Avro 552A Viper

In 1924 the RCAF needed a replacement for their Avro 504L seaplanes assigned to forest patrol and other light duties. Due in part to the commanility between the 504K trainers and the 552As, an order was placed with Canadian Vickers Ltd to provide nine two-seat seaplanes. All the RCAF machines were ordered with a 25 Imperial gallon fuel tank under each upper wing (clearly visible in the photo) to give greater range than the standard British 552A. The RCAF would also not accept the antiquated flat-bottomed British float and bought a design developed by the US Naval Aircraft Factory at Philadelphia for the Vought UO seaplane trainer.
CF Photo

G-CYGC was one of nine Viper (T.S. (two-seat) Patrol AVS (Avro Viper Seaplane) serving in the RCAF from 1925 to 1928, although this specific Aircraft suffered a Category A accident at Bowden Lake, Alberta and was struck off strength on 18 October, 1927. The seaplanes were operated out of Winnipeg and gave considerable trouble, often experiencing high oil temperatures for which the recommended procedure became to mount external oil tanks on each side of the nose for cooling, and retrofitting with the Reed-Curtiss metal propeller. However in practice only the oil tanks were generally embodied on the machines. The water performance was found to be good on the other hand, and later when the Avro 504 NS seaplanes were ordered the same float installation was specified.
CF Photo