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| Evolved from the Type 141 to meet a Bolivian requirement which was to result, in 1929, in an order for six aircraft, the Type 143 was flown for the first time on 11 June of that year. The Type 143, known unofficially as the Bolivian Scout, differed from the Type 141 in having squared-off wingtips, longer-span, narrow-chord ailerons, a larger cut-out above the pilot's cockpit, a split-axle undercarriage, hoop-skids under the inter-plane struts and a modified fuselage faired to a broader oval section to mate with a 450 hp Bristol Jupiter VIA nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine. As with the Type 141, the upper wing centre section was carried above the fuselage on splayed, cross-braced struts, the fuselage being supported above the lower wing by N-type struts. Construction was all metal and armament comprised two 0.303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers guns firing through troughs in the fuselage sides. The first of the six Type 143 fighters for Bolivia's Cuerpo de Aviation reached El Alto, La Paz, in January 1930, the sixth having been fitted with a Jupiter VII for Air Ministry trials at Martlesham Heath before being re-engined with a Jupiter VIA for shipment to Bolivia. By the time sporadic border disputes between Bolivia and Paraguay in the Chaco Boreal escalated, in June 1932, into full-scale warfare, the Cuerpo de Aviation of the former nation had already written off three of its Type 143s. On 30 September, one of the surviving Type 143s was effectively responsible for the first Paraguayan loss as a result of air-to-air combat - probably the first loss of an aircraft in such circumstances in the history of Latin-American military aviation - when a Wibault 73 received damage that, indirectly, was to lead to its destruction.
 | A three-view drawing (1280 x 978) |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 1415 kg | 3120 lb |
| Empty weight | 1019 kg | 2247 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 10.36 m | 34 ft 0 in |
| Length | 8.50 m | 28 ft 11 in |
| Height | 3.43 m | 11 ft 3 in |
| Wing area | 31.21 m2 | 335.94 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 241 km/h | 150 mph |
| Ceiling | 6100 m | 20000 ft |
| Renato Angulo, e-mail, 11.09.2012 19:38 Un error garrafal, ningun wibault fue derribado. Ahora un scout volado por Rafael Pabon derribo al Potez 25 N` 6 el 4 de diciembre del 1932 y el 12 de junio de 1933 se presume que el scout volado por Rivera derribo al Piloto paraguayo Walter Gwynn que volaba en esos momentos un Fiat C.R. 20 bis
El 30 de septiembre de 1932 dos wibault type 73 se estrellaron por que sus radiadores se resquebrajaron y se sobrecalentaron los motores, ambos aparatos lograron aterrizar, salvándose sus pilotos pero destruyéndose las maquinas reply | | Richard Cotton, e-mail, 01.01.2012 00:45 My grandfather was a pilot in the Chaco War Luis Ernst Rivera and I was looking for a small model airplane of the Vickers to purchase and or build. Do you know where I can find one? Thank you in advance for you help. reply |
| dashanya, 20.06.2011 12:07 aircraft in such circumstances in the history of Latin-American military aviation - when a Wibault 73 received damage that, indirectly, was to lead to its destruction. reply | | jorge arturo, e-mail, 07.05.2007 17:12 desearia mayor información respecto a este modelo, para mi tesis sobre la aviación en la guerra del chaco
gracias reply |
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Hello Richard, I am doing a research on a Bolivian named Luis Ernst Rivera who studied in Zurich, Switzerland around 1921-1923 and played football for 1st division side Grasshopper-Club Zurich at that time, and I was wondering if that is the same guy like the legendary bolivian pilot, your grandfather(?). Do you know anything about this? Thank you for any clue.
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