The Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mark V: The Bizarre British Tailless Fighter Designed to Never Stall

The Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mark V was one of the strangest fighters ever proposed for the Royal Air Force. A tailless biplane with wingtip stabilizers, a 20-foot fuselage, and an unreliable Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine. It was designed to solve the stall problem that killed pilots in the 1920s and 1930s. It didn't work. This is the story of Geoffrey Hill's final Pterodactyl—an aircraft ahead of its time that was also completely impractical. KEY SPECIFICATIONS: • Length: 20 feet 6 inches • Configuration: Unequal-span biplane, tailless • Engine: Rolls-Royce Goshawk (evaporative cooling) • Max Speed: 165 mph (slower than Hawker Hart at 185 mph) • Armament: 2x Vickers .303, 1-2x Lewis .303 (turret never fitted) • Crew: 2 (pilot, observer/gunner) • First Flight: May 1934 • Production: 1 prototype only • Service: Never entered service • Fate: Scrapped circa 1937 CONTEXT: Geoffrey Hill (1895-1987) was a WWI combat pilot who became obsessed with solving the stall problem in aircraft. Between 1925-1936, he developed five tailless "Pterodactyl" designs with Westland Aircraft. The Mark V was the only fighter variant. It proved that tailless aircraft could fly, but also that they weren't ready for practical military service in the 1930s. The Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine plagued almost every aircraft it was fitted to and never entered production. The Pterodactyl Mark V's poor performance (20 mph slower than the Hawker Hart despite being newer) combined with structural issues and engine unreliability doomed the project. Hill left Westland in 1934 to become a professor. His work on tailless aircraft influenced later designs, including post-WWII jets and flying wings. While the Pterodactyl Mark V failed, the research wasn't wasted—it contributed to understanding tailless flight aerodynamics. Only one Pterodactyl Mark V was built (RAF serial K2770). It was scrapped around 1937. No complete aircraft survives today. #Pterodactyl #WestlandAircraft #TaillessAircraft #ExperimentalAircraft #1930sAviation #RAF #BritishAviation #ForgottenAircraft ``` 📺 RELATED PLAYLISTS: • British WWII Aircraft:    / watchv=qimhvv6pre8&list=plcehin6dhwilpwagz...   • WWII German Aircraft:    / watchv=__drphxfkww&list=plcehin6dhwil2f8ui...   • WWII Japanese Aircraft:    / watchv=8s5thv6nzo&list=plcehin6dhwikpqf9eg...   • B-17 Flying Fortress Stories:    • Frankenstein B17G bomber with jet engines,...   🔔 Subscribe for more stories about the forgotten, unusual, and overlooked aircraft of WWII. Copyright Disclaimer: - Under section 107 of the copyright Act 1976, allowance is mad for FAIR USE for purpose such a as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statues that might otherwise be infringing. Non- Profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of FAIR USE