, had the more powerful Pegasus IV and sliding hoods over both cockpits. Wallaces went chiefly to the Auxiliary Air Force, with Nos. 501, 502, 503 and 504 Squadrons among others, where weekend airmen flew them as day bombers until monoplanes and Hawker Hinds replaced them in 1936–37. Most were then converted as target tugs or used as wireless trainers; 83 were still in service when war broke out in 1939, and the last were withdrawn in 1943.

This airframe

Wallace II K6035

K6035The airframe modelled

K6035 was built at Yeovil in September 1935 and flew with No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force in 1936–37, before serving No. 1 Electrical and Wireless School at Cranwell. It is the only Wallace left in Britain. The RAF Museum had the surviving fuselage restored by Skysport Engineering, and it went back on show at Hendon in 2023, with its engine, Townend ring, propeller, spatted undercarriage and tail fitted but without its outer wings, and with the starboard side left uncovered to show the structure. The model shows it complete, standing tail-down on its wheels and tail wheel with both cockpits open as displayed: silver dope and polished metal panels, black top decking from the cowling to the fin, type A roundels on the fuselage, black ‘K6035’ on the rear fuselage and ‘K’ over ‘6035’ on the rudder, and a two-bladed wooden propeller with grey-green blades. The wings, with their roundels and underwing serials, follow the NACA three-view of the Wallace and RAF practice of 1936; the rest was checked against photographs of K6035.

See it at Royal Air Force Museum London

Where to see one

In the gazetteer

The gazetteer records the Wallace in 2 UK collections. The airframe modelled here is marked.

Every airframe and serial All 246 plates

Profiles and models are procedural interpretations built in Blender from published dimensions, three-view drawings and photographs of each airframe. Treat the museum aircraft as the reference.