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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0324.PDF
BRISTOL CAVALCADE. 9^ c two third prizes. Following this period, however, develop- ment was somewhat arrested by wing failures, leading to the banning of monoplanes throughout the country, so that for two or three years the biplane was unrivalled in Great Britain; but Bristol monoplanes continued to be sold abroad, and even manufactured under liceneS7v5llli>|^<^-^ A portentous development, on the Coanda rqjlttai^ Au- plane displayed at the Paris Salon in December, 1913, was the provision for twelve small bombs in the belly of the fuselage. They could be released by a lever at prescribed intervals, and a sight was provided for the observer. For the Olympia Show in March, 1914, the firm prepare" biplanes, of which the little single-seater Scout, designed by Harry Busteed and Frank Barnwell," enthusiastically acclaimed. Notwithstanding the excellent performance of the little biplane, the Bristol Company was working on the first of the wire-braced M.i monoplane series, the ultimate develop- ment of which had a speed range of 50-130 m.p.h.; but Bristol's greatest contribution to the war was the famous two-seater Fighter biplane (" Brisfit" or " Biff "), of which some 3,500 were built at Bristol and elsewhere. Aircraft which materialized between the wars were too numerous to be named here, but exceptions must be made of the internationally accepted Bulldog single-seater fighter, the record-breaking Type 138 A high-altitude monoplane, and Britain First, precursor of the illustrious Blenheim. These, and numerous other types, bear testimony to the ability of Mr. L. G. Frise who resigned in ill-health during 1946, previously having been succeeded as chief designer by Mr. A. E. Russell. The Beaufighter holds an enviable place in the hearts of R.A.F. crews, and to-day the Brigand bomber furthers the Bristol tradition in the Service. Type 170—a freight and passenger transport of quite exceptional versatility—is earning its keep in many lands; helicopter progress is, to say the least, encouraging, and trials of the giant Brabazon I are well in hand. The history of the Bristol Engine Division covers a shorter span. Briefly, "this department grew out of the motor manufacturing firm of Brazil Straker and Co., which during the 1914-18 war manufactured aircraft engines and which, at the invitation of the Air Ministry, built a 14- cylinder, air-cooled radial unit in 1917. This was called the Mercury, and a specimen was tested in a Bristol Scout in 1919. The 450 h.p. nine-cylinder Jupiter was completed in 1918, and even at that time Mr. A. H. R. Fedden, the technical director of Brazil Straker (now reorganized and renamed the Cosmos Engineering Co.), had designs for a 1,000 h.p. 18-cylinder, two-row radial which was to have been named the Hercules. In 1920 the Cosmos Company went into liquidation and the entire rights of the firm, together with all designs, were acquired by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Mr. Roy Fedden became chief engineer. Peace—and Two Wars—in Pictures A. Donald Graham Gilmour's Box Kite over Henley Regattain July, 1911. For this escapade his Aviator's Certificate was suspended for one month. B. The " works" in January, 1911, showing airscrew and air-craft production. C. Bristol Scouts of the R.N.A.S^-irr-Flanders during the spring of 1915. D. Bristol Fighter F.2B of No. 22 Squadron on April 1st, 1918,about to make the first sortie of the newly constituted R.A.F. E. King George V examining a Bristol Fighter on November 8th.1917. Mr. Henry White Smith is in attendance. F. Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth,attended by Capt. Cyril Uwins, during their inspection in 1940.
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