Blackburn Velos

infobox Aircraft
name = Velos
type = Coastal defence seaplane
manufacturer = Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company Limited, Greek National Aircraft Factory (KEA)


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1925
introduced =
retired = 1936
produced =
number built = 22
status =
unit cost =
primary user = Greek Navy
more users = North Sea Aerial and General Transport Company Limited
developed from = Blackburn T.2 Dart
variants with their own articles = The Blackburn T.3 Velos was a 1920s British two-seat coastal defence seaplane built by Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company Limited, Brough Aerodrome and the Greek National Aircraft Factory.

Design and development

The basic design of the Blackburn Dart was developed into a two-seater to meet a Greek Navy requirement for a coastal defence seaplane. The aircraft became the T.3 Velos, a twin-float seaplane. The Velos differed from the standard Dart T.2 in having a two-seat cockpit with a rear-mounted Lewis gun, an increased weapons load with four 230 lb bombs mounted under the wings and provisions to fly as either a seaplane with floats or with a conventional undercarriage.

In 1925, a small batch of four aircraft were built at Brough Aerodrome for the Greek Navy. Later in the same year, the aircraft was chosen as the first licence-built aircraft in Greece in a factory built by Blackburn and operated under a five-year contract. The Aircraft Factory, later renamed the State Aircraft Factory or Greek National Aircraft Factory, operated in Palaion Faliro to produce 12 Greek-built T.3 Velos aircraft. The first of the production order flew in March 1926.

Blackburn produced two additional T.3 models as the T.3A Velos, initially for trials of the company's new metal floats and later, one example embarked on a demonstration and sales tour of South America in 1927. Despite the sales tour, the T.3A garnered no orders. Both T.3As were converted to seaplane trainers and joined four other production aircraft built for the Blackburn Reserve School (North Sea Aerial and General Transport Co. Ltd) to replace the company's Darts seaplane trainers in providing advanced training. After 1929, all of the T.3As were converted back into landplanes and continued in service until replacement by Ripons and Baffins in 1933.

Operational service

The Blackburn T.3 Velos not only fulfilled an operational role as a coastal defence/torpedo bomber in the Naval Air Component Squadrons in Greece, the Velos also helped establish an indigenous aviation industry. The aircraft began operations in 1926 with the Greek Navy deployed at Tatoi Aerodrome and Phaleron Bay, Athens. During operations, the T.3s delivered steady if not spectacular service. The Velos remained in squadron use until 1934 with all examples retired by 1936.

Operators

Civil operators

;UK
*North Sea Aerial and General Transport Company Limited

Military operators

;flag|Greece|old
*Greek Navy

pecifications

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=3
length main= 35 ft 6 in
length alt= 10.82m
span main= 48 ft 6 in
span alt= 14.78 m
height main= 12 ft 3 in
height alt= 3.73 m
area main= 654 ft²
area alt= 60,76 m²
empty weight main= 3,890 lb
empty weight alt= 1764 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
max takeoff weight main= 6,200 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 2812 kg
engine (prop)=Napier Lion IIB
type of prop= inline piston
number of props=1
power main= 450 hp
power alt= 336 kw
max speed main= 107 mph
max speed alt= 172 km/h
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 14,100 ft
ceiling alt= 4300 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
armament= one 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun, one 18 in (45.7 cm) torpedo or four 230 lb (104 kg) bombs.

References

* "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)". London: Orbis Publishing.
* Jackson, A.J. "British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 1". London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.
* Taylor, Michael, J.H. (ed.) "Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation". Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Educational Corporation, 1980. ISBN 0-7106-0710-5.

External links

* [http://glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/royalair30.htm The Royal Air force in the 1930s]

ee also

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