The Bristol 173 was the first helicopter specifically designed for commercial operation and passenger transport in particular. Two Mk.1 prototypes were begun in 1948 to Ministry of Supply Specification E.4/47.
Ground tests started in 1951. It had two three-blade counter-rotating rotors, but it could fly on one Alvis Leonides 73 engine and the centre of gravity could be displaced. The two rotors were synchronized by a shaft in conjunction with a gearbox. In the event of a breakdown the shaft could transmit power from the working engine. The rear rotor was carried on a pylon which was part of the vertical fin structure. Two tailplanes were set at a sharp angle to improve longitudinal and lateral stability.
The 173 had virtually the 171 Sycamore Mk. 3’s transmission system, rotor assemblies and engine installation, except that one engine rotates in the opposite direction to the other.
Ground resonance originally caused some trouble. The problem was overcome by linking the right- and left-hand oleo-struts of the undercarriage by small-bore hydraulic piping. The latter formed the two arcs of a circle seen above the upper part of the legs.
The first, G-ALBN, made its maiden flight on 3 January 1952, after some eight months of ground trials and tethered flights. It was Britain’s first tandem-rotor helicopter design, and in this early form was powered by two 575hp Alvis Leonides 73 piston engines and could carry ten passengers. In 1953 this machine was handed over to the Admiralty for Naval trials. Trials were carried out with this aircraft in 1953, from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle.
On 31 August 1953 a prototype 173 Mk.2 (G-AMJI) was flown, differing from the first machine in having two pairs of stub wings to off-load the rotors, the rear pair carrying upright fins at their extremities. These features were later removed, G-AMJI reverting to the Vee-tailed configuration of the Mk.1 and joining its stablemate for Naval trials as XH379. On 20 July 1956 it was delivered to BEA and returned to the civil register for handing trials in BEA colours.
BEA Bristol 173
It was based at Gatwick for the period of the trials before being written off in a landing accident in 1956.
The Mk.3, with more powerful engines, (two Alvis Leonides Majors rated at 850shp each) as well as metal instead of wooden four-bladed rotors, marked a greater advance. Seating was up from 14 in the Mk.1 and 2 to 16 in the Mk.3. three were ordered but the Mk.3 suffered from cooling problems and its service trials in 1956 were not entirely successful.
In the event, only one (XE286) was flown, the other two being utilised for ground testing. In 1956 the Royal Navy decided to adopt the Bristol machine for the antisubmarine role, placing an order for sixty-eight aircraft. The production version, to be known as the Bristol 191, was to have folding rotor blades and a shorter fuselage, to enable it to use existing carrier deck-lifts, and the rear legs of the quadricycle undercarriage shortened to facilitate loading of an external torpedo.
The Bristol 173 Mk.3 was offered to BEA.
In July 1958 the Bristol 192 made its maiden flight and this marked the successful climax to the development of the 173.
A helicopter department was set up in 1945 as part of the aircraft division at Filton, and Austrian-born Raoul Hafner, who had devoted himself to rotary wing research in the thirties, moved to England before the Second World War and took charge in 1944. Design studies, under Raoul Hafner, were started in June 1944 and, since no suitable British engine was available at that time, the two Mk.1 prototypes (VL958 and VL963) were built with 450hp Pratt & Whitney 11-985 Wasp Junior radial engines. These were 2-seaters, conforming to Ministry of Supply specification E.20/45. The design featured a light alloy cabin section and a stressed-skin tailboom attached to a central engine and gearbox mounting, the rotor head being fitted with three wooden monocoque blades. The crankshaft lay horizontally, with power transmitted to the vertical driveshaft through a gearbox. The three rotor blades were made of wood with leading edges in hardwood. After component testing, ground running of the completed airframe began on 9 May 1947, the first flight (VL958) was made by H. A. Marsh on 27 July 1947.
The second aircraft (VL963) joined the test programme in February 1948 and on 25 April 1949, to facilitate its flight to the Paris Salon, it became the first British helicopter to be granted a civil certificate of airworthiness. The third airframe appeared in the static park at the 1948 SBAC exhibition at Famborough. This was followed by the first flight on 3 September 1949 of the one and only Mk.2, built as a 4-seater to specification E.34/46 and powered by a 550hp Alvis Leonides 71 LE 21 HM piston engine in a horizontal position with the crankshaft running vertically. This eliminated the lower gearbox which not only saved weight but made the engine more accessible for checking and repairs, and increased the seating from two to five. It was of metal construction with a three-blade main rotor and was designed as an air taxi (four-five seats) and for military tasks such as air observation and casualty evacuation. This aircraft formed the basis for the first production series, although numerous detail modifications were made to individual machines in these batches, some becoming standard on later production aircraft. Seating was increased to six. A second take-off attempt ended abruptly when the rotor disintegrated. With a strengthened rotor, development flying was resumed while work continued on the assembly of 15 production Mk 3s with a smaller Alvis Leonides 73 engine. Airframe changes included a shortened nose and an 0.20m increase in cabin width to accommodate three passengers on the rear seat; in order to maintain essential systems in the event of engine failure, and the accessory drive was transferred from the engine to rotor gearbox. The Sycamore had a simple auto-throttle which the pilot could override.
The Type 171 was manufactured at Filton and Weston-super-Mare.
Two Mk 3A were bought by British European Airways. They had a slightly superior performance to the Mk3 and greater baggage capacity, with a freight hold behind the engine bay. BEA began an experimental service with these helicopters between Eastleigh and Heathrow airport in 1954, which lasted for about two years.
The first two production batches, totalling twenty-five aircraft, included one HC Mk.10 ambulance for evaluation by the Army Air Corps; four HC Mk.11’s for Army communications work; four HR Mk.12’s for RAF search and rescue duties, evaluated by Coastal Command; and two winch-equipped HR Mk.13’s for similar trials with Fighter Command. These were collectively to Mk.3 production standard, with 520hp Leonides 73 engines. Two Mk.3A’s with improved performance, a shorter nose and extra baggage space behind the engine bay, were completed for British European Airways. Of the remaining dozen machines, five were to Mk.4 standard, also with Leonides 173 engines and having four cabin doors; these were built for the Royal Australian Navy (three HR Mk.50), Royal Australian Air Force (one) and RAF (one HR Mk.14). All of these were completed to Mk.3 standard with a Leonides 173 engine. The remaining seven aircraft were a mixture of Mk.3 and Mk.4 reserved for military trials or civil demonstration.
The 1950 Mk.4 with four access doors, a longer-stroke landing gear, a bigger baggage compartment and an hydraulic winch and the pilot’s position moved from port to starboard. This was primarily intended for search and rescue and air ambulance duties, and was supplied to the RAF (two HR.13s and 80+ HR.14), Belgian Air Force (three Mk.14B), Royal Australian Navy (three HR.50 & seven HC.51, equipped with winches for air-sea rescue duties, initially with No. 275 Squadron) and West German Government (50 Mk.52). No. 275 Squadron, RAF. received its first helicopter on 13 April 1953. Sycamores also operated in the light assault and reconnaissance roles in Malaya, Cyprus and Borneo, joining No.194 Squadron in Malaya in 1954 and No.284 in Cyprus late in 1956. In August 1955 a 171 took part in the first British air-to-ground television transmission involving the use of a helicopter. The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore Mk.4 was the final production version of this machine. 178 examples of which had been completed when the last was delivered in 1959. Of these 50 were built in 1957-1959 for the Federal Germany as the Sycamore Mk.52, most serving with the Luftwaffe but 4 being delivered to the Navy, joined later by a further four from the Luftwaffe stocks. The German Sycamore Mk.52 helicopters were withdrawn from service in 1972-1973. In the mid 1950s Bristol Aircraft Ltd began work on a turbine-powered helicopter using a Mk 3 with an increased fin area. Under the name Bristol 203 it was to be an 11-seat machine and parts from the incomplete 179th and 180th Sycamore airframes were used in the prototype machine. This project was abandoned when the company was taken over by Westland, although some of its finer points were later incorporated in the Lynx.
Mk.2 Engine: 550hp Alvis Leonides 71 LE 21 HM Main rotor: three-blade seats: 4-5.
Mk.3 Engine: 520hp Leonides 73 Length: 46.161 ft / 14.07 m Rotor diameter: 48 ft 6.75 in / 14.81 m Max take off weight: 5600.7 lb / 2540.0 kg Max. speed: 93 kt / 173 km/h Range: 232 nm / 430 km Crew: 2+3
Mk.3A Engine: 520hp Leonides 73
Mk.4 Engine: Leonides 73, 520 hp Cabin doors: 4 Fuselage length: 46 ft. 2in. Loaded weight: 5,400 lb. Max. speed: 141 m.p.h. Ceiling: 15,500 ft. Typical range: 268 miles at 92 m.p.h. Seats: 4-5
HR.13 Engine: 1 x Alvis Leonides 73 radial, 410kW Rotors: 3-blade main; 3-blade tail. Rotor diameter: 48 ft. 6.75 in. Fuselage length: 46 ft. 2in. Loaded weight: 5,400 lb. Max. speed: 141 m.p.h. Ceiling: 15,500 ft. Typical range: 268 miles at 92 m.p.h. Seats: 4-5
HR.14 Engine: 1 x Alvis Leonides 73 radial, 410kW Main rotor diameter: 14.81m Rotors: 3-blade main; 3-blade tail. Length with rotor blades folded: 14.07m Height: 3.71m Max take-off weight: 2540kg Empty weight: 1728kg Loaded weight: 5,400 lb. Max speed: 204km/h Cruising speed: 169km/h Ceiling: 15,500 ft. Endurance: 3h Typical range: 268 miles at 92 m.p.h. Seats: 4-5
Bristol Sycamore HR 50/51 (RAAF) Ordered: 1952 Number purchased: 13 First delivered: 1953 Last delivered: 1961 Engine: One 520 hp Alvis Leonides Mk72 7 cylinder radial Rotor diameter: 48 ft 6.75 in Rotors: 3-blade main; 3-blade tail. Loaded Weight 5,600 lb Fuselage length: 46 ft. 2in. Height: 12 ft 2 in Initial Rate of Climb: 1,300 ft/min Ceiling: 4,000 ft Speed: 127 mph (max sea level), 91 mph (cruising) Range: 238 miles Armament: Nil Seats: 4-5 Crew: 2
Experience: Hal Jowers Back in 1968, I was hired by Associated Helicopters in Bankstown, NSW to ferry their one flyable, of 5-hulls & a hanger-full of spare parts they had bought surplus at the time, up to Port Keats Mission (about 200nm S.W. of Darwin) and work a mineral exploration contract.
The ole Sycamore was a more-than-interesting bird – to say the least! With that short-arm collective (+/- 15-inches fulcrum to end) / rt. angle throttle and direct NO hydrolic-assist linkage to the swash-plate: it was like physically lifting the bird WITH ONE ARM!!! … Add to that; a fully-castering nose gear and a 40-gal. liquid ballast system that had to be transferred during lift-off, so extra collective friction was necessary to hold it while reaching for the transfer-pump handle – otherwise; you were instantly back on the ground with a much bigger, LIFE-FULL OF GROUND RESONANCE problem to handle!!! … Albeit; once you had her in the air, all you had to be concerned with was the sporadic – no plausible answer why – 0.5 – 1.5 second engine STOPS that gave your heart its EXTRA exercise for the day.
Having acquired some 85-hours flt.time in the course of that experience; upon return to Sydney I was fortunate to be in conversation with some old RAN Sycamore drivers who expressed no small amount of chagrin that I had been so successful, as to still be alive to enjoy that moment with them. I allowed as how My Holy Spirit keeper obviously had other things for Me to do, before He punches My “ticket”. … All of that was at +/- 2,200, of the final 13,420 flt.hrs. He has blessed Me with. … God Speed!!!
An immediate postwar civil aircraft project, Type 170, was a freighter derived from the Bombay military transport. The Type 170 was designed as a passenger, freight/passenger or all-freight transport aircraft to Specification 22/44 to carry a high payload on short-range flights. Because the campaign against the Japanese in Burma was still under way, a second Specification (G.9/45) was issued to provide a military transport capable of carrying into jungle areas a three-ton payload, including heavy trucks, guns, 28 stretchers and attendants, 36 fully equipped troops, 23 paratroops or other military loads. Large twin nose-doors facilitated loading and unloading of cargo.
The first of the two prototypes flew on 2 December 1945, by which time it was too late to see service during World War II. But surveys had shown that there was a genuine need for a similar aircraft for post-war commercial services and so the Freighter and Wayfarer were put into production, with nose-doors for loading freight or mixed passenger/freight-carrying and without nose-doors but seating for 36 passengers respectively.
Of the 214 Bristol Type 170 built between December 1945 and March 1958, the the Mk 32 with a 5 ft lengthened fuselage, was ordered by Silver City Airways. This version could accommodate two or three cars and 23 passengers.
Apart from the large numbers of commercial versions which were supplied for use in all parts of the world for a variety of duties, the Type 170 was also produced as a military transport and served with the RAAF, and RCAF (Mk 31 freighter version). A major user of the B-170 was the Pakistani Air Force, buying 38 in all. The RNZAF also became one of the major users of the B-170, buying 12, and operating them in the tactical transport role in New Zealand and South East Asia and flying them with a single pilot, a navigator and a signaller; and eventually losing two in accidents before retiring of the remainder in 1977.
In 1957 the two B.170s used at R.R.E. Defford as flying test beds for the development of air interception radar were scrapped. They were VR380 (ex-G-GAPV) and VR382 (ex-G-AGUT).
VR382 (ex-G-AGUT)
The biggest civil user was Safe Air who operated 14 in all with a maximum of 11 at any one time. The penultimate Bristol Freighter was built in early 1958 and delivered to Safe Air as ZK-BVM.
Engines: 2 x Bristol Hercules 734, 1455kW Take-off weight: 19967 kg / 44020 lb Empty weight: 12415 kg / 27371 lb Wingspan: 32.9 m / 107 ft 11 in Length: 20.8 m / 68 ft 3 in Height: 8.6 m / 28 ft 3 in Wing area: 138.1 sq.m / 1486.49 sq ft Max. speed: 360 km/h / 224 mph Cruise speed: 254 km/h / 158 mph Ceiling: 7000 m / 22950 ft Range w/max.fuel: 3800 km / 2361 miles Range w/max.payload: 1200 km / 746 miles Crew: 2-3 Passengers: 44-56
Mk.31 Engines: Bristol Hercules 734, 2000 hp Wingspan: 108 ft Length: 68 ft 4 in Height: 21 ft 6 in Wing area: 1487 sq.ft Empty weight: 25,547 lb Loaded weight: 44,000 lb Max cruise: 193 mph at 10,000 ft ROC: 1380 fpm Range, 12,000 lb payload: 420 mil Service ceiling: 24,500 ft
Mk.31M Engines: 2 x Bristol Hercules 735, 1980 hp. Wing span: 108 ft. Empty wt: 27,760 lb. MAUW: 46,000 lbs. Max speed: 230 mph @ 3,000 ft.
The Brabazon was a large trans Atlantic airliner project, designed to meet one of the postwar requirements formulated by the Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Brabazon of Tara. This committee was set up in 1943 to decide on the types of aircraft likely to be needed after the end of the war, able to carry 100 passengers non-stop from London to New York. Filton’s submission for an eight engined, 160 ton aeroplane drew extensively upon design studies that had been made in 1942 for a long range bomber. The Bristol Aeroplane Company was given leave to proceed with two fully pressurised prototypes, the name Brabazon chosen for the type. In 1945 construction of the prototype commenced in October. Many problems were encountered during the next four years leading up to the first flight on 4 September 1949. There was extensive testing of design innovations both on the ground and in the air. The huge Brabazon Hangar was built at Filton to accommodate the assembly of the two prototypes and a new runway was laid, involving the demolition of a village and closure of a dual carriageway. Six and a half years later, in 1949, the first Brabazon was ready at Filton. The only aircraft to be completed, G AGPW, had flown only 400hr when it was decided to abandon the project in 1953. Structural and flight control problems associated with gust alleviation were behind the political and financial decision to scrap the giant.
With a 70 m (230 ft) wing span and 15.25 m (50 ft) high to the tip of its fin, eight 2500 hp Bristol Cen-taurus piston engines driving contra rotating propellers were mounted in pairs within its wing. The maiden flight took place on 4 September 1949. The second aircraft would have been powered by Bristol Proteus turboprops in coupled pairs. It was expected that the Mk 1 would be retained for experimental flight research into the problems associated with very large aircraft, while the Mk 2 would be furnished to carry 100 passengers by day or night, plus a flight crew of seven and eight stewards. However, although the Mk 1 flew well and BEA wanted to use it between London and Nice, France, fatigue cracks in the propeller mounting and other problems ended the project.
The Brabazon was flown to the Farnborough Air Show with only three hours’ total flying time, before touring seaside resorts to give taxpayers a sight of the aircraft their money had paid for. Its thick wing was designed to lift at low airspeeds (160 kph/100 mph) at take-off, but was hopelessly inefficient for high speed flight. The Brabazon was too slow, and American airliners then reaching the market offered better performance at much lower cost. Late in 1952 the British government reported that ‘neither the civil airlines nor fighting services could foresee any economic use for it’ and ordered the prototype, with 400 hours of flight time, and a second unfinished Brabazon to be broken up. The two machines and all the jigs were sold for £10,000, though they cost £12,500,000.
Bristol 167 Brabazon Engines: 8 x Bristol Centaurus 20, 1863kW, 2466 hp Max Take-off weight: 131542 kg / 290002 lb Empty weight: 65816 kg / 145100 lb Wingspan: 70.1 m / 229 ft 12 in Wing load : 54.53 lb/sq.ft / 266.00 kg/sq.m Length: 53.95 m / 177 ft 0 in Height: 15.24 m / 50 ft 0 in Wing area: 493.95 sq.m / 5316.83 sq ft Max. speed: 483 km/h / 300 mph Cruise speed: 402 km/h / 250 mph Cruising altitude : 24934 ft / 7600 m Ceiling: 7620 m / 25000 ft Range: 8850 km / 5499 miles Passengers: 50-180 Crew: 3
Derived from the Model 163 Buckingham as an advanced trainer, the Bristol Type 166 Buckmaster had considerable commonality with its predecessor, and the last 110 Buckinghams were converted to Buckmasters by installation of dual controls and other modifications.
The first of two prototype Buckmaster flew from Filton on 27 October 1944, both aircraft being conversions from partly completed Buckinghams.
One hundred and fifty sets of Buckingham components had been manufactured when the contract was cut back and these were used for the Buckmasters, the first of 100 production aircraft being completed in 1945 and the last the following year.
Several Buckmasters served with No. 8 Squadron at Aden on communications duties, but most were delivered to Operational Conversion Units to train Brigand pilots. Blind-flying instruction and instrument training could be undertaken and the normal crew complement was pilot, instructor and air signaller.
Buckmaster T.1
The last Training Command Buckmasters served with No. 238. OCU at Colerne into the mid-1950s, while one or two were used on experimental work at Filton. One of these, probably the last survivor, was relegated to RAF Halton where it served as an instructional airframe until scrapped in 1958.
Bristol B.166 Buckmaster Engines: 2 x 2520hp Bristol Centaurus VII radial piston Max Take-off weight: 15286 kg / 33700 lb Empty weight: 10433 kg / 23001 lb Wingspan: 21.89 m / 71 ft 10 in Wing load : 47.56 lb/sq.ft / 232.00 kg/sq.m Length: 14.15 m / 46 ft 5 in Height: 5.33 m / 17 ft 6 in Wing area: 65.77 sq.m / 707.94 sq ft Max. speed: 566 km/h / 352 mph Service Ceiling: 9145 m / 30000 ft Range: 3219 km / 2000 miles
166 Buckmaster T.1 Engines: 2 x Bristol Centaurus 11, 2520 hp Wingspan: 71 ft 10 in Length: 46 ft 10 in Height: 17 ft 6 in Loaded weight: 33,700 lb Max speed: 352 mph at 12,000 ft Max cruise: 325 mph ROC: 2245 fpm Seats: 3
The Brigand was designed as a twin-engined three-seat long-range attack aircraft capable of fulfilling the duties of a torpedo-bomber, dive-bomber and fighter to replace the Beaufighter. It used wings, landing gear, engine nacelles and tail unit of a similar type to those of the Buckingham.
The prototype first flew on 4 December 1944. Although the first 11 aircraft were delivered as TF.1 torpedo-bombers to Coastal Command, in 1947 the Mk 1 was remodelled as a three-seat general-purpose bomber and most of the remaining 132 production Brigands were delivered as B.1. However a few saw service as Brigand Mk 2 training aircraft for radar navigators and Met Mk 3 meteorological reconnaissance aircraft.
The Brigand T.4 was an unarmed advanced trainer version based on the Brigand B.1 and employed primarily as a night fighter radar trainer. The T.4 normally carried a crew of three in tandem seats under a continuous canopy. For night fighter radar training the rear cockpit was blacked out.
Brigand T.4
The Brigand served with the RAF from 1949 until 1958, seeing action in Malaya during 1950 54, when it was operated with considerable success by Nos 45 and 84 Squadrons of the RAF, and had the distiction of being the RAF’s last piston-engined bomber.
Bristol Brigand B.1 Engines: 2 x Centaurus 57, 1842kW, 2470 hp (2,810hp with methanol/water injection) Prop: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) dia 4 blade. Max Take-off weight: 17690 kg / 39000 lb Empty weight: 11610 kg / 25596 lb Wingspan: 22.05 m / 72 ft 4 in Length: 14.15 m / 46 ft 5 in Height: 5.33 m / 17 ft 6 in Wing area: 66.7 sq.m / 717.95 sq ft Max speed: 358 mph (576 kph) at 16,000 ft (4,880m) Cruise speed: 500 km/h / 311 mph Service ceiling: 7900 m / 25900 ft Max range: 4500 km / 2796 miles Crew: 3 Armament: 4 x 20mm cannon, 900kg of weapons
Brigand T.4 Engines: 2 x Bristol Centaurus 57, 2470 hp Wingspan: 72 ft 4 in Length: 46 ft 5 in Height: 17 ft 6 in Max speed: 358 mph at 16,000 ft Cruise: 311 mph at 23,000 ft ROC: 1500 fpm Max range: 2800 mi Crew: 3
In 1910 Sir George White, the wealthy owner of the Bristol Tramways Company, formed the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company Ltd. With head offices in Bristol and a factory at nearby Filton, the aircraft produced by the company were generally known as ‘Bristols’.
Founded at Bristol, Somerset, in February 1910 as British & Colonial Aeroplane Company Ltd, a factory was set up in two sheds in the village of Filton in south Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol. Sir George White was a wealthy Bristol businessman and his company was registered on 19 February 1910 with a capital of £25,000. First began construction of a number of biplanes under license from Societe Zodiac, but these were not completed because the sample aircraft bought from France could not be induced to take to the air.
First aircraft produced were Bristol biplanes, usually known as the Boxkite, which initially were little more than copies of the Henry Farman biplane. The first of these, the Boxkite, was based on a Henri Farman design. The Boxkite made its debut at the Third International Aero Exhibition in 1911 and went on to become the first commercially produced aircraft in Britain with two per week rolling out of the factory. It was sold to the British and Russian military as well as being exported throughout the British Empire.
Flying schools established at Larkhill, on Salisbury Plain, and at Brooklands, Surrey, 1911. February 1911 Deutsche Bristol-Werke established at Halberstadt, Germany, to operate a flying school and build Bristol airplanes; arrangement canceled June 23,1914.
First military aircraft were monoplanes designed by Henri Coanda; No. 105 shared third place with a Deperdussin in the Military Aeroplane Competition of 1912. Bristol Scout, or “Baby Biplane”, evolved by Frank Barnwell 1914. The two-seat Bristol Fighter entered service in 1917 and became regarded as the best general-purpose combat aircraft of the First World War. During the final year of the war the company produced 2,000 aeroplanes from its own factories. By the Armistice the payroll had risen from 200 in August 1914 to 3,000 and the original tram sheds were now part of a factory with eight acres of floor space. Following the acquisition of the Cosmos Engineering Company in 1920, the Bristol Company was also a major builder of aero engines. Renamed the Bristol Aeroplane Company on 9 February 1920. Problems of readjustment and survival were intensified by the general world wide economic depression that succeeded the brief postwar boom. Diversification was one of the expedients adopted to keep the nucleus of the skilled workfiorce in being at Filton. Aircraft manufacture was augmented by produc¬tion of bus and coach bodies and later of motor car bodies. Between the wars Bristol Bulldog biplanes had equipped nine RAF Squadrons by 1932 and were most widely used fighter until 1936. In 1935, Bristol’s directors, realising that the company’s capital resources were inadequate, resolved on 15 June to re organise the firm as a public limited liability company with a share capital of £1.2million. Bristol Type 138A of 1936 captured world altitude record in September, 1936, then regained it from Italy in June 1937 with an altitude of 16,440m. Bristol Type 142, built as executive aircraft for Lord Rothermere, became the military Blenheim, an important light bomber in the early Second World War period. Beaufighter, first flown July 1939, became RAF’s first nightfighter, subsequently an important antishipping aircraft armed with rockets, torpedoes, and bombs. Designed and built prototype of eight-engined 100- passenger Brabazon I, first flew September 4, 1949; scrapped 1953 for financial/political/technical reasons. Type 170 Freighter first flown December 2, 1945 and 213 built subsequently. Turboprop powered Britannia first flew August 16, 1952, made the first non-stop airliner flight London, Vancouver (8,208km), June 29, 1957, and first North Atlantic passenger service to be flown by a turbine-powered airliner on December 19 of the same year. A helicopter department was set up in 1945 as part of the aircraft division at Filton. Austrian born Raoul Hafner headed a research and development team which produced the Type 171 Sycamore. Subsequently entering service with RAF as its first British-designed helicopter in 1952.
1955
In January 1956 the Bristol Aeroplane Company had reorganised into three wholly owned companies; Bristol Aircraft Ltd, Bristol Aero-Engines Ltd, and Bristol Cars Ltd.
September 1957
Four years later Bristol Aircraft Ltd joined with Vickers Ltd and English Electric to become the British Aircraft Corporation.
In 1960 Westland Aircraft took over the Bristol Helicopter Department.
In 1960 Bristol Aircraft Ltd joined with Vickers Ltd and English Electric to become the British Aircraft Corporation.
Bristol Aero Engines (formerly Bristol Engine Company) merged with Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1959 to form Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL) which in turn was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1966.
Research and development ot the tandem-rotor helicopters resulted in Type 192 Belvedere which entered service with the RAF, in 1961.
On 28 December 1963 the separate companies merged their identities and Bristol Aircraft Ltd became the Filton Division of BAC. Four years later the Bristol title was lost from the engine side when Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd became the Bristol Engine Division of Rolls Royce Ltd. The nationalisation of the aircraft industry in 1977 resulted in the formation of British Aerospace (BAe) and the works at Filton became part of the Weybridge Bristol Division of BAe Aircraft Group while the BAC Guided Weapons Division at Fillon became part of the Stevenage Bristol Divi¬sion of the BAe Dynamics Group.
Bristol Aero Engines (formerly Bristol Engine Company) merged with Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1959 to form Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL) which in turn was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1966.
The semi-rigid airship, whose appearance was designed by Ken Adam, was an approximate replica of a 1904 Lebaudy airship for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was intended to represent the airship of Baron Bomburst of Vulgaria. Although fictional in inspiration, it was a fully functional flying airship.
Vulgaria, and the airship, is drawn from Roald Dahl’s screenplay for the film, rather than Ian Fleming’s original book.
The airship was built in 1967 by Malcolm Brighton, at Cardington, Bedford. It was only the second British airship to be built post-war, the first being the Airship Club’s 1951 Bournemouth. It was also the first British airship to be mainly filled with helium rather than hydrogen, though it was topped up with hydrogen.
The envelope was symmetrical fore-and-aft and short and deep compared to typical rigid airships, with pointed ends above the centre of the envelope that gave it the distinctive Lebaudy “hooked” appearance. The gondola was a long open truss structure beneath this and a crew basket beneath, with the typical Lebaudy feature of cruciform control surfaces at the rear of the gondola.
The ends of the airship envelope were coloured with bands of the Vulgarian tricolor: black and purple on white. The flanks were adorned with a large black griffin, the arms of Vulgaria.
The envelope was 112 feet long, with a width of 30 feet and height of 44 feet, giving a volume of 37,000 cubic feet (1,000 m3). A single Volkswagen Beetle engine of 40 hp drove two two-bladed propellers. First flying in 1967, the small Lebaudy control surfaces made the airship difficult to control in pitch.
Only the one was ever built. It first flew, from a farm at Turville Heath, Buckinghamshire, on 9 August 1967.
Lionel Jefferies, one of the films stars.
On one flight by Malcolm Brighton and Derek Piggott the airship collided with two sets of high-voltage power wires, causing much damage. Soon after it was repaired, a freak storm tore the point of attachment of the mooring ropes, destroyed it totally.
While landing on a wet section of the runway, however, the nosewheel of the GB-6 dug in and it flipped over violently. The pilot was only slightly injured. Only the wing was salvageable. Georges Briffaud considered re-using it by enlarging it for use in a motorglider project, the GB-80. This was a midwing single-seater whose engine, placed near the center of gravity, was to drive via a short driveshaft a two-bladed propeller located between the fixed vertical fin and the rudder. This solution had the advantage of fairing in the propeller during soaring flight without requiring feathering or the retraction of the engine-propeller assembly. The airframe was of fabric-covered wood; the cockpit was equipped with a molded canopy. The GB-80 made its first flight as a glider on 21 September 1960 at Beynes with pilot Jacques Gomy at the controls, pulled by the club towplane. During succeeding flights, several modifications proved necessary, notably an increase in rudder area. Handling of the GB-80 was similar to that of other gliders of the same generation, and the machine’s wing performance was close to that of the Nord 2000 (French version of the German “Meise”), despite a low aspect ratio of only 7.6. It received its certificate of airworthiness (CNRP) on 4 July 1961. On one flight, it was double-towed with another flying wing, the AV-36 flown by Eric Nessler. The motor originally intended for it, a 2-stroke, 18 hp Kroeber, was never installed, being replaced by an equivalent weight of ballast. The engine had no starter, and the development of that accessory was never completed (Charles Fauvel faced similar problems with the AV-45). Georges Briffaud designed a version designated GB-81, with a new, easier to build fuselage, but that project was never realized. Disappointed, Georges Briffaud decided in 1963 to dismantle the GB-80.
Wing span: 11.20 m Length: 4.20 m Wing Area: 15.4 sq.m Airfoil: modified NACA 23012 Aspect ratio: 7.6 Empty weight: 165 kg Max. weight: 260 kg Best glide ratio: 22:1 Minimum sink rate: 0.90 m/s
