British Bombers and Transport aircrafts

In 1935 the Air Ministry had issued two specifications, M.15/35 and G.24/35, which detailed requirements for a torpedo-bomber and a general reconnaissance/ bomber respectively. The latter was required to replace the Avro Anson in service for this role and. as mentioned in the Bristol Blenheim entry, was to be met by the Bristol Type 149 which was built in Canada as the Bolingbroke. To meet the first requirement, for a torpedo-bomber, Bristol began by considering an adaptation of the Blenheim, identifying its design as the Type 150. This proposal, which was concerned primarily with a change in fuselage design to provide accommodation for a torpedo and the installation of more powerful engines, was submitted to the Air Ministry in November 1935.

After sending off these details of the Type 150, the Bristol design team came to the conclusion that it would be possible to meet both of the Air Ministry's specifications by a single aircraft evolved from the Blenheim, and immediately prepared a new design outline, the Type 152. By comparison with the Blenheim Mk IV, the new design was increased slightly in length to allow for the carriage of a torpedo in a semi-exposed position, provided a navigation station, and seated pilot and navigator side-by-side. Behind them were radio and camera positions which would be manned by a gunner/camera/radio operator. The Type 152 was more attractive to the Air Ministry, but it was considered that a crew of four was essential, and the accommodation was redesigned to this end. The resulting high roofline, which continued unbroken to the dorsal turret, became a distinguishing feature of this new aircraft, built to Air Ministry Specification 10/36, and subsequently named Beaufort.

Detail design was initiated immediately, but early analysis and estimates showed that the intended powerplant of two Bristol Perseus engines would provide insufficient power to cater for the increase of almost 25 per cent in gross weight without a serious loss of performance. Instead, the newly developed twin-row Taurus sleeve-valve engine was selected for the Beaufort, the only concern being whether it would be cleared for production in time to coincide with the construction of the new airframe. The initial contract, for 78 aircraft, was placed in August 1936, but the first prototype did not fly until just over two years later, on 15 October 1938. There had been a number of reasons for this long period of labour, one being overheating problems with the powerplant, and another the need to disperse the Blenheim production line to shadow factories before the Beaufort could be built.

Test flying of the prototype revealed a number of shortcomings, leading to the provision of doors to enclose the main landing gear units when retracted, repositioning of the engine exhausts, and an increase to two machine-guns in the dorsal turret. These and other items, added to continuing teething problems with the new engine, delayed the entry into service of the Beaufort Mk Is, these first equipping No. 22 Squadron of Coastal Command in January 1940. It was this unit, which on the night of 15-16 April 1940, began the Beaufort's operational career by laying mines in enemy coastal waters, but in the following month all in-service aircraft were grounded until engine modifications could be carried out.

Earlier, the Australian government had shown interest in the Beaufort, and following the visit of a British Air Mission in early 1939, it was decided that railway and industrial workshops could be adapted to produce these aircraft, resulting in the establishment of two final assembly plants (at Fishermen's Bend, Melbourne, and at Mascot, Sydney) with the production backing of railways workshops at Chullora, Islington and Newport. Twenty sets of airframe parts and the eighth Bristol built Beaufort Mk I (L4448, which became A9-1001) was imported for trials, but at an early stage the Australians decided they did not want the Taurus powerplant. Accordingly, they had obtained a licence from Pratt Whitney to build the Twin Wasp (already being licence built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia), and these were to power all Australian-built Beauforts, which eventually totalled 700. As from May 1941, several notable long distance flights were carried out by this experimental prototype and all expectations were exceeded. The first DAP Beaufort was tested in August 1941, and was one of a batch of 180 ordered by the RAF for use in the Far East.

Australian production began in 1940, the first Australian Beaufort Mk V making its initial flight in May 1941. Apart from the change in engines, these were generally similar to their British counterparts except for an increase in fin area to improve stability with the powerful Twin Wasp engine. In fact, engine and propeller changes accounted for most of the different variants produced by the Australian factories. These included the Beaufort V (50) and Beaufort VA (30), both with licence-built Twin Wasp S3C4-G engines; Beaufort VI (40 with Curtiss propellers) and Beaufort VII (60 with Hamilton propellers), all 100 being powered by imported SlC3-G Twin Wasps due to insufficient licence production; and the Beaufort VIII with licence-built S3C4-Gs. This last mark was the definitive production version, of which 520 were built, and had additional fuel tankage, Loran navigation system and variations in armament, with production ending in August 1944. Some 46 of the last production batch were subsequently converted to serve as unarmed transports; designated Beaufort IX, this variant had the dorsal turret removed and the resulting aperture faired in. The powerplant rating of all the Australian versions was 1,200 hp (895 kW). The Beaufort was used extensively by the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific theatre, serving from the summer of 1942 until the end of World War II.

The early trials of the Australian Beaufort V with Twin Wasp engines induced the Air Ministry to specify this powerplant for the next contract, and a prototype with these American engines was flown in November 1940. The first production Beaufort Mk II flew in September 1941, and by comparison with the Beaufort Mk I revealed much improved take-off performance. However, because of a shortage of Twin Wasps in the UK, only 164 production Mk IIs were built before Mk Is with improved Taurus XII engines were reintroduced on the line. In addition to the powerplant change, this version had structural strengthening, a changed gun turret, and ASV radar with Yagi aerials. When production of this version ended in 1944, well over 1,200 Beauforts had been built in Britain.

The final two Beaufort designations, Mk III and Mk IV, related respectively to a version with Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engines of which none were built, and a version with two 1,250 hp (932 kW) Taurus XX engines of which only a prototype was built. Beauforts were the standard torpedo-bomber in service with Coastal Command during 1940-43, equipping Nos. 22, 42, 86, 217, 415 and 489 Squadrons in home waters, and Nos. 39, 47 and 213 in the Middle East. They were to acquit themselves well until superseded by the Beaufighter, involved in many of the early and bloody attacks against the German battle cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, three vessels that often seemed to be invincible, at least to aircraft carrying conventional weapons.

On 28 July 1942, a Beaufort of 217 Squadron was forced to ditch during an attack on an Italian convoy. The crew, Lieutenant E.T. Strever (SAAF-pilot), Plt Off W.M. Dumsmore and two New Zealanders, Sergeants A.R. Brown and J.A. Wilkinson, were later picked up by a Cant Z.506B floatplane. They were taken to an Italian base at Prevesa, Greece where they were well looked after overnight. Next morning the prisoners boarded another Cant Z.506B: the Italians decided not to use handcuffs in case the aircraft was forced down at sea.

Some 45 minutes into the flight, Sgt Wilkinson distracted the guard who was overpowered and disarmed. The five Italian crew were forced to surrender the Cant and Lt Strever took over the controls, altering course to fly to Malta. There were no proper maps on board and a rough heading to the south-west was set. Eventually Cape Spartivento, the southernmost point of Italy, was recognised and a new course was set for Malta, some 100 mi (160 km) to the south. The aircraft was soon detected by radar on Malta and a section of four Spitfires of 603 Squadron was scrambled to intercept. They found the Cant about 10 mi (16 km) off the coast and forced it to alight with a burst through the port wing.

HSL 107 (an RAF High Speed Launch, used to rescue aircrew) arrived an hour later and found the five Italians and four Beaufort crew sitting on the wings enjoying wine and brandy provided by the Italians. Cant No. MM45352 13 of 139 Squadrilia was taken into service by the RAF and used for air-sea rescue (ASR) duties. Lt Strever and Plt Off Dunsmore were awarded the DFC and Sgts Wilkinson and Brown, the DFM.

Nice shots!

With above!

Cool, love the Beaufort.

The Blenheim was originally built in in England in 1934 as one of the first executive planes for the proprietor of the Daily Mail, Lord Rothermere, who wanted a fast plane capable of carrying six passengers, a pilot and a co-pilot. Equipped with two Bristol Mercury engines, the Bristol Type 142, as it was then called, was 30 mph (48km/h) faster than the RAF's new biplane fighter, the Gloster Gauntlet.

Bristol began designing a military version of their new aircraft, the Type 142M. The Air Ministry placed an order for 150 aircraft in the summer of 1935, and a second order for 434 more followed in July of 1937. The Type 142M, or Blenheim I, as it was now called, had a bomb aimer's station in the nose, an internal bomb bay, and a dorsal machine gun turret for self-defense. There was also a single machine gun in the port wing. The Blenheim was of all-metal construction, with the nose of the plane barely extending beyond the engines. It was equipped with two Bristol Mercury engines. When first revealed to the public, the Blenheim's speed attracted great notice and led to the belief Britain was armed with the best bomber in the world. This myth became self-perpetuating and soon two new production lines had to be set up as orders for still more aircraft were placed. A total of 1,552 Blenheim Is were built and equipped 26 RAF squadrons at home and in British possessions in the Middle East (e.g. Egypt, Iraq, Aden) and the Far East (e.g. India, Malaya/Malaysia, Singapore).

During the early stages of development the Bristol company designed a derivative of the Blenheim, the Type 149, in response to an Air Ministry request for a coastal reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft to replace the Avro Anson. The Type 149 was a Blenheim with greater fuel capacity and a lengthened nose for an observer and his gear. The Air Ministry then began to worry that this new aircraft would interfere with the production of the Blenheim I already underway. Instead, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ordered production in Canada as the Bolingbroke Mk I, and the prototype was shipped to Canada to help start the production lines at Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. The Type 149 would enter production in the UK as the Blenheim Mk IV. By 1939, most Blenheim Is had been replaced in Britain by the new Mk IV. The Mk Is continued to serve as trainers and a number were converted into night fighters.

The night fighter version, the Blenheim IF, was equipped with a special under-fuselage pack that housed four machineguns, and an airborne interception radar. It was a Blenheim IF that made the first radar-assisted kill of the war in July of 1940. The Blenheim would also become the first aircraft to make reconnaissance and bombing raids into Germany during the opening stages of the war in the west. The Blenheim Mk IV would equip 70 squadrons at its height of popularity, and continue to serve in the Middle and Far East until the last years of the war. A Blenheim Mk V was also built, with extra armor and weapons, but the same engines. This meant it was an extremely slow aircraft and after serious losses in Italy, it was withdrawn from service. Today only a single Blenheim IVT, actually a RCAF Bolingbroke, remains airworthy. It is owned and operated by the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford, UK, and has been flying since May 1993.

Some color pics.

Always remembered as the first of the four-engined bombers to join the RAF, the Stirling suffered from several design limitations which severely affected its performance and load-carrying capability. As a consequence, its service with Bomber Command was marred by heavy losses when used on operations alongside the higher-flying Halifaxes and Lancasters.

Air Ministry Specification B12/36, to which the Stirling was one of 11 designs proposed by various companies, called for a four-engined heavy bomber capable of carrying a bombload of 14,000lbs with a range of 3,000 miles a remarkably demanding request for the time). It also specified that the wingspan should not exceed 100 feet to enable the aircraft to fit inside current RAF hangars (although, curiously enough, the most common type of hangar, the C Type, could open to over 125 feet). As a consequence, certain aspects of the Stirling's performance suffered namely that operating altitude of the aircraft with a full load, as the wings could not generate the lift required to operate a higher altitudes.

Shorts, the aircraft's designers, were well versed in the design of flying boats and had never designed an aircraft with retracting undercarriage before. Taking the basic design of the company's most recent flying boats, Shorts modified them to accommodate four engines and wheel undercarriage. To prove the design, Shorts built a half-scale prototype and this flew for the first time in September 1938 and after a series of test flights it was decided that the aircraft take-off and landing runs were overly long. This was countered by increasing the length of the undercarriage legs to increase the angle of the wings to the ground, but the legs were overly-complicated and lanky affairs and throughout its life, the Stirling suffered from a number of undercarriage-related accidents.

Early test flights of the Stirling were dramatic affairs; on the maiden flight of the first full-size prototype in May 1939, a wheelbrake locked on landing causing the aircraft to slew violently and collapse one of the undercarriage legs. The aircraft was a write-off. On the first flight of the second prototype two months later, and engine cut-out on take-off but the aircraft was landed safely.

With test flying sufficiently advanced, deliveries to squadrons commenced in August 1939 when No 7 Squadron at Leeming received its, and the RAF's first four-engined heavy bomber. Eight days later, at the height of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe attacked the Shorts' factory in Rochester and destroyed six aircraft. Within a week, the same fate had befallen the Belfast factory and a further fiver aircraft lost.

Early aircraft had a retractable belly turret but this was soon discarded after a number of leaks had caused the turret to lower and strike the ground while the aircraft was taxying. With other minor problems cured, the Stirling finally flew its maiden operation during the night of 10th/11th February 1941 when aircraft from No 7 Squadron took part in a raid on Rotterdam. But then another fault with the aircraft's design was encountered. As Bomber Command started operations in earnest over Germany towards the end of 1941, the lack of power produced by the four Bristol Taurus engines severely limited the loads carried by Stirlings. On missions against long-range targets such as Italy or deep inside Germany, the Stirling was restricted to 3,500lbs of bombs (seven 500lb-ers) and could barely climb over the Alps during the flights to and from the targets. The design of the bomb-bay meant that the heaviest bomb that could be carried was the 2,000lb armour-piercing shell - the new 4,000lb High Capacity bomb being introduced was too big for the compartmentalised bay of the Stirling.

Some way to remedying the poor performance of the basic Stirling design with the introduction of the Mark III from the start of 1943, but still the aircraft suffered much higher losses than the other aircraft of the Main Force. Within five months of being introduced, 67 out of the 84 aircraft delivered had been lost to enemy action or written off after crashes. During the year, the Stirlings were gradually phased out of the Main Force and moved to less dangerous duties such as minelaying. Only one Stirling squadron served with the Pathfinders - No 7 - but the Stirlings had been replaced by Lancasters by mid-1943.By mid-1944 the Stirlings had found a new lease of life as troop-carriers or glider-tugs, being used as such during the D-Day landings. The final Bomber Command operation was flown by No 149 Squadron against Le Havre on 8 September 1944.

Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to Stirling pilots. The first was to Flight Sergeant RH Middleton, and Australian serving with No 149 Squadron. Middleton's aircraft was hit repeatedly by flak during a raid on Turin in November 1942. With severe wounds and blind in one eye, Flight Sergeant Middleton and his second-pilot coaxed the Stirling back over the Alps to England. It was as they crossed the coast that only 5 minutes fuel remained and the pilot gave the order to bale out; Middleton managed to control the aircraft while five members of the crew parachuted to safety, but was unable to prevent the aircraft from crashing, killing himself and two others who had stayed to assist. The second, also for gallantry during a raid on Turin, was posthumously awarded to Flight Sergeant AL Aaron DFM of No 218 Squadron. During a raid on the Italian city in August 1943, Aaron's Stirling was attacked by a night-fighter. The navigator was killed; Aaron himself had his jaw shattered by a bullet as well as being wounded in the chest and one arm. With one engine out and two others damaged, Aaron placed the bomb-aimer in control of the aircraft and set a course for North Africa. Five hours later, after being restrained from taking over the pilot's seat again, Aaron assisted the bomb-aimer in making a wheels-up landing at Bone. All the crew survived except Flight Sergeant Aaron who died nine hours later of his wounds.

Great pics, thanks.

Great stuff, keep it coming.

Always thought the Stirling looked so regal, great pics!

Few if any bombers of the Second World War enjoyed a longer or more distinguished operational career than the Vickers Wellington. Blooded in combat at the very outset of hostilities, it carried the lions share of R.A.F. Bomber Commands night bombing offen*sive until the operational debut of the first four-engined heavies, and was still first-line equipment when the war ended. Indeed, such was the brilliant battle record of the Wellington that any tribute can be but a pale reflection of the distinctions that this remarkable warplane won for itself. The Wellingtons docility combined with a lively performance and its ability to absorb a fantastic amount of battle damage rapidly endeared it to its crews, and its portly, well-fed appearance engendered the nickname Wimpey after Popeyes obese friend J. Wellington Wimpy of strip-cartoon fame, an appellation that became as widely known as that with which it was officially christened. More than any other bomber, the Welling*ton proved the power-operated gun turret to be a formidable defensive weapon, but it disproved the widely-held belief that large bombers could undertake daylight bombing attacks against heavily defended areas without fighter escort.

Like most successful combat aircraft, the Wellington was the result of team work, but it undoubtedly owed its success to the revolutionary geodetic, or basket weave, system of construction, an ingenious idea the more remarkable for its essential simplicity. When Vickers Limited, through a subsidiary company known as the Airship Guarantee Company, received a contract from H. M. Government to build the airship R.100, they employed an outstanding engineer named Barnes N. Wallis to design the structure. From an airship designed for use on an experimental commercial air service between the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to a medium bomber built by the thousand in the Second World War may seem a long step indeed, but in the R. 100s construction lay the germ of an idea which was to see fruition years later in the Wellingtons structure.

The geodetic system of construction the name being derived from geodeses, imaginary geographical lines following the curvature of the earth along a straight path was designed to carry all loads in the structure along the shortest possible paths. It produced a criss-cross pattern of self-stabilising members by means of which loads in any direction were automatically equalised by forces in the intersecting set of frames. High strength was obtained at low weight. Vickers were not slow to see the advantages which might accrue from this form of construction and Barnes Wallis was teamed up with Rex K. Pierson, then Vickers chief designer, to produce structural designs. The complex shape of the aeroplane, coupled with the need to cut away some of the multitudinous geodetic members for cockpits, bomb-bays, and gun turrets, presented such difficulties that the originators might well have given up hope of reaping the rewards of their ingenuity. Vickers enjoyed no subsidy to cover the expense of developing the geodetic system, but with faith and perseverance the many hurdles were surmounted, and the company's belief in the soundness of Barnes Wallis's invention was amply vindicated.

The first aeroplane to employ geodetic construction was the Type 246 Wellesley which was built as a private venture to meet the general requirements of specification G.4/3 1 which called for a general-purpose bombing and torpedo-carrying aircraft. Vickers actually received a prototype contract for a biplane fulfilling this specification, the Type 253, which was in fact built and flown, but the company had implicit faith in the superiority of their monoplane which, in the event, was adopted for the Royal Air Force. The Wellesley prototype (K7556) did not fly until June 19, 1935, and by that time lessons learned in its design were already being applied to the next, even more ambitious Vickers bomber.

The pattern for this new bomber was set by an official specification, B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a twin-engined day bomber of appreciably higher performance than any previously envisaged. The promise offered by the forthcoming Bristol Mercury VI S2 supercharged air-cooled radial engines and the Rolls-Royce Goshawk steam-cooled inline engines rendered possible a performance such as that demanded by the specification, and Vickers prepared a design in which these power plants were alternatively applicable. After these preliminary suggestions, sub*mitted in March 1933, had been studied, the Air Ministry revised the specification in September 1933 to give favour to the Goshawk engine, and in the following October Vickers submitted a new design which, employing geodetic construction, was -a mid*wing monoplane with a retractable undercarriage and two Goshawk I engines. The mid-wing gave better drag figures at the root junction with the fuselage than a high-mounted wing, and also provided a bomb-bay unobstructed by the main spar of a low-mounted wing.

In December 1933 Vickers were awarded an official contract for the construction of one prototype of their design which, bearing the designation Type 271, was powered by two Goshawks. Six months later, however by which time construction had already begun the Air Ministry realised that the Goshawk was not fulfilling its earlier promise, and the specification again had to be changed. As no alternative power plant with a similar power-to-weight ratio as that of the Goshawk presented itself, it was necessary to relax the limit on the bomber's tare weight in order to permit the installation of the heavier and more powerful Bristol Perseus or Pegasus nine-cylinder air-cooled radials. There can be no doubt that this decision saved the design from the early demise which would have resulted if the Goshawk installation, with its complex steam cooling, had been continued.

Vickers eventually elected to use the Bristol Pegasus engine which, in its PE5.SM version, was rated at 850 h.p. for take-off. In production, this engine was designated the Pegasus X, and two of them powered the Vickers Type 271 (K4049) bomber prototype when J. Mutt Summers took the aircraft into the air at Brooklands on its maiden flight on June 15, 1936, Although the Type 271 was destined to be completely redesigned before it emerged as the Wellington I, ii was itself a major step forward in British bomber design. The fuselage, although portly, was remarkably well streamlined, and the wings were of a higher aspect ratio at 8.83:1 than had previously been attempted in a twin-engined aeroplane, with consequent benefit on performance. The Wellesley-type tail unit initially planned had given place to one of larger area the single fin and rudder design was borrowed directly from the Supermarine Stranraer flying boat which had twin vertical tail surfaces. The span was 85 ft. 10 in., and the overall length was 60 ft. 6 in., and the Type 271 was designed to be operated by a crew of four, with provision for a fifth crew member when required.

The warload was a maximum of nine 500-lb. bombs, or nine 250-lb. bombs with fuel for maximum range, and defensive armament comprised two Lewis 0.303-in. machine guns, one forward- and one rearward-firing in enclosed, hand-operated cupolas at each end of the fuselage. Provision was made in the design for a hand-operated gun in a retractable dorsal turret, but this was never implemented. At an all-up weight of 21,000 lb., the Type 271 reached 250 m.p.h. at 8,000 ft. Immediately after making its first flight, the proto*type appeared in the new-types park at the R.A.F. Display at Hendon in June 1936, where it created a most favourable impression. This was subsequently confirmed in official trials which followed, and before the end of the year in August 1936, in fact a production specification was drawn up around the Type 271 design, and 180 aircraft were ordered to be build to this standard. Hence the Wellington I met the requirements of specification 29/3 6, and appeared in quite different guise to the basic B.9/32 design.

The Vickers Warwick was one of many examples of promising aircraft whose development was delayed by the choice of engines. It was originally designed as a twin-engined heavy bomber, and like the Avro Manchester was to use the Rolls Royce Vulture. When the Vulture failed to live up to expectations Avro installed four Merlin engines in the Manchester, to produce the excellent Avro Lancaster, but Vickers decided to keep the twin-engined design, and searched for more powerful engines. Eventually over 800 Warwicks would be produced, powered by either the Pratt Whitney Double Wasp or the Bristol Centaurus.

The Vickers Warwick was developed as a twin-engined heavy bomber to satisfy specification B.1/35. This was a thoroughly un-ambitious specification, calling for an aircraft powered by two 1,000hp engines and capable of carrying 2,000lb of bombs over 1,500 miles at a speed of 195mph – by the time it entered service the Wellington medium bomber could carry twice the bomb load, had a range of 2,550 miles and a speed of 235mph, and the Wellington was powered by two 1,050hp Bristol Pegasus engines, giving it only 100hp more than envisaged for the B.1/35.

The Warwick was developed alongside the final version of the Wellington. Although the specification for the Wellington had been issued in 1932 (B.9/32), it had taken four years for the first prototype to make its maiden flight (15 June 1936). This early version of the aircraft was then virtually abandoned, and a complete redesign was begun. The redesigned B.9/32 became the Vickers Type 285, while the prototype of the Warwick was the Type 284. Structurally the Wellington was essentially a cut-down version of the Warwick. As a result the two aircraft had many components in common, especially in the geodesic members.

The first Vickers design, of July 1935, was powered by two Bristol Hercules HEISM engines. The company was awarded a contract to produce one prototype on 7 October 1935. This prototype (serial number K8178) would not make its maiden flight until 13 August 1939. By this point the aircraft was powered by Rolls Royce Vulture engines, a complex piece of machinery that merged two inline V engines and failed to produce as much power as had been hoped, while also proving very unreliable.

A second prototype was ordered on 2 July 1937 (serial number L9704). This aircraft eventually made its maiden flight in April 1940, by which time it was powered by a pair of Bristol Centaurus engines. It had been hoped to use the Napier Sabre, but that engine failed to materialise in time, and when it did become available was reserved for fighter aircraft. By the time the second prototype took to the air, the Warwick was no longer needed as a heavy bomber, that role having been taken by the new four-engined heavies. Despite that, on 3 January 1941 Vickers was given a contract to produce 150 Warwick Mk Is, powered by the Pratt Whitney Double Wasp and 100 Warwick Mk IIs, powered by the Centaurus. Only 16 Mk. Is and 1 Mk. II were ever completed.

The Warwick was eventually produced in significant numbers. In January 1943 it was decided to turn it into an air-sea rescue aircraft. A total of 369 ASR Warwicks were produced. Another 328 Warwicks were produced as general reconnaissance aircraft for Coastal Command, but only a handful were ever used in combat. Another 114 were produced as transport aircraft, and by the time production finished 845 had been built.