- Blackburn Beverley
Infobox Aircraft
name=Blackburn Beverley
caption=Blackburn Beverley "XB287" photographed in 1964.
type=Military transport aircraft
manufacturer=Blackburn Aircraft
designer=General Aircraft
first flight=1950-06-20
introduced=1955
retired=1967
status=
primary user=Royal Air Force
more users=
produced=1950-1958
number built=49
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy cantilever monoplane transport aircraft built by the Blackburn and General Aircraft.Design and development
Originally designed and built by
General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft was dismantled at theFeltham, Middlesex factory and transported to Brough inYorkshire to have its maiden flight on1950-06-20 . This was followed by a second, the GAL.65, which was modified from the original. Clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. TheBristol Hercules engines becameBristol Centaurus with reverse pitch propellers a feature that gave it a short landing length. The RAF placed an order in 1952 as the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). All Beverleys would be built at Brough.The aircraft is a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage has a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. A 36ft main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops with another 36 in the tail-boom.
The aircraft was designed for, and indeed was quite proficient at, carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of the
Second World War . At the time of its entry into service it was the largest aircraft in theRoyal Air Force (RAF). It had an enormous interior cargo area split into two levels which amounted to around 170 cubic meters of space. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just before the leading edge of the tailplane.In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last one being manufactured in 1958 and the final retirement from RAF service in 1967.
Operational history
The first operational aircraft was delivered to 47 Squadron Royal Air Force at
RAF Abingdon on 12 March 1956. 53 Squadron, also at RAF Abingdon, received Beverleys but was absorbed into 47 Squadron in June 1963. They were flown until October 1967 when the squadron disbanded. 30 Squadron received its Beverleys in April 1957 atRAF Dishforth subseqeuntly deploying toRAF Eastleigh ,Kenya andRAF Muharraq ,Bahrein where it disbanded in September 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft atRAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. The squadron strength was supplemented in June 1959 when 48 Squadron, then based atRAF Changi , was absorbed into it. The sixth squadron to fly the Beverley was 84 Squadron atRAF Khormaskar ,Aden which flew them until August 1967 when they were exchanged forHawker Siddeley Andover s. [ Jefford, "RAF Squadrons"]urvivors
Only one Beverley has survived and "XB259" is on display at
Fort Paull , just east of Hull,England . Two other aircraft were on public display but have since been scrapped:
* "XH124" was on display at theRAF Museum , Hendon. Kept outside the aircraft deteriorated and was scrapped in 1989.
* "XB261" was on display at the Southend Historic Aviation Museum in 1971. When the museum closed it sat outside for years being weather-beaten and vandalised. It was scrapped in 1989, however, part of its cockpit has been preserved at theImperial War Museum Duxford .
* "XL149" was an instructional airframe after its RAF service and was scrapped in 1977.Variants
* B-101 Beverley : Company designation for the Beverley C.Mk 1.
* G.A.L. 60 Universal Freighter : Designation for the first aircraft.
* G.A.L. 65 : Designation for the second aircraft. Also given the company designation Blackburn B-100.
* Beverley C.Mk 1 : Medium-range tactical transport aircraft for theRAF .Operators
;UK
*Royal Air Force .
**No. 30 Squadron RAF 1957-1967
**No. 34 Squadron RAF 1962-1967
**No. 47 Squadron RAF 1956-1967
**No. 48 Squadron RAF
**No. 53 Squadron RAF 1957-1963
**No. 84 Squadron RAF 1958-1967
**No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit RAF : 1957-1967Accidents and incidents
Nine aircraft were lost in service with the RAF. Two of these were write-offs after explosive damage (1 landmine, 1 bomb).
pecifications (B-101)
aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=propref=Aeroflightcite web
url=http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/types/uk/blackburn/beverley/Beverley.htm
title=Blackburn Beverley
work=Aeroflight
last=Hayles
first=John
accessdate=2006-08-19
date=2006-05-06 ]crew=6(2 pilots, flight engineer, navigator, signaller, loadmaster)
capacity=
** 80 troops
** 70paratrooper s
payload main=44,000 lb
payload alt=20,000 kg
payload more=for 200 mi (320 km)
length main=99 ft 5 in
length alt=30.3 m
span main=162 ft
span alt=49.4 m
height main=38 ft 9 in
height alt=11.8 m
area main=2,916 sq ft
area alt=270.9 m²
empty weight main=79,234 lb
empty weight alt=35,950 kg
loaded weight main=82,100 lb
loaded weight alt=37,240 kg
max takeoff weight main=135,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt=61,235 kgengine (prop)=
Bristol Centaurus 173
type of prop=18-cylinderradial engine s
number of props=4
power main=2,850 hp
power alt=2,130 kWmax speed main=238 mph
max speed alt=208 knots, 383 km/h
cruise speed main=173 mph
cruise speed alt=150 knots, 278 km/h
cruise speed more=at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
range main=1,300 miles
range alt=170 nm, 320 km
range more=with standard 29,000 lb (13,154 kg) payload
ceiling main=16,000 ft
ceiling alt=4,900 mclimb rate main=760 ft/min
climb rate alt=3.9 m/s
loading main=28.2 lb/ft²
loading alt=137 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.138 hp/lb
power/mass alt=228 W/kgmore performance=
* Takeoff roll: 1,340 ft (410 m)
* Landing roll: 990 ft (300 mee also
aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
*Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy
*Breguet Sahara
*Nord Noratlas
*C-119 Flying Boxcar see also=
lists=
*List of aircraft of the RAF
*List of military transport aircraft References
Notes
Bibliography
· Jefford, C.G., "RAF Squadrons". Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 2nd edition, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2
. Overton,Bill, "Blackburn Beverley". Midland Counties, ISBN 0-904597-62-8
External links
* [http://www.beverley-association.org.uk/ Blackburn Beverley Association]
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