Operational History
The Military Aviation Service of Chile placed an initial order for twelve Vixen Vs in May 1925, this being increased to 18 in July. While prone to engine problems owing to the problems with the special fuel (⅔ petrol to ⅓ benzol) required for the high-compression Lion V engine, and requiring frequent re-rigging owing to the use of wooden wings in the high temperature of Northern Chile, the Vixen Vs, operated by the Grupo Mixto de Aviación N° 3. were popular in Chilean service, being used for long-distance flights of several hundred miles and continued in service for several years. Vixens participated in bombing raids against mutinying ships of the Chilean Navy (including the Battleship Almirante Latorre) during the Sailors' mutiny of September 1931.
After rejection by the Royal Air Force, the Vixen VI, piloted by the Test pilot Joseph Summers and Colonel Charles Russell of the Irish Air Corps, carried the first Irish Air Mail, between Galway and London.
Read more about this topic: Vickers Vixen
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