In 1916, the British Admiralty drew up Requirement N.1B for a single-seat floatplane or flying boat fighter aircraft to operate from the Royal Navy's seaplane carriers, demanding a speed of 110 mph (177 km/h) and a ceiling of 20,000 ft (6,100 m). Three companies submitted designs in response, Blackburn and Supermarine with flying boats (the Blackburn N.1B and Supermarine Baby), while Westland proposed a floatplane, the Westland N.1B. Westland received an order for two aircraft.^[1]

Westland's design, which was the first original design built by Westland, was a single-engined tractor biplane of wooden construction.^[1] It had a deep fuselage, while its two-bay wings were designed to fold to save space on ship, and were fitted with trailing-edge flaps. It was powered by a single Bentley A.R.1 rotary engine (later known as the BR1) and carried a single synchronised forward-firing Vickers machine gun on the nose, and a Lewis gun firing over the upper wing.^[2][3] The first N.1B was fitted with 11 ft (3.35 m) long Sopwith main floats and a 5 ft (1.52 m) long tail float, while the second N.1B had much longer (17 ft 6 in 5.34 m) main floats, which removed the need for a tail float.^[4]

The first N.1B, serial number N16 was first flown by Harry Hawker from Westland's Yeovil factory in August 1917.^[5] The two N.1Bs were evaluated at the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot in October 1917,^[6] demonstrating good performance and handling.^[5] By this time, however, the Royal Naval Air Service was operating Sopwith Pup landplanes from flying-off platforms aboard ships, which did not require the carrier to heave-to in order to lower a seaplane to the water, and was planning to carry out similar operations with the Sopwith Camel, and the N.1B programme was cancelled.^[6]

Data from Westland Aircraft since 1915 ^[7]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 26 ft 5+1⁄2 in (8.065 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 3+1⁄2 in (9.538 m)
• Height: 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
• Wing area: 278 sq ft (25.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,513 lb (686 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,987 lb (901 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Bentley BR.1 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 150 hp (110 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 107 mph (172 km/h, 93 kn)
• Endurance: 2 hours 45 minutes^[6]
• Service ceiling: 10,400 ft (3,200 m) ^[6]
• Time to altitude: 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in 10 minutes

Armament

• Guns: 1x forward firing, synchronised .303 in Vickers machine guns and one Lewis gun above upper wing
• Bombs: 2x 65 lb (30 kg) bombs on racks under fuselage

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Blackburn N.1B
• Port Victoria P.V.9
• Short N.1B Shirl
• Supermarine N.1B Baby

• Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London:Putnam, 1957.
• James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-847-X.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

• Westland History – Westland N.1B (1917) Agustawestland.