It flew for the first time on 30 October 1933, with Harald Penrose, Westland's regular test pilot at the controls.
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The biplane Vickers Type 253 design, which used a radical geodesic airframe construction that was derived from that used by Barnes Wallis in the airship R100, was ordered by the Ministry and tested against the specification along with the Fairey G.4/31, Westland PV-7, Handley Page HP.47, Armstrong Whitworth A.W.19, Blackburn B-7, Hawker P.V.4 and the Parnall G.4/31.
In November 1932, the PV-3 was chosen, together with the Westland PV-6 (the prototype of the Westland Wallace) for the Houston Mount Everest Flying Expedition to fly over and photograph Mount Everest.
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The aircraft is best known as one of the first two to fly over Mount Everest.
The original PV-6 prototype, registered G-ACBR (and also known as the Houston-Wallace) along with Westland PV-3 G-ACAZ, was part of the Houston Everest Expedition, named after Lucy, Lady Houston the patron, an attempt to fly over Mount Everest.