| Baynes Bat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Experimental glider |
| Manufacturer | Slingsby |
| Designer | L.E. Baynes AFRAeS |
| Primary user | Royal Aircraft Establishment |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | July 1943 |
The Baynes Bat (or sometimes Slingsby-Baynes Bat) was an experimental glider of the Second World War, designed by L. E. Baynes. It was used to test the tailless design that he had suggested as a means to convert tanks into temporary gliders so they could be flown into battle.
In the late 1930s, armies were looking for a way to airlift heavy military units. There were then no cargo aircraft big enough to lift a tank, and even if such a large aircraft had been created it would have needed many special facilities. A solution which was explored during the Second World War was to tow tanks as gliders, and for this wings had to be added. Most designs were based on straight wings with extended empennage and stabilizers. The design of L.E. Baynes AFRAeS in 1941 was for a 100 ft wingspan "Carrier Wing Glider" consisting chiefly of a swept wing with vertical stabilizers on the wingtips. [1]
A 1/3 scale prototype was built entirely of wood in 1943 by Slingsby Sailplanes at Kirkbymoorside, and the Baynes Bat made its first flight in July 1943 possibly at the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment at RAF Sherburn-in-Elmet or most likely at RAF Snaith a few miles away, where other AFEE projects where also being tested. Snaith was a bomber station, so daytime testing was more possible than at Sherburn as it was also a fighter station with daytime operations and on grass runways where as Snaith had 3 long concrete runways and associated support facilities. Most of the test flights were piloted by Flight Lieutenant Robert Kronfeld. [1] [2]
Tests were successful, but the project was abandoned because a suitable tank was not then available and a decision had been made to develop gliders which could carry heavy equipment within their fuselages. The strategists were not convinced of the practicality of retrieving large numbers of Baynes Bats from the field, but in wartime this was not a critical factor. [1]
The one Bat which had been built was the first tailless monoplane with flaps to be available for research and it was flown extensively by the Royal Aircraft Establishment to test the stability and control of tailless aircraft. The Bat was sold as surplus in October 1946 and entered on the British Gliding Association register in November 1947. The Bat was last seen in 1958, lying behind a hangar at Croydon Airport. [1]
United Kingdom Data from Aeroplane Monthly [1] & Ellison 1971. [2]
General characteristics
Performance
The Slingsby Hengist was a British military glider designed and built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. Like other British troop carrying gliders in the Second World War, it was named after military figures whose name began with H, in this case the Jute invader Hengist.
The Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper is a British primary training glider built by Slingsby Sailplanes for the Royal Air Force.
The General Aircraft GAL.56 was a family of 1940s British experimental tailless swept wing glider designs.
The Slingsby T.41 Skylark 2 was a sailplane produced from 1953 by Slingsby Sailplanes at Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire.
The Slingsby Type 42 Eagle was a two-seat glider designed in England from 1952.
The Slingsby T.37 Skylark 1 was a small low-cost sailplane built during 1952-3 at Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire by Slingsby Sailplanes.
The Slingsby T.49 Capstan is a British two-seat glider of the 1960s built by Slingsby Sailplanes as a replacement for their earlier Type 42 Eagle.
The Slingsby T.29 Motor Tutor was a single-seat motor glider produced from 1948, by Slingsby Sailplanes in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire.
The Slingsby T.8 Kirby Tutor was a single-seat sport glider produced from 1937, by Fred Slingsby in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire.
The Slingsby T.12 Gull was a British single-seat glider designed and built by Slingsby Sailplanes and first flown in 1938.
The SZD-6x Nietoperz was a single-seat tail-less experimental glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała in 1951. Only one example was constructed.
In 1947 a British Gliding Association design competition, for a two-seat sailplane, was won by Hugh Kendall, Miles' assistant test pilot. It was a side-by-side two seater called the Kendall Crabpot I, with a 60 ft. span and an aspect ratio of 18. A version with a novel asbestos fibre-polymer wing and a wooden fuselage with a butterfly tail was proposed by Miles, but the wing failed under low loads. Elliotts of Newbury built a conventional wooden wing to use with Miles' fuselage. The resulting glider flew, but not well and development was abandoned with just one example built.
The Carden–Baynes Auxiliary was the first motor glider with a retractable engine and propeller; it is known as the Abbott–Baynes Scud 3 when engineless. Both aircraft, built in the mid-1930s, were still flying in 2010 as pure sailplanes.
The Slingsby Type 34 Sky is a high performance single seat competition sailplane built in the United Kingdom. It was successful in major events, particularly in the World Gliding Championships of 1952.
The Slingsby T.30 Prefect is a 1948 British modernisation of the 1932 single-seat Grunau Baby glider. About 53 were built for civil and military training purposes.
The General Aircraft GAL.55 was a 1940s British military training glider designed and built by General Aircraft Limited.
The Slingsby Type 45 Swallow was designed as a club sailplane of reasonable performance and price. One of the most successful of Slingsby's gliders in sales terms, over 100 had been built when production was ended by a 1968 factory fire.
The Slingsby T.43 Skylark 3 was a single seat Open Class sailplane developed from the Skylark 2 with an extended wingspan. It won the 1960 World Gliding Championships.
The Slingsby T.50 Skylark 4 was a British single seat competition glider built by Slingsby Sailplanes in the early 1960s. It sold in numbers and had success at national, though not world level competition.
The Abbott-Baynes Scud 2 was a 1930s high-performance sailplane, built in the UK. It was a development of the intermediate-level Scud 1 with a new, high aspect ratio wing.
