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Beardmore W.B.V

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W.B.V
Role FighterType of aircraft
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Beardmore
Designer G. Tilghman Richards
First flight 3 December 1917
Status Prototype
Number built 2
Developed from Beardmore W.B.IV

The Beardmore W.B.V was a prototype British single-engine shipborne biplane fighter of World War I developed by Beardmore. It was not successful, only two being completed.

Development and design

At the same time as developing the Beardmore W.B.IV, G. Tilghman Richards, the chief designer of Beardmore, designed a second aircraft to meet an Admiralty requirement for a ship-borne fighter aircraft to be armed with a 37 mm Le-Puteaux quick firing gun in order to destroy airships. The resulting aircraft, the W.B.V, was a single seater two-bay tractor biplane powered by a 200 hp (149 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine. The wings folded for storage on board ship. The manually loaded Le-Puteaux gun was mounted between the cylinder banks of the V-8 engine, firing through a hollow propeller shaft. Unlike the W.B.V, the W.B.IV was not fitted with a buoyancy chamber, being instead fitted with inflatable flotation bags.

The first prototype flew on 3 December 1917. During testing, the Le Puteaux gun was considered dangerous by RNAS pilots, and the aircraft was re-armed with a more conventional synchronised Vickers machine gun together with a Lewis gun mounted on a tripod mounting. Development was abandoned shortly after the completion of a second prototype.

Specifications

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I.

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 26 ft 7 in (8.10 m)
  • Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
  • Wing area: 394 sq ft (36.6 m)
  • Empty weight: 1,860 lb (845 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,500 lb (1,136 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 8 , 200 hp (149 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 112 mph (180 km/h, 97 kn)
  • Stall speed: 45 mph (72 km/h, 39 kn)
  • Endurance: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,270 m)

Armament

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

  1. ^ Taylor 1990, p.57.
  2. ^ Bruce 1965, p.74.
  3. Mason 1992, pp.127-128.
  4. ^ Bruce 1965, p.76.
  5. Mason 1992, p.128.

Bibliography

  • Bruce, J.M. (1965). War Planes of the First World War: Volume 1 Fighters. London: Macdonald.
  • Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (2001) . The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Salamander Books. ISBN 1-84065-269-1.
  • Mason, Francis K (1992). The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
  • Owers, Colin (2023). Beardmore Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 69. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-69-0.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H., ed. (1990). Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I. London: Studio Editions. p. 57.
Beardmore aircraft
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