Blackburn B.48 Firecrest / YA.1
![]() The Blackburn B.48, designed to specification S.28/43 as a potential successor to the Firebrand, and unofficially known as the Firecrest, was flown for the first time on April 1, 1947, although design work on this aircraft was actually initiated in October 1943. Three prototypes were built, the third of these (VF172) featuring power-operated ailerons and a reduction in dihedral angle (from nine to three degrees) on the outboard wing panels. Power was provided by a Bristol Centaurus 59 eighteen-cylinder radial rated at 1,825 hp. (with water/methanol injection) for take-off, and although no armament was actually installed, provision was made for two wing-mounted 0.5in. (12.7-mm) machine guns, and a torpedo and two 500lb. (227-kg) bombs plus rocket projectiles could be carried beneath the fuselage and wings.
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Engine: Bristol Centaurus 59, 1,825 hp
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