# RAF´s pre-war aircrafts



## gekho (Jan 19, 2012)

The RAF finished the First World War as the world’s first independent air force with strength of 293,532 officers and men and a self-confidence of its own capabilities as shown by its actions during the final campaigns of the war. However, despite the fact the RAF did not face the introspective analysis of the war that was required by both the Army and RN in terms of their roles in future wars it did begin to analyse the potential role that air power would play in the future. In January 1919 Air Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, now Chief of the Air Staff, had the Air Ministry produce a synopsis of the role that the air force had played in the First World War. This piece laid out four principles that were to form the core of RAF thinking for much of the inter-war period. The most important of these was the argument that central to the effective application of air power in the battle space was the attainment of ‘Command of the Air’ or air superiority.

However, before Trenchard could forge a future for the newly formed RAF he first had to defend it from budgetary constraints that were being placed upon each of the three services in the early post-war years. The RAF’s budget went from £52.5 million in 1920 to £9.4 million in 1923, a drop of some eighty-three percent and in the same period it saw its strength drop to some 27,000 officers and men and just twenty-five squadrons. Each of the three services had to contend with a smaller pot of money and deal with the Treasury’s contention of the ten-year rule as a basis for military spending, which caused serious issues for the planners of each the services. The rule also did not help the already prevalent hostility that existed between the newborn RAF and the older branches of the military. Both the Army and RN argued that they should have control of their own air assets and for much of the inter-war period both branches made concerted efforts to bring their assets back into their respective folds.

It is useful to note the personal effect that budgetary constraints had upon the service. For example, in 1920, the future Marshal of the Royal Air Force, then Squadron Leader Arthur Travers Harris who as Officer Commanding No. 3 Flying Training School had to do battle with the bureaucracy of Whitehall when an issue arose over the disposal of redundant supplies, in this case excess cans of petrol. Harris in his usual effective manner stored the cans behind barbed wire and he soon discovered that some had evaporated. He quickly reported this and in return, he received an abusive letter informing him that he now had to pay for the shortage. This illustrates the problems that were faced by the service in the early post-war years and the length that would be taken to save money. Luckily, for Harris he used his ingenuity and checked with a local petrol company as to how much petrol could evaporate over a period of a year, the answer to which was 100%. He proceeded to tell the air ministry that he was owed money and the matter was dropped. Harris noted to his official biographer, Dudley Saward that ‘Serving in the services in the immediate aftermath of a war is not an exciting or particularly pleasant experience.’ In other areas too, the service faced serious financial problems and more often than not officers found themselves doing jobs that at any other time would have been done by at least two officers. For example, Squadron Leader Alec Haslam at the School of Army Co-Operation in 1921 noted that the reason for this was the fear of the Geddes Axe and, therefore, he noted that, ‘We doubled every job we needed except the Wing Commander.’ Thankfully, for Haslam the ‘Axe’ did not fall on the school and soon after he was able to suggest the posting of Squadron Leader Trafford Leigh Mallory to the School as No. 2 Squadron Leader. Alongside its budgetary figures it is useful to examine the expenditure of the various services in this period, table 1.1 shows that RAF expenditure on armaments and various war stores compared favourably with the army but not so well in comparison to the RN and its capital ship building program.

Source: The Royal Air Force and the Problems of the Inter-War Years « Thoughts on Military History

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## gekho (Jan 19, 2012)

The Blackburn was an ugly carrier-borne Fleet spotter-reconnaissance biplane, accommodating a pilot in an open cockpit in front of the upper wing leading edge, a wireless operator/gunner and a navigator/observer. The latter crew members were provided with a cabin inside the deep fuselage and only needed to venture out into the open for observation or to use the rear-mounted Lewis machine-gun. Thirty production Blackburn Is, with 335kW Napier Lion IIB engines, were built. The type first entered service on board HMS Eagle in 1923. These were followed by 29 346kW Napier Lion-engined Blackburn IIs, entering service in 1926. All were replaced by Fairey IIIFs in 1931. 

Source: Blackburn R.1 Blackburn - reconnaissance

It seems not only frenchs made ugly birds.....


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## gekho (Jan 19, 2012)

In 1923, Charles Richard Fairey, founder and chief designer of Fairey Aviation, disappointed with his Fawn bomber, which owing to the constraints of Air Ministry specifications, was slower than the Airco DH.9A which it was meant to replace while carrying no greater bombload, conceived the idea of a private venture bomber not subject to official limitations, which could demonstrate superior performance and handling. On seeing the Curtiss CR, powered by a Curtiss D-12 V-12 liquid-cooled engine of low frontal area and in a low drag installation, win the 1923 Schneider Trophy race, Fairey realised that this engine would be well suited to a new bomber and acquired an example of the engine and a licence for production.

Fairey commenced design of a bomber around this engine, with detailed design carried out by a team at first led by Frank Duncanson and then by the Belgian Marcel Lobelle. The resultant aircraft, the Fairey Fox, was a single-bay biplane with highly staggered wings, with a composite wood and metal structure. The Curtiss D-12 was installed in a closely cowled tractor installation, with one radiator mounted on the underside of the upper wing, and a second retractable radiator that could be wound in and out of the fuselage as required. Pilot and gunner sat close together in two tandem cockpits, with the gunner armed with a Lewis gun on a specially designed high-speed gun mounting that allowed the gun to be stowed to reduce drag, with the pilot armed with a single synchronised Vickers machine gun. Up to 460 lb of bombs could be carried under the wings, aimed by the gunner whose seat folded to allow use of a bombsight.

Source: Fairey Fox | Facebook


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## gekho (Jan 19, 2012)

The Cloud amphibious flying-boat was produced in two forms: as a civil eight-seater and as a military trainer. In the latter role the RAF received 16 from 1933. The large cabin provided accommodation for eight pupils; six pupils and wireless and electrical equipment, navigation instruments and signalling apparatus; or four.pupils and the above equipment for navigational training. Alternatively, the Cloud could be used for flying training, to simulate the conditions to be met with a larger service type of flying-boat. Power was provided by two 253kW Armstrong Siddeley Double Mongoose engines. 

Source: Saunders-Roe A.19 Cloud - flying boat


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## gekho (Jan 20, 2012)

One of the criticisms of early Fairey aircraft was aimed at their appearance, for they were frequently regarded as being numbered among the most ugly aeroplanes in the air. It was an unkind attitude in an age when it was difficult to attain the sort of performance required by a general-purpose aircraft: one which might be expected to operate from and to a ship at sea, in addition to more conventional use as a landplane or seaplane. Fairey's IIID, first flown in prototype form in August 1920, derived from the company's F.128 experimental floatplane of 1917. This introduced the Fairey Patent Camber Gear evolved for the Hamble Baby, which was then described as a trailing-edge flap and used to increase the lift of the wings. Today we would regard these aerofoil control surfaces as drooped ailerons, for they were used as ailerons in flight, but could be drooped symmetrically to enhance the lift developed by the normal wing surface. Tested as a two-seat sea-plane, the F.128 was known as the Fairey III. With a single frontal radiator behind the propeller and the floats replaced by a wheel landing gear, the designation became Fairey IIIA.

In modified form the designation became Fairey IIIB. These had float landing gear, increased wing area, and ailerons on the upper wing in addition to the Patent Camber Gear on the lower. The IIIC which followed had a performance increase of some 14%, almost entirely due to the installation of a Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine. It was regarded as one of the best seaplanes of its day, but it entered service too late to be involved in World War I. The Fairey IIID benefited from considerable experience with Fairey Ills in both RFC and RNAS use. The prototype retained the Eagle VIII engine, but of the 207 built for service with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, 152 were powered by Napier Lion IIB, V or VA engines. A large-span two-bay biplane with constant-chord wings, the IIID was operated as a landplane from shore stations and aircraft carriers, or as a seaplane for catapult launch from warships. In fact, on 30 October 1925, a IIID became the first standard FAA seaplane to be catapulted from a ship at sea.

In landplane form, the IIID was one of the first service aircraft to have oleo-pneumatic (oil/air) shock-absorbers. It was used to record the RAF's first flight from England to South Africa and its first official long-distance formation flight. Led by Wg Cdr C. W. H. Pulford, between 1 March and 21 June 1926 IIIDs completed a flight of almost 22,530km, Cairo-Cape Town-Cairo and thence to Lee-on-Solent. At no time throughout the period of almost four months was any delay caused by mechanical failure of any of the aircraft, speaking volumes for the soundness of the basic design of both airframe and engine. 

Source: Fairey III -


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## gekho (Jan 20, 2012)

The Short Type 320 was designed to meet an official requirement for a seaplane to carry a Mark IX torpedo. Larger than the earlier Short 184 it was a typical Short folder design of the time, with two-bay uneven span wings. Two prototypes were built powered by a 310 hp Sunbeam Cossack engine, and initially known as the Short 310 Type A from the engine fitted to the prototypes. When the torpedo bomber went into production it was powered by a 320 hp (238 kW) Cossack engine which was the origin of the name the Type 320. At the same time as Shorts were designing the 310 Type A torpedo bomber, they produced a similar design for a patrol floatplane, powered by the same Cossack engine and using the same fuselage, but with equal span three-bay wings instead of the uneven span wings of the torpedo bomber, known as the Short 310 Type B or North Sea Scout, with two prototypes ordered. Priority was given to the torpedo bomber, the first being ready in July 1916 and the second in August that year, with the prototypes being rushed to the Adriatic. The first prototype patrol aircraft was finished in September 1916, but proved to be little better than the Short 184 already in service, and was not ordered into production. The second prototype Type B was completed as a type A torpedo bomber. A conventional biplane floatplane the torpedo was carried between the bottom of the fuselage and the floats. Unusually the aircraft was flown from the rear cockpit although this did cause a problem for an observer in the front seat. The observer had to stand on the coaming to use the machine-gun which was level with the top wing. When a torpedo was carried the aircraft could not fly with an observer at the same time. The first order placed with Shorts was for 30 aircraft, followed by orders for a further 24 and 20 aircraft, together with orders for a further 30 and 20 placed at Sunbeam. Together with the three prototypes, this gave a total production of 127 Short Type 320s.

Twenty-five aircraft were ordered in February 1917 and examples were delivered to the Royal Naval Air Service in Italy before the end of April 1917. Two accidents with the aircraft when the fuselage collapsed after the torpedo was released delayed the use of the aircraft on operations. The cause was later found to be the method of securing the fuselage bracing wires. The first operational use was on 2 September 1917 when six aircraft (five with torpedoes and one with bombs) were towed towed on rafts fifty miles south of Traste Bay to enable them to attack enemy submarines lying off Cattaro.[8] They had to be towed into position as they could not carry enough fuel and a torpedo for the mission. The operation did not go well; with a gale force wind and heavy seas two of the aircraft failed to take off so the operation was abandoned. On the return journey one aircraft was lost and the others were damaged. It appears that the Type 320 never launched a torpedo in action. Due to the lack of operational experience in February 1918 four aircraft were operated from Calshot for experiments with launching the torpedoes. Forty drops were made and proved a valuable source of information about torpedoes entering the water when dropped at different heights and speeds. The aircraft continued to be used as a reconnaissance seaplane until the end of the war.


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## gekho (Jan 20, 2012)

The R.B.1, codenamed ‘Iris’ was the first flying boat design and development project undertaken by the Yorkshire-based Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Corporation, Ltd. The design of the Iris-I was the direct result of the Royal Air Force's desire to fill its maritime reconnaissance arm with a long range platform. A pre-design specification request was delivered to Blackburn in early 1925. Only one year after the specification, the company was able to produce a workable aircraft fully loaded. On the morning of June 26th, 1926, the first prototype, R.B.1-I took to the air in its maiden flight. The Iris-I was an all wooden, three engine flying boat that utilized a distinctive biplane tail elevator on its upper plane and three rudders. The aircraft needed a five men flight crew. The two pilots sat on a side-by-side, open cockpit in the top front of the fuselage. The rest of the crew also sat in an open cockpit placed in the rear area, behind the wing structure. Following a brief evaluation period, engineers at Blackburn decided to replace the provisional wooden hull for an all metal one. There are also some minor modifications performed on the Iris-I’s three Rolls Royce Condor IIIB piston engines. The resulting type was called model R.B.1A-II. It employed a more powerful power plant, the same RR Condor engines, but with an augmented in-line fuel distribution mechanism.

Overall, five versions of the Iris were produced between 1926 and the fall of 1932. All types employed the same airframe profile. Versions I through III were fitted with a Rolls Royce Condor engine, while IV utilized an Armstrong Siddeley Leopard III radial piston engines and type V carried three Rolls Royce Buzzard II MS piston motors. The final three produced Iris (III, IV and V) made it to full operational status, with the RAF’s 209 Squadron, in early 1930. At the time of their deployment, the Iris had the distinction of being the largest operational flying boat in the world. Despite a very good service record, the Iris is most famously remembered by a lone flight. In September 28th, 1928, British Under Secretary of State for Air, Sir Philip Sassoon, took a 15,929km flight on an Iris-II. Sassoon and his party took off from Felixstowe and flew to Karachi to inspect RAF’s units deployed in the Island of Malta, Iraq and Egypt. The whole inspection flight took sixteen days, an impressive achievement for those times.

Source: Blackburn Iris


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## woljags (Jan 20, 2012)

i've always had a soft spot for the Perth,such a graceful design


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## Gnomey (Jan 20, 2012)

Cool stuff!


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## vikingBerserker (Jan 20, 2012)

Wow that first is a bit odd!


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## rochie (Jan 21, 2012)

vikingBerserker said:


> Wow that first is a bit odd!


the designer's parents must have been French !!!!!
great pictures


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## gekho (Jan 21, 2012)

A contender to Specification 0.22/26 calling for a high-speed shipboard reconnaissance-fighter capable of being flown with either wheel or float undercarriage and suitable for catapult operation from cruisers and larger warships, the S.10 Gurnard was awarded a two-prototype contract. One of the prototypes, the Gurnard I, was to be powered by a 525hp Bristol Jupiter X nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, and the other, the Gurnard II, was to have a 525hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS water-cooled 12-cylinder Vee-type engine. A single-bay biplane of metal construction with fabric skinning, the Gurnard had an armament of one fixed forward-firing 7.7mm machine gun and a similar-calibre weapon on a Scarff ring for the second crew member. The Gurnard II was the first to fly, on 16 April 1929, as a floatplane, the Gurnard I following in landplane form three weeks later, on 8 May. Both prototypes were tested at the A&AEE, but the Hawker Osprey was selected in preference and no production of the Gurnard was ordered. The Gurnard II was flown - commencing on 15 June 1931 - as an amphibian with a single main float.


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## gekho (Jan 21, 2012)

After development of the immensely successful series of Hawker Hart light bombers, aircraft designer Sydney Camm developed a similar but related fighter development, initially known as the Hornet. The Hornet was initially powered by a 420 hp in-line liquid cooled Rolls Royce F.XIA engine, and was almost immediately modified to take the 480 hp F.XIS engine. Even with the use of an early developmental engine, the Hornet demonstrated impressive results with speeds over 200 mph. The new engine, soon to be known as the Kestrel1, featured a major advance in engine technology with the introduction of a pressurized cooling system. The Hornet was one of the highlights of the 1929 Olympia Aero Show, and this was the first public appearance of the prototype. It was after this event, when it was delivered as J9682 in 1930 to Martelsham Heath for flight testing. Pilots were impressed with the aircraft's rapid climb, high maximum speed, and impressive maneuverability. The Hornet's superior handling qualities, and great structural strength, prompted the RAF to issue an order for twenty-one Fury Is. A tour of the aircraft to the Balkans in early 1931, sparked interest in the type, which subsequently led to an initial order of six Furies by Yugoslavia. Tests at Martelsham Heath demonstrated that the Hornet, capable of reaching 207 mph in level flight,4 was superior to the Bristol Bulldog, which had just been ordered in extensive quantities for the RAF. The Bristol Bulldog created somewhat of a dilemma for the RAF as the Hart bomber could reach speeds up to 184 mph, while the Bristol Bulldog's maximum speed was only 174 mph.5 During military exercises, the Hart bomber squadrons could complete their mission, while virtually undisturbed by fighter defense. The superior performance of the Hart bomber now invalidated provisions of the F.20/27 requirements, and they were extensively rewritten around the potentialities of the Kestrel engine.

Adopting the RAF policy of naming fighters with words beginning in "F", the Fury as it was now known, went into only limited production, even though it was a superior performing aircraft. The aircraft's relatively high cost (compared to the Bulldog) and economic conditions caused by the Great Depression, were factors that attributed to modest orders of production aircraft. Initially, the Fury equipped No, 43 Squadron at Tangmere in May 1931 and later serving with No. 1 and No. 25 Squadrons, the RAF's corps d'elite. Later, a few served with various training establishments. Fundamentally, the Fury was a relatively small, single seat biplane fighter with an airframe incorporating a newly advance design of tubular steel and aluminum for the fuselage and dumb-bell wing spars, which would remain features of all Hawker aircraft well into WWII.8 Unlike the Hart there was no wing sweepback and ailerons were installed only on the top plane. All versions had a span of thirty feet, while Kestrel variants were 26 feet 8 inches long, with radial engine variants being slightly shorter. Standard armament was installed, comprising of twin Vickers .303 inch guns, with 600 rounds per gun. Performance varied with the powerplant installed, with Kestrel powered variants exceeding the 200 mph mark, while some of the lower powered radial engine types were slightly slower. It was the last classic liquid-cooled engine fighter biplane in the RAF and subsequent replacements including the Gauntlet and Gladiator. Only 118 Furies were produced for the RAF, but approximately thirty-two were exported. 

British variants included the Fury I, the Fury II, the Intermediate Fury and the High Speed Fury. The Intermediate Fury, registered as G-ABSE, was used as a testbed to meet specification F.7/30,9 and led the development of the P.V.3. The Intermediate Fury was first quipped with a Kestrel IIS engine, wheel pants and Messier oleo struts. By the end of 1932, a Kestrel IVS was installed in order to test the supercharger for the Goshawk engine. Other engine installations tested were a Kestrel VI in October 1933, a Goshawk III in May 1935 and Kestrel Special (upgraded Kestrel VI) in August 1935. The High Speed Fury, which featured tapered wings, modified "V" struts, also tested a variety of engines. Engine installations were a 525 hp Kestrel IIS, a 600 hp Kestrel S (Special), a 525 hp Kestrel IIIS, a 600 hp Kestrel VIS, a 695 hp Goshawk III and a Goshawk B.41.10

Perhaps the more interesting Furies were the export versions. Standard production Furies were exported to Yugoslavia, Norway, Persia, Spain and Portugal. In addition, some ex-RAF aircraft went to South Africa, where they were used against the Italians during World War II. Yugoslavia produced about 40 modified Furies with cantilever landing gear and more powerful engine, and some of these wound up with the Spanish Republicans, and when the war was over, the Franco government. Some ex-Yugoslav Furies were used by the Italians as fighter trainers with mixed markings. The Persian Furies had Pratt Whitney Hornet radials, but these were later replaced by Bristol Mercury engines for added performance. So favored were the Persian Mercuries by their pilots, they were flown as late as 1943. The only Norwegian Fury, No. 401, used an Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIIA radial engine, however the results proved disappointing as the engine installation moved the c.g. forward resulting in a tendency of the airplane to nose over during taxiing. The Persian Hornet variants, installed with a metal Hamilton 3-blade propeller, also exhibited the same c.g. problems. Three Spanish Furies with Hispano-Suiza 12XBrs engines were ordered in 1935 and first flown in April 1936. They arrived in Spain July 11,1936 just one week before the start of the Spanish Civil War. Two (4-1, 4-2) were flown by Republican forces and one (4-3) was flown by the Nationalists. At least one of the aircraft changed hands several times, 4-3 being used as a dive bomber until it was destroyed in 1938.

Source: Hawker Fury - Great Britain

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## rochie (Jan 21, 2012)

those Fury formation shots are fantastic


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## vikingBerserker (Jan 21, 2012)

I agree, fantastic!


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## gekho (Jan 23, 2012)

The Blackburn Shark was the last in a series of Blackburn produced biplane torpedo bombers that equipped the Fleet Air Arm in the interwar years. It marked a clear break from the earlier line of Blackburn torpedo bombers – the Dart, Ripon and Baffin – all of which had evolved from the Blackburn Swift of 1919. Instead the Shark was based on the Blackburn B-3, designed to Air Ministry specification M.1/30A in 1931.

The Shark had an all-metal framework with a fabric covering coated in Alclad. It had wings of unequal span – the lower wings were 10 feet shorter than the upper wings. The streamlined bracing wires used on the earlier torpedo bombers were replaced by a stronger system of slanting struts. This made the wing heavier, forcing Blackburn to install a hydraulically operated folding mechanism, but it did mean that the wings were strong enough to carry a full bomb load even when folded. The Shark could use either the Armstrong Siddeley Tiger or Bristol Pegasus radial engines. The Shark I and II had open cockpits for the pilot, observer/ wireless operator and gunners, with the bomb aiming position located below the pilot’s position.

The Shark could also be used as a float plane, performing well on rough water, and as a catapult launched aircraft operating from capital ships. A total of 238 Sharks were built between 1935 and 1937 in Britain, while the last aircraft were produced under licence by Boeing of Canada in 1940. Despite this the Shark had been replaced in the Fleet Air Arm by the outbreak of the Second World War. 

Source: Blackburn Shark


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## gekho (Jan 23, 2012)

The Southampton was designed by the team of R. J. Mitchell, better known as the designer of the later Spitfire. Due to the success of the Swan, the Air Ministry ordered six Southamptons direct from the drawing board, which was very unusual. As the Swan had acted in effect as a prototype, development time was short. The Southampton was a two-engine biplane flying boat, with the tractor engines mounted between the wings. The Southampton Mk I had both its hull and its wings manufactured from wood. The Southampton Mk II had a hull with a single thickness of metal (duralumin) (the Mk I had a double wooden bottom). This change gave a weight saving of 900 lb (409 kg) allowing for an increase of range of approximately 200 mi (320 km). In 1929, 24 of the Mk I were converted by having newly-built metal hulls replacing the wooden ones. Some of the later aircraft were built with metal wings and were probably designated as Southampton Mk III. There were three positions for machine guns, one in the nose and two staggered in the rear fuselage. The first flight of a production aircraft was made on 10 March 1925, and delivery to the RAF started in the middle of 1925.


Southamptons first entered RAF service in August 1925 with No. 480 (Coastal Reconnaissance) Flight at RAF Calshot. In a series of "showing the flag" flights, the type quickly became famous for long-distance formation flights; the most notable was a 43,500 km (27,000 mi) expedition in 1927 and 1928. It was carried out by four Southamptons of the Far East Flight, setting out from Felixstowe via the Mediterranean and India to Singapore.

Source: Supermarine Southampton | Facebook


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## nuuumannn (Jan 23, 2012)

Interesting pictures; that's the one off Southampton X, which was designed as a replacement for the original 'Swampton' as it was nicknamed. It was not put into production. Neat picture though. The wooden hull of the original Southampton Is was designed by a racing yacht builder called Linton Hope, who did a lot of design work on British inter war flying boat hulls.


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## gekho (Jan 23, 2012)

The Hawker Hector was intended as a replacement for the Hawker Audax army co-operation aircraft. Because of the demand for Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines required for the Hawker Hind program, an alternative power plant was specified. Consequently the Napier Dagger III was used. Although both the design and the building of the prototype was done by Hawkers, the subsequent production aircraft were built by Westland Aircraft in Yeovil, Somerset. The prototype first flew on 14 February 1936 with George Bulman as pilot. One prototype and 178 production aircraft were built. 13 of these were supplied to Eire in 1941-2. The Hector equipped seven RAF army co-operation squadrons, but began to be replaced by Westland Lysanders in 1938. The Hectors were transferred to Auxiliary Air Force squadrons; 613 Squadron used theirs to attack German troops advancing through northern France in May 1940. Two aircraft were lost in combat over Calais, before the squadron was evacuated. Hectors were used by the RAF from 1940 as target-tugs, and for towing the General Aircraft Hotspur training glider.

Irish Air Corps examples were received after the Dunkirk Evacuation. In general they were in poor condition. They were sold by the British War Office to the Irish Free State upon requests for aircraft. The Irish military were wholly unprepared for major warfare, but still relied almost totally on military supplies from Britain. The defence of Ireland was also in the British interest, but with the Battle of Britain raging in the skies, could afford to sell the Irish Government nothing better than the Hector. The type was deeply unpopular with ground crews due to the complicated nature of the engine, which had 24 cylinders, with 24 spark plugs and 48 valves, all of which required frequent maintenance.


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## vikingBerserker (Jan 23, 2012)

Always liked the Hart.


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## gekho (Jan 24, 2012)

The Bluebird L.1 was initially designed as a competitor in the Lympne light aircraft trials to be held in September 1924 for a low-powered two-seater, fitted with a 67 in³ (1,100 cc) Blackburne Thrush three-cylinder radial engine. The Bluebird was a wooden single-bay biplane, with folding wings and was fitted with a single side-by-side cockpit. Although first flying in 1924, it was not finished in time to compete in the 1924 competition. It was realised that the machines that resulted from the 1923 and 1924 light aircraft trials were too low-powered for serious use, the Daily Mail sponsored a similar competition in September 1926, this time allowing the use of heavier and more powerful engines. The prototype Bluebird was then fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial engine and dual controls for entry into the competition. Interest in the Bluebird following the competition and its success in the 1926 Grosvenor Cup air race, which it won, resulted in Blackburn manufacturing a batch of 13 production aircraft, known as the L.1A Bluebird II, which were similar to the prototype, and a further seven modified L.1B Bluebird III. The Bluebird formed the basis for the all-metal Blackburn Bluebird IV.

The wooden Bluebirds were mainly used by flying clubs, and were heavily used, but several were quickly written off, with only three surviving for more than four years. One Bluebird II was fitted with floats and another, the Bluebird III prototype, was fitted with an ADC Cirrus engine as a testbed for the Bluebird IV. The last wooden Bluebird was destroyed in a fire-fighting demonstration in 1937


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## gekho (Jan 24, 2012)

During the early 1920s, the tactical philosophy of the Royal Air Force for the interception of bomber forces stressed the value of standing fighter patrols: this was seen as the only practical method, before the advent of radar and the possibility of a scrambled take-off and rapid climb to the right location, of ensuring the interception and destruction of the bomber forces before they could reach their targets. This philosophy placed emphasis on fighters with long endurance and the ability to carry radio equipment, so that any pilot who spotted a bomber formation could report the fact to his ground controller and neighbouring fighters, and resulted in machines such as the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin and Gloster Gamecock. By 1924 the advent of the Fairey Fox high-speed day bomber, with its powerplant of one Curtiss D-12 water-cooled V-12 engine, was starting to persuade the RAF that this tactical philosophy was outdated: with its powerful engine and trim lines, the Fox could both outpace and outclimb current fighters. The RAF was also coming to an appreciation of the fact that standing patrols were wasteful of fuel, airframe and engine hours, and pilot endurance. The new tactical philosophy adopted by the RAF emphasised the use of fighters that were fast and could climb rapidly for the timely engagement of targets that had been spotted by ground observers.

This new philosophy was embodied in the Air Ministry’s F.17/24 requirement for a fast-climbing fighter to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Falcon X (later Kestrel) water-cooled V-12 engine. Yet current water-cooled engines such as the Falcon were heavy as well as powerful, and Captain Frank Barnwell and Roy Fedden, chief designers of Bristol’s aircraft and engine divisions respectively, therefore suggested replacement of the water-cooled V-type engine by an air-cooled radial of the type that was the particular speciality of the Bristol aero engine division. The Air Ministry appreciated the sound nature of Bristol’s criticism and revised the F.17/24 requirement into the F.9/26 requirement for a standard day/night fighter with a powerplant based on one engine of either the water-cooled V-type or air-cooled radial variety. The Fleet Air Arm had a requirement for a fighter at this time, and Barnwell therefore prepared the Type 102 design for a fighter based of the Type 99 Badminton racing biplane of 1925.

This Type 102 was to be powered by the new and extremely promising Bristol Mercury radial piston engine, and was offered to the RAF as the Type 102A with wheeled landing gear and to the FAA as the Type 102B with alternative twin-wheel landing gear for carrierborne use or twin-float alighting gear for seaplane use. At this time the Air Ministry revived its demand for a fast-climbing day interceptor, and Barnwell thus worked in parallel on two types: the day/night fighter to the F.9/26 requirement was the Type 105 that was an improved version of the Type 102 with the powerplant of one Bristol Jupiter VII air-cooled nine-cylinder radial engine rated at 440 hp (328 kW), and the interceptor to the F.20/27 requirement was the Type 107 Bullpup with the powerplant of one Mercury IIA air-cooled nine-cylinder radial engine rated at 480 hp (358 kW). Bristol thought that the Type 107 was the more important of its two designs, and it was clear that this would face stiff competition from four other prototypes ordered from Gloster, Hawker, Vickers and Westland. It should also be noted that the Air Ministry had expressed a preference for the successful F.9/26 contender to be powered by the Rolls-Royce F.XI water-cooled V-12 engine, so Bristol decided to build its Type 105 prototype as a private venture outside the main F.9/26 competition. The two Bristol designs had much in common, and in their original forms were each planned with an equal-span biplane wing cellule: this was later revised to a virtually sesquiplane layout with a lower wing of less span and chord than the upper wing.

The Type 107, it is worth noting, first flew in April 1928 with the powerplant of one Jupiter VI engine as the Mercury IIA was not yet ready, and was evaluated in 1929 after the Mercury IIA had been installed. In its definitive form, the Type 107 spanned 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m) and had a maximum take-off weight of 2,850 lb (1293 kg): the combination of this smaller size and lesser weight made the aeroplane both faster and handier than the Bulldog, but the Air Ministry sensibly decided that its superiority was not sufficient to warrant a change in production.

The Type 105 was of bolted high-tensile steel construction covered with fabric except on the forward fuselage, which was completed with light alloy panels. The fuselage was of basically circular section over its forward section becoming oval in section farther aft, and carried the flying surfaces, fixed tailskid landing gear including a main unit of the through-axle type, and the powerplant. This last was installed in the tapered nose with the cylinder heads protruding into the airflow, and drove a two-blade wooden propeller of the fixed-pitch type with a spinner that continued the lines of the forward fuselage for a good nose entry. The flying surfaces comprised a cantilever tail unit and a staggered single-bay wing cellule. The flat upper-wing centre section was of narrow chord and thin section, and supported above the fuselage by the normal arrangement of cabane struts: this centre section supported the dihedralled outer panels of the upper wing, which were of thicker section and greater chord, each carried a fuel tank and an outboard aileron, and separated from the smaller lower-wing panels by a pair of interplane struts on each side; the wing cellule was completed by the standard arrangement of flying and landing wires.


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## gekho (Jan 24, 2012)

The Type 105 or Bulldog Mk I prototype recorded its maiden flight on 17 May 1927 and soon revealed a pleasing combination of good handling and adequate performance, the latter including a maximum speed of 150 kt (173 mph; 278 km/h) at optimum altitude. Though officially it was flown outside the F.9/26 competition, the Type 105 was clearly superior to three of the official contenders (the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.XVI, Boulton Paul P.33 Partridge, and Gloster SS.19) and thus rivalled only by the Hawker Hawfinch, and the Air Ministry thereupon ordered a single Type 105A prototype for official evaluation as the Bulldog Mk II. This prototype recorded its maiden flight in January 1928, and differed from the Bulldog Mk I mainly in having an extended rear fuselage that increased overall length from 23 ft 0 in (7.01 m) to 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m), and a slightly revised wing cellule that reduced span from 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m) to 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m) and area from 307.00 sq ft (28.52 m²) to 306.50 sq ft (28.50 m²). The competition between the two types was particularly hard fought, but the Air Ministry in June 1928 selected the Bulldog Mk II as the winner largely on the grounds that it was of all-steel construction and therefore more durable than the Hawfinch, which was of steel and light alloy construction.

An initial order was placed for 25 aircraft, and these machines were delivered between May and October 1929, entering service with Nos 3 and 17 Squadrons as replacements for the Hawker Woodcock fighters that these two units had flown largely in the night-fighter role. The Air Ministry then ordered a second batch of aircraft, and these 23 machines were delivered in 1930 as the equipment of Nos 17 and 54 Squadrons. Other than those above, the details of the Bulldog Mk II included an empty weight of 2,200 lb (998 kg), maximum take-off weight of 3,490 lb (1583 kg), maximum speed of 155 kt (178 mph; 286.5 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3050 m), and service ceiling of 29,300 ft (8930 m). The Bulldog was already acquiring an excellent reputation for handling and performance, and this combined with the type’s reputation for structural reliability and the low cost of its well-proved Jupiter engine to attract export orders. Some 12 aircraft with an armament of two Oerlikon machine guns and the powerplant of one Gnome-Rhône (Bristol) Jupiter VI or Gnome-Rhône 9Asb engine (10 and two aircraft respectively) were delivered in 1929 and 1930 to Latvia, which later sold 11 of them to Spain. Another 12 were delivered to Estonia in 1930 with the powerplant of one Gnome-Rhône (Bristol) Jupiter VI engine, and smaller orders were placed by Australia(eight aircraft delivered in January 1930 with the powerplant of one Jupiter VIF engine), Sweden (three aircraft used for evaluation of the Bulldog), Siam (two aircraft delivered in January 1930 with the powerplant of one Jupiter VII engine), the USA (two aircraft delivered to the US Navy in 1929 and 1930 for trials purposes, in the course of which the first machine was lost as a result of aileron flutter and separation in a terminal-velocity dive), and Japan (one aeroplane with the powerplant of one Nakajima [Bristol] Jupiter VII engine for evaluation). In Japan the Bulldog was extrapolated with Bristol assistance into the Nakajima JSSF with the Jupiter VII engine, but this variant’s two prototypes did not pave the way for any production.

In May 1930 the Air Ministry ordered another 92 fighters to the improved Bulldog Mk IIA standard with the Jupiter VIIF engine rated at 440 hp (328 kW) for take-off and 520 hp (388 kW) at 10,000 ft (3050 m), revised wing spars, a measure of local strengthening to permit operation at higher weights, a redesigned oil system, and a wider-track main landing gear unit carrying larger wheels with Bendix tyres and wheel brakes; the aircraft were later revised with a modified fin and a tailwheel in place of the original tailskid. The other details of the Bulldog Mk IIA included the armament of two 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers Mk II or Mk IIN fixed forward-firing machine guns with 600 rounds per gun together with four 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs on a rack under the port lower wing, span of 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m) with area of 306.50 sq ft (24.47 m²), length of 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m), height of 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m), empty weight of 2,412 lb (1094 kg), maximum take-off weight of 3,530 lb (1601 kg) later increased to 3,660 lb (1660 kg), maximum speed of 154.5 kt (178 mph; 274 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3050 m) declining to 141 kt (162 mph; 261 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6095 m), climb to 20,000 ft (6095 m) in 14 minutes 30 seconds, service ceiling of 29,300 ft (8930 m), and range of 304 nm (350 miles; 563 km).

The aircraft were delivered between October 1930 and May 1931, and by the end of 1931 some 10 of the RAF’s 13 home-based fighter squadrons were equipped with the Bulldog: these units were Nos 3, 17, 19, 23, 29, 32, 41, 54, 56 and 111 Squadrons. Orders were later placed for an additional 162 examples of the Bulldog Mk IIA, which was numerically the most important British fighter of the early 1930s. Yet the type was essentially an interim fighter whose performance was hampered by its use of a modestly rated radial engine in an uncowled installation: the advantages of this powerplant were its reliability and low purchase cost, but by the early 1930s its disadvantages were a basic lack of potential for development into significantly higher-rated forms and the emergence of powerful V-12 engines whose low-drag installations offered the possibility of much improved overall performance. Thus the replacement of the Bulldog began as early as 1933, when No. 23 Squadron converted to the Hawker Demon. The replacement process was slow, however, and it was June 1937 before the last unit, No. 3 Squadron, relinquished its Bulldogs.


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## gekho (Jan 24, 2012)

Bristol was not content to let the Air Ministry dictate the whole of the Bulldog’s development, and thus pursued its own course of active development that served to improve the breed as a whole and also allow the evaluation of several types of powerplant. The last Bulldog Mk II was thus retained by Bristol as a development ‘hack’. This machine was first flown with a geared Mercury IV engine, and further development saw use of the Mercury III engine driving a four-blade propeller and then the Gnome-Rhône (Bristol) Jupiter VI engine. This latter powerplant was intended for an export version for countries in which the licence-built version of the Jupiter held sway, and it was while practising for a demonstration tour to these countries that a Bristol pilot was forced to bale out of the machine after it had suffered a damaged rudder during a flick roll. A replacement machine was built, and this was engined successively with the Gnome-Rhône 9Asb engine (a developed version of the French-built Jupiter), Mercury IVS2 engine, Bristol Perseus IA air-cooled nine-cylinder radial engine, and finally the Mercury VIS2 engine driving a three-blade Hamilton Standard propeller. Further evolution of the basic airframe resulted in the Bulldog Mk IIIA, which was produced as a private venture to compete with the Gloster SS.19B for an order as replacement for the Bulldog in RAF service.

The Bulldog Mk IIIA first flew in September 1931 with a powerplant of one Mercury IVA radial engine that was later replaced by a Mercury IVS2 radial engine rated at 560 hp (417.5 kW) and enclosed in a short-chord ring cowling of the Townend type. Other than its higher-rated powerplant, the Bulldog Mk IIIA could be distinguished from the Bulldog Mk IIA by its deeper wing sections, which were of the biconvex type and allowed the fuel tanks to be accommodated entirely within the wing section, its lower wing of reduced chord to provide the pilot with improved downward fields of vision, its single rather than double flying wires, its deeper rear fuselage that provided additional stiffness, and spatted main wheels. The Bulldog Mk IIIA was considerably faster than the Bulldog Mk IIA, recording a maximum speed of 181 kt (208 mph; 335 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4570 m), but was lost in a crash during March 1933. Bristol built a second Bulldog Mk IIIA prototype, but no order for the type was forthcoming as the Air Ministry preferred the SS.19B that was ordered into production as the Gauntlet. The second Bulldog Mk IIIA was then converted in 1934 into the Bulldog Mk IV prototype. This was intended to provide Bristol with a contender for the F.7/30 requirement, which called for a four-gun day/night fighter. Bristol again found itself pitted against Gloster for a production contract, and as a result of the two types’ official evaluation the SS.37 was preferred to the Bulldog Mk IV and ordered into production as the Gladiator. This was hardly a surprising decision as the Bulldog Mk IV could achieve a maximum speed of only 194.5 kt (224 mph; 360.5 km/h) by comparison with the S.S.37’s figure of 217 kt (250 mph; 402 km/h).

This was not quite the end of the road for the Bulldog, however, for the Finnish air force was highly impressed by the Type 105’s combination of great ruggedness, considerable agility and adequate performance. In December 1933, therefore, the Finnish government placed an order for 17 Bulldog Mk IVA fighters with the powerplant of one Mercury VIS2 engine enclosed in a long-chord cowling that transformed the looks of this purposeful aeroplane. The order was complicated by the fact that Finland lay in the franchise area for French-built versions of Bristol engines, and it was January 1935 before the 17 fighters were delivered. Some 10 of these aircraft were still operational with the Finnish air force in November 1939 as the equipment of HLeLv 26 (26th Fighter Squadron) of the Lentorykmentti 2 (2nd Aviation Regiment): the aircraft were credited with the destruction of five Soviet warplanes, but were retired from first-line service in January 1940, when they were replaced by Gladiators. The aircraft were then flown as trainers for a short time.

At the end of 1931, one of the 100 aircraft on order as the RAF’s second batch of Bulldog Mk IIA fighters was retained for conversion as the Type 124 tandem-seat trainer, and as such became the prototype Bulldog TM (Training Machine). This prototype was evaluated during 1932 and the Central Flying School found it acceptable. There followed an initial production batch of 17 Bulldog TM aircraft that served initially with the CFS and the Coastal Area at Leuchars in Scotland. Production of the Bulldog TM eventually reached 59, allowing the type to serve additionally with six RAF squadrons, where they served as conversion trainers, the RAF College at Cranwell in Lincolnshire, and a number of flying training schools including No. 4 FTS at Abu Sueir in Egypt, which was the only overseas unit to have Bulldogs as a part its its establishment. Some of these aircraft remained operational to 1939, and the details of the Bulldog TM included the powerplant of one Jupiter VIFH engine, span of 34 ft 2 in (10.41 m) with area of 309.00 sq ft (28.71 m²), length of 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m), height of 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m), empty weight of 2,200 lb (998 kg), maximum take-off weight of 3,300 lb (1497 kg), maximum speed of 146 kt (168 mph; 270 km/h) at optimum altitude, and service ceiling of 28,000 ft (8535 m). The Bulldog TM was also used as the basis for a testbed in which air-cooled engines as diverse as the Alvis Leonides nine-cylinder radial, Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah seven-cylinder radial and Napier Rapier H-16 units were tested.

Source: http://www.cmchant.com/the-bristol-bulldog-fighter-plane


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## gekho (Jan 25, 2012)

The outstanding performance of the Fairey Fox day bomber, undoubtedly came as something of a shock both to Fairey's competitors and the Air Ministry. As a result the Air Ministry Specification 12/26 for a new light bomber required an improvement upon the performance of the Fox. Hawker's submission for this requirement, which eventually became known as the Hart, was evolved in conjunction with Rolls-Royce, and when submitted in late 1926 proved sufficiently attractive for construction of a prototype to be authorised. Sidney Camm's design utilised what became known in later years as 'Hawker's patent metal construction system', a lightweight and robust structure with fabric covering. From Rolls-Royce came a new engine - known then as the F.XI, a development of the Falcon engine -which had weight-saving six-cylinder monoblocs instead of individual cylinders.

The airframe design was that of an uncluttered single-bay biplane, the fuselage nicely streamlined, very much a conventional Hawker tail unit, and robust fixed landing gear with tailskid. The biplane wings were of unequal span, the lower wing of constant chord and with a straight leading edge. The upper wing, however, was slightly swept back - a useful recognition feature - and incorporated the ailerons and Handley Page leading-edge slots. The prototype was flown for the first time in late June 1928 in the hands of Flt Lt Bulman and was subsequently flown in competitive evaluation against the Avro Antelope and Fairey Fox II. With superior performance of the Hart confirmed, 15 pre-production aircraft were ordered initially for development and familiarisation, and the first 12 of these entered service with the RAF's No 33 (Bomber) Squadron in late 1929 or January 1930 and one was sent for trials in India. Once again, as with the Fairey Fox which was introduced into service in 1926, a new day bomber was to cause acute embarrassment to the fighter squadrons.

In RAF service the Hart was to prove itself one of the most adaptable aircraft of its era, resulting in a number of variants. These included the Hart Trainer (483 built, not including conversions of other models); Hart C communications aircraft; and tropicalised versions known as the Hart India and Hart Special. A version was built for the Royal Navy, serving both with wheeled and float landing gear, and this was designated Hawker Osprey. In addition Harts were built for overseas customers which included Estonia, Sweden (also licence-built 42 Pegasus-engined Harts) and Yugoslavia, while ex-RAF aircraft eventually went to South Africa, Egypt and Southern Rhodesia. 

Harts remained in service with the RAF on the North-West Frontier in India until displaced by Bristol Blenheims in 1939. Some Royal Navy Ospreys were used for target towing and training until 1940, but so far as is known the last in operational service was a Hart used by the South African Air Force well into World War II. Most extensively built between-wars British military aircraft, a total of 952 had been constructed when production ended in 1937, with Armstrong Whitworth, Gloster and Vickers acting as sub-contractors. Hawker records also refer to a civil-registered Hart, first flown on 15 September 1932 and known as the Hart II. This was powered in succession by a Kestrel IIS, Kestrel VI and Kestrel XVI, with the latter having an all-up weight of 2,109kg. It was used for demonstrations at air displays and for taking air-to-air photographs of Hawker aircraft, accumulating 627 flying hours in these roles from August 1933.


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## gekho (Jan 25, 2012)

The rapidly changing world of the 1930s forced the British government to take stock of its defences in relation to the growing military capability of Germany. In 1933 Winston Churchill warned Parliament of Germany's latest path and by 1935 expansion programmes for the British armed forces had been agreed. The Hind light bomber was one of the types produced for quick delivery to the RAF, based on the Hart and therefore needing little new development, although a number of improvements were introduced as the result of long experience with the Hart.

The first prototype was in fact a modified Hart and first flew on 12 September 1934 at Brooklands. Production covered no less than 528 aircraft, although with the delivery of modern monoplane bombers a number of the final Hinds on the production lines for the RAF were completed as dual-control trainers, a new role which many were eventually to fulfil. Records show that from even the first batch of 20 Hinds, General Aircraft was later to convert nine into trainers. Nine foreign users of the Hind (new and ex-RAF aircraft) included Latvia, New Zealand, Persia and South Africa. 

Sources: HAWKERHIND.co.uk Hawker Hind - light bomber, trainer


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## gekho (Jan 25, 2012)

Reflecting the design concept of British flying-boats that had originated in the 1920s, the Sarò London twinengine biplane was an all-metal aircraft with fabric-covered wings and tail, and a metal-skinned hull. The type served with RAF Coastal Command during the first two years of World War II. Designed to Air Ministry Specification R. 24/31, the prototype first flew in 1934 with two 559kW Bristol Pegasus III radiais, the engines being mounted on the top wing to be well clear of spray while taking off and landing; the prototype went on to serve for periods between 1934 and 1936 with Nos 209 and 210 Squadrons at Felixstowe and Gibraltar. Production deliveries started in March 1936 with Pegasus III engines, but from the eleventh aircraft the Pegasus X was fitted and the aircraft's designation changed to London Mk II, this variant equipping Nos 201 and 204 Squadrons in 1936 at Calshot and Mount Batten repectively. In 1937 they joined No. 202 Squadron at Kalafrana (Malta) and No. 228 Squadron at Pembroke Dock respectively. By the outbreak of war in September 1939 Londons still equipped No. 201 Squadron, then at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands, and No. 202 Squadron still at Gibraltar, while No. 240 Squadron had re-equipped with Londons in July 1939 and was stationed at Invergordon, These flyingboats carried out sea patrols over the North Sea and the Mediterranean, some aircraft being fitted with a large dorsal fuel tank to increase their range. Bombs, depth charges and (occasionally) mines up to a total weight of 907kg could be carried under the lower wing roots. Indeed, the old biplanes undertook a considerable share of the patrol work over the North Sea, keeping watch for the likely breakout into the Atlantic by German surface and submarine raiders as well as the return to German port by blockade runners. Gradually maritime reconnaissance aircraft such as the Lockheed Hudson came to assume these responsibilities while Short Sunderland flying-boats equipped the squadrons flying over the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The Londons were replaced on No. 201 Squadron in April 1940, followed two months later by those on No. 240 Squadron. Only No. 202 Squadron continued to fly Londons at Gibraltar until June 1941. 

Source: Saunders-Roe A.27 London Saro A.27 London Saunders-Roe A.27 London - flying boat


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## gekho (Jan 26, 2012)

The Hawker Demon was a two seat fighter aircraft developed from the Hawker Hart light bomber. When that aircraft had first flown in 1928, it was faster than every fighter in RAF service. The logical assumption was that any potential enemy would also be able to produce bombers with the same speed. It was thus essential to produce a fighter capable of catching the Hart. The aircraft that would achieve this was the Hawker Fury, the first of a new breed of interceptor fighter. However, Hawker also produced the Demon, a fighter based on the Hart. The resulting aircraft was very similar to the Hart. However, it was powered by the supercharged Kestrel IIS, which gave it better performance at high altitudes than the Hart. The first prototype Demons were produced by modifying production Harts during 1930. At first the new aircraft was known as the Hart Fighter, being renamed the Demon in July 1932. Six Hart Fighters were produced by May 1931, when they entered service with one flight of No. 23 Squadron. The aircraft was ordered into full production, entering full service in 1933. In all 305 Demons were produced, 232 of them for the RAF.

The Demon was not a great success as a fighter. The speed of the aircraft was such that the rear gunner had great difficulty manoeuvring the gun against the slipstream produced at high speeds. In response the Demon was given a basic Frazer-Nash turret. This consisted of a protective shield, hydraulically powered, which much improved the rear gunner's accuracy. However, when the turret was pointed to the side, it badly affected the accuracy of the two fixed guns. No 23 Squadron became the first full Demon squadron in April 1933. Eventually the type equipped seven regular squadrons and five squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force. Four of these squadrons saw service overseas at the time of the Abyssinian crisis of 1935-6, something that distinguishes the type from other British fighter aircraft of the period. The Demon remained in front line service until late 1938. At that point the remaining Demon squadrons received the Bristol Blenheim IF night fighter. 

Source: Hawker Demon


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## gekho (Jan 26, 2012)

The Supermarine Scapa was an improved version of the Southampton flying boat, developed after Supermarine was taken over by Vickers, and using technology developed for the Schneider races. Unlike most military aircraft of the period it was not developed to satisfy an existing Air Ministry specification, but as a private venture. Supermarine then offered to produce the prototype Scapa (then known as the Southampton IV) in place of the final Southampton II on order. After the successful trials of the prototype another fourteen production Scapas were ordered, before production switched to the larger Stranraer. The Scapa was essentially a refined version of the Southampton II. It was powered by a pair of Rolls Royce Kestrel engines, which were mounted in streamlined nacelles that were positions below the upper wing. The wings themselves were of the same length as on the Southampton, but were of an improved design, and used less drag inducing struts and more wire bracing. The hull was a cleaner version of that on the Southampton II, and was of all-metal construction. The open tandem cockpits of the earlier aircraft were replaced by an enclosed side-by-side cockpit for the pilots, while the other crew positions remained the same. The Scapa used a twin rudder tail, similar in shape to the triple rudder tail of the Southampton.

The Scapa was much faster than the Southampton (141mph compared to 95mph) and had a better maximum range. It entered service with No.202 Squadron at Malta in May 1935, and was then taken on a series of long range cruises around the Mediterranean and African coasts. The Scapa was also used by Nos. 204 and 240 Squadrons in home waters. It remained in service until 1939, although had been replaced by the start of the Second World War. 

Source: Supermarine Scapa


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## gekho (Jan 27, 2012)

The Horsley (named after Sir Thomas Sopwith's home of Horsley Towers) was originally designed to meet Air Ministry Specification 26/23 for a day bomber powered by a single Rolls-Royce Condor engine. While the specification called for any production aircraft to be of metal construction, Hawker proposed to build the prototype of wooden construction, gradually switching to a metal structure during production. This was acceptable to the Air Ministry, and an order for a single prototype was placed. The first prototype was flown in March 1925, powered by a 650 hp (485 kW) Condor III engine, and was delivered to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Martlesham Heath on 4 May 1925. Meanwhile, the Air Ministry revised its requirements, producing Specification 23/25 which increased the required payload from one to two 551 lb (250 kg) bombs. At the same time, it also issued Specification 24/25 for a torpedo bomber, required to carry a 2,150 lb (975 kg) torpedo. The Horsley's ability to cope with the increased loads required to meet these new specifications lead to the design being favoured by the RAF, with an initial order of forty aircraft, consisting of 10 wooden Mk Is and 30 Mk IIs of mixed metal and wood construction, being placed.

The first aircraft were delivered to No 100 (Bomber) Squadron of the Royal Air Force in September 1927, with two more squadrons, No. 15 and No. 11 Squadrons receiving Horsleys by the end of the year, replacing the Fairey Fawn. The Horsleys proved greatly superior to the Fawn, carrying up to three times the bomb load over greater ranges and at higher speeds, while also being agile for their size, and proving popular with its pilots. In October 1928, No. 36 Squadron formed at Donibristle, Fife, Scotland as a torpedo-bomber squadron. It was transferred to Singapore in 1930, helping to suppress a rebellion in Burma as well as maintaining its torpedo bombing skills. 100 Squadron converted to the torpedo bombing role in 1930 to fill the gap in home based defences.

The Horsley was chosen to attempt a non-stop flight to India, with a specially modified aircraft, carrying much more fuel and taking off at a weight of over 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) took off from RAF Cranwell on 20 May 1927, flown by Flight Lieutenants Roderick Carr and L.E.M Gillmann. It ran out of fuel en route, however, ditching in the Persian Gulf near Bandar Abbas, Iran. Despite this it had covered a distance of 3,420 mi (5,506 km), which was sufficient to set a new world distance record, but was beaten in turn within a few hours by Charles Lindbergh, whose solo Atlantic flight between New York and Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis covered 3,590 mi (5,780 km). The Horsleys remained in service in the day-bombing role until 1934, with 504 Squadron's Horsleys being replaced by Westland Wallaces in March 1934. No 36 Squadron at Singapore retained the Horsely in the Torpedo bomber role until July 1935. The last Horsley, a Merlin powered test bed flew its final flight at RAE Farborough on 7 March 1938.

Source: Hawker Horsley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## gekho (Jan 27, 2012)

In the. year 1931 a British Empire Exhibition was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at which Westland was represented by a special A.S. Panther-engined Wapiti, G-AAWA, piloted by Mr. H. J. Penrose. This machine embodied the accumulated experience gained with the first 500 Wapitis constructed, and was fitted with a lengthened fuselage and braked undercarriage. After a successful tour in South America the machine was returned to Yeovil, where further refinements were made, including the fitting of a divided axle chassis, improvements to the fuselage lines, and the installation of a Pegasus engine with Townend ring. By this time both the performance and the appearance of the aircraft differed considerably from that of the standard Wapiti and it was given the designation P.V.6, under which it successfully completed Air Ministry acceptance trials as a general-purpose machine. With the placing of a production order the type was given the name of Wallace, but the original machine, again returned to Yeovil, underwent yet another change and was converted for service with the Houston-Mount Everest Expedition.

The very successful realisation of the Expedition's object brought this veteran aircraft once more into Westland hands, this time to be converted back into a standard Wallace and issued to a Squadron. On the early Wallace machines the cockpits were of the open type, with a Scarff gun-ring over the rear cockpit, but the type is now best remembered by reason of a later development. This was the fitting of a transparent cabin over both cockpits, thus making it the first R.A.F. aeroplane to be so equipped. Apart from the greatly increased comfort, this enabled the Wallace to use its rear gun with increased accuracy when operating at maximum speed. The Wallace had a long period of service with the Royal Air Force, and with the various Auxiliary Squadrons, and although succeeded by the Lysander and other general-purpose types. 

Source: Westland Wallace - two-seat general-purpose biplane


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## Gnomey (Jan 27, 2012)

Nice stuff!


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## gekho (Jan 28, 2012)

In July 1924, Gloucestershire Aircraft began work on an improved Grebe single-seat fighter to Specification 37/23 and intended to be powered by the 398hp Bristol Jupiter IV nine-cylinder radial engine. Of wooden construction with fabric skinning and retaining the then-standard armament of two synchronised 7.7mm Vickers guns, and to receive the appellation of Gamecock, the prototype was delivered to Martlesham Heath on 20 February 1925. In the following September, an initial order was placed on behalf of the RAF for 30 Gamecock Is powered by the 425hp Jupiter VI. In the event, a further 60 Gamecock Is were built for the RAF (1925-27), one of these (unofficially known as the Gamecock III) at one time flying with a lengthened fuselage, new and enlarged fm-and-rudder assembly and narrow-chord ailerons. A developed version, the Gamecock II, with a steel-tube upper wing centre section, narrow-chord ailerons and a larger rudder, appeared in 1928. This was adopted by Finland, two pattern aircraft and a manufacturing licence being acquired. Fifteen Gamecock IIs were built for the Finnish air arm 1929-30 by the State Aircraft Factory (Valtion Lentokonenetehdas), these having the lengthened fuselage tested earlier in the UK by the so-called Gamecock III and being powered initially by the 420hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter (IV) 9Ab or 9Ak and later by the 480hp Jupiter (IV) 9Ag. The last Gamecock Is were withdrawn from first-line RAF service mid-1931, Gamecock IIs remaining first-line Finnish equipment until 1935. 

Source: Gloster Gamecock - fighter


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## gekho (Jan 28, 2012)

The Osprey was a two-seat naval fighter-reconnaissance biplane, developed from the Hart but with additional strengthening for catapult launching, folding wings for storage on board ship and naval equipment. The first prototype flew in 1930 and was eventually followed by 37 Osprey Mk I, 14 Mk II, 52 Mk III and 26 Mk IV production aircraft; the Mk IIs later being modified into Mk Ills with Fairey Reid propellers and other refinements. A small number of the genuine Mk Ills were constructed of stainless steel, one of which, according to Hawker records, was exhibited in skeleton form at the 1932 Paris Show. Standard power plant for the Mk Is, IIs and Ills was the 423kW Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIMS, giving a maximum speed of 257km/h as a landplane. Seaplane Ospreys had twin floats, although an interesting but unsuccessful experiment was carried out with one aircraft fitted with a central main float and wingtip stabilising floats. The Mk IV was powered by a 477kW Kestrel V engine.

Ospreys entered service with the FAA in 1932 and eventually flew from aircraft carriers, cruisers and other warships. In 1934 one RAF squadron took delivery of four Ospreys for communications work, and in the same year HMS Sussex went to Melbourne as part of the Centenary celebrations carrying an Osprey. By mid-1935 several ships of the Second Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet had been issued with Ospreys and the new cruiser Ajax had received two for service with the Mediterranean Command. These remained in service until 1939. 

Source: Hawker Osprey - reconnaissance, spotter aircraft


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## gekho (Feb 5, 2012)

The Flycatcher was designed to meet the requirements of Specification N6/22 for a carrier and floatplane fighter to replace the Gloster Nightjar, powered by either the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar or the Bristol Jupiter radial engines. Both Fairey and Parnall submitted designs to meet this specification, with Fairey producing the Flycatcher, and Parnall, the Parnall Plover. The first of three prototype Flycatchers made its maiden flight on 28 November 1922, powered by a Jaguar II engine, although later being fitted with a Jupiter IV. Small orders were placed for both the Flycatcher (for nine aircraft) and Plover (for ten aircraft) to allow service evaluation. After trials, the Flycatcher was ordered for full production.

Production of the Flycatcher began at Fairey's Hayes factory in 1923, entering service with No. 402 Flight Fleet Air Arm. The Flycatcher was flown from all the British carriers of its era. Some 192 were produced. A typical deployment was on the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous, where 16 Flycatchers would serve alongside 16 Blackburn Ripons and 16 reconnaissance aircraft. Very popular with pilots, the Flycatchers were easy to fly and very manoeuvrable. It was in them that the Fleet Air Arm developed the combat tactics used in the Second World War. The Flycatcher saw service with the Home, Mediterranean, East Indies and China fleets. During its service on the China station, the Flycatcher was active against Chinese pirates in the waters near Hong Kong.


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## gekho (Mar 17, 2012)

The all-metal Vildebeest was adopted by the RAF as a standard torpedo-carrying and bombing biplane and went into service in Mk.I form in 1933. Powered by a 462kW Bristol Pegasus IM3 engine, it was of unusual shape, with the pilot occupying an open cockpit below the leading edge of the upper wing and the observer aft of the wings in a shallower and lower section of the fuselage. A prone bombing position was provided below the pilot's seat. Armament comprised one fixed Vickers gun firing through the propeller and one Lewis gun on a Scarff ring over the back cockpit. The crutch for the 450mm torpedo or bomb rack was under the fuselage between the two legs of the landing gear. The Mk.I was followed into service by the Mks.II to IV, powered by 484kW Pegasus IIM3 and 603kW Bristol Perseus VIII engines. Total production for the RAF was just over 200, about half of which were still operational at the outbreak of World War II. In addition the Vildebeest was adopted by the Spanish Ministry of Marine as a standard torpedo-carrying seaplane and a batch of about 27 were ordered from the Spanish CASA firm, which had acquired a manufacturing licence. These were powered by 443kW Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr engines. Subsequently the RNZAF also acquired more than 30 Vildebeests. 

The Vincent was a three-seat general-purpose version of the Vildebeest, designed essentially for tropical service in the Middle East and therefore carrying comprehensive equipment. Fitted with a 484kW Bristol Pegasus IIM3 engine, it (like the Vildebeest) had sufficient fuel as standard for a 1000km flight while cruising at 195km/h; this range could be increased to 2000km by the use of an auxiliary fuel tank attached in the position normally occupied by the torpedo. A number of Vildebeests were converted into Vincents and, with new production aircraft, the RAF operated just under 200 from 1934. The last were withdrawn in 1941.


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## yulzari (Apr 23, 2012)

An ex RAF target tug pilot, who was using Westland Wallaces, told me they were all fitted up with bomb racks in the Battle of Britain and would have been used to bomb any invading German forces. A bit more effective than the bomber Tiger Moths of Operation Banquet. I gather the Hart series being used as trainers were also issued bomb racks so there would have been a lot more bombers over the beaches than people realise. After all, biplane Hectors, Swordfishes and Albacores dive bombed German forces in the Pas de Calais in May /June 1940.


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## Airframes (May 2, 2012)

Good stuff. BTW, in the photo of the Gamecock, the chap on the left is Douglas Bader, before he lost his legs.


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## johnbr (Jun 23, 2018)

Hawker Hector | BAE Systems | International


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## Wurger (Jun 23, 2018)




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## johnbr (Jun 25, 2019)

*Vickers-Supermarine "Scapa*


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## Wurger (Jun 25, 2019)




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## vikingBerserker (Jun 25, 2019)

Nice!


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## pbehn (Jun 25, 2019)

Nice post but that was only going to get one nickname.


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