In 1922, Vickers designed a two-seat biplane as a private venture as a possible replacement for the
Airco DH.9A and
Bristol F.2 Fighter. Building on the experience of the unsuccessful wartime
FB.14 fighter-
reconnaissance aircraft, the Vixen was a single-bay biplane with a steel tube
fuselage and wooden wings, powered by a 450 hp (340 kW)
Napier Lion engine. The first prototype aircraft, the
Type 71 Vixen I, given the civil registration
G-EBEC, flew in February 1923. It was tested at
Martlesham Heath and showed good performance, prompting modification to a day
bomber role as the
Type 87 Vixen II, which was fitted with a ventral
radiator between the
undercarriage legs replacing the car-type radiator of the Vixen I, first flying in this form on 13 August 1923. The Vixen I and II formed the basis of the Venture army co-operation aircraft for the
Royal Air Force and the Valparaiso for export purposes. The next version of the Vixen was the
Vickers Type 91 Vixen III, first flying in April 1924 which was fitted with larger wings (with wingspan of 44 ft/13.4 m rather than 34 ft 6 in/10.5 m earlier aircraft) for increased performance at altitude, and reverted to a nose-mounted radiator. The Vixen III was tested with both wheel and
float undercarriages, and was later converted back to a landplane, and used for air racing, competing in the 1925, 1926 and 1927
King's Cup Races. The Vixen III formed the basis of the
Type 116 Vixen V, fitted with a high-compression Lion V engine and a modified tail, of which 18 were purchased by
Chile. The Vixen II prototype was modified to use the more powerful
Rolls-Royce Condor engine at the end of 1924 as the
Type 105 Vixen IV, which was intended for use as a
night fighter. While it showed improved performance over the Lion-powered versions, it was not successful, and was modified with the enlarged wings of the Vixen III as a general-purpose aircraft (the
Type 124 Vixen VI) for evaluation as a private venture entry to meet the requirements of
Air Ministry Specification 26/27, competing against the
Bristol Beaver,
Fairey Ferret,
de Havilland Hound,
Gloster Goral,
Westland Wapiti, and Vickers' own
Valiant. The Vixen was rejected on the grounds that the Condor engine was too heavy and powerful for the role. When the problems encountered by the wooden wings of the Vixen V in Chile were realised, it was decided to produce a version with metal wings. This was initially designated Vixen VII, but was soon renamed
Vickers Vivid. The Vixen III prototype was rebuilt with metal wings to become the
Type 130 Vivid, first flying in this form on 27 June 1927, powered by a Lion VA engine, later being re-engined with a 540 hp (400 kW) Lion XI as the
Type 146 Vivid. The Vivid was evaluated by
Romania, but no orders resulted, with the prototype being sold to a private buyer in 1931, being destroyed in a fire at
Chelmsford in 1932. ==Operational history==