Bourges | |
---|---|
Role | day bomber, long-range reconnaissance |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Boulton & Paul |
Designer | John Dudley North |
First flight | 1918 [1] |
Status | Prototype |
Number built | 3 |
The Boulton & Paul P.7 Bourges was a prototype British twin-engined biplane day bomber built by Boulton & Paul to replace the Airco DH.10 Amiens. Despite demonstrating excellent performance and manoeuvrability, only three prototypes were built, post World War I cost cutting leading to the DH.10 not being replaced.
In 1918, the British Air Ministry drew up specification A.2 (B) for the replacement of the Airco DH.10 Amiens medium bomber, despite the fact that the Amiens had not yet entered service. [2] In response, J.D North, chief designer of Boulton & Paul's aircraft department designed a twin-engined aircraft, the P.7 Bourges, powered, like most of the types designed to replace the DH.10, by two of the new ABC Dragonfly radial engines. [3] The ABC was ordered off the drawing board by the Ministry and high hopes were held for it. The Bourges was a three-seat, three bay biplane with unstaggered wings of all-wooden construction. The armament was two Lewis guns - one in the nose on a Scarff ring and the other in the dorsal position - and 900 lb (410 kg) of bombs in three bomb cells with doors. [4]
Three prototypes were ordered by the Air Ministry. [5]
Delays in delivery of airworthy examples of the Dragonfly led to the decision to fit the first prototype with the much less powerful 230 hp (170 kW)), but reliable Bentley BR2 rotary engine as a temporary measure, allowing a first flight as the Bourges Mk IIA in June 1919. [6]
Frank Courtney demonstrated the Bourges at Hendon Aerodrome at the end of May 1919 for a reception for Commander Albert Read who had led the crossing of the Atlantic by US seaplanes. The magazine Flight commenting on its aerobatic capabilities and general performance though having already flown about 3,500 miles. [7]
It was fitted with Dragonflys in July, becoming the Bourges Mk IA,. [6] Both the Bentley [8] and ABC engined Bourges demonstrated excellent performance and manoeuvrability, being able to be looped and rolled with ease. [9] Courtney wrote that it could "be thrown around in loops, spins, rolls...without any special effort". [10] This acrobatic quality was displayed for the reception at Hendon of Commander Read after his cross-Atlantic crossing by flying boat.
The second aircraft was fitted with a gulled upper wing to improve the field of fire for its gunners - the engines moved down to the top of the lower wing. To give greater clearance for the propellers, the undercarriage was lengthened. [11] Fitted with Dragonflys, it was designated the Bourges Mk IB. It would crash in 1919 and its structure reused for a different project. The third Bourges was also originally built as a Mk IB, but when Boulton Paul realised that the reliability problems with the Dragonfly could not be cured, it was refitted with BR2s, being redesignated Bourges Mk IIB. [6]
In 1920-21 the third prototype, the Bourges P.7B F2905 was again re-engined, this time with 450 hp (336 kW) Napier Lion engines fitted onto the lower wing, and was flown both with the original straight upper wing (Bourges Mk IIIA) and with the gulled wing (Bourges Mk IIIB). While, in this form, it was superior to the other types planned as DH.10 replacements, the RAF had by this time abandoned the requirement, and the Bourges was used for extensive testing at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough continuing in use until 1924. [12] On one occasion it was used at a public display at Croydon in a mock dogfight with two Nieuport Nighthawk fighters. [13]
The second prototype was rebuilt to produce the Boulton Paul Atlantic.
Data fromBritish Aeroplanes 1914-18. [14]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Boulton Paul P.29 Sidestrand was a twin-engine biplane medium bomber of the Royal Air Force. Designed for daylight operations, it was manoeuvrable and provided with three defensive gun positions. Named after a village on the Norfolk coast near Boulton & Paul's factory in Norwich, the Sidestrand first flew in 1926 and entered service in 1928. It remained in service until 1936, equipping No. 101 Squadron RAF. It was an agile and relatively fast aircraft that was capable of aerobatic manoeuvres such as loops, rolls and spins.
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in use during the Second World War.
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service.
The Airco DH.9A is a British single-engined light bomber that was designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, replacing the under-powered and unreliable inline 6-cylinder Siddeley Puma engine of the DH.9 with the American V-12 Liberty engine.
The Airco DH.1 was an early military biplane of typical "Farman" pattern flown by Britain's Royal Flying Corps during World War I. By the time the powerplant for which it was designed was sufficiently plentiful it was obsolete as an operational aircraft, and apart from a few examples sent to the Middle East it served as a trainer and Home Defence fighter.
The de Havilland DH.14 Okapi was a British two-seat day bomber of the 1910s built by de Havilland. The aircraft was designed as an Airco DH.4 and DH.9 replacement, but it never entered production.
The Airco DH.16 was a British four-seat commercial biplane of the 1910s designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, the chief designer at Airco.
The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a twin-engined heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airco. It performed the first nighttime air mail service in the world on 14-15 May 1919.
The Airco DH.11 Oxford was a British twin-engined biplane bomber which was designed to replace the earlier Airco DH.10 Amiens. It was designed to use the unsuccessful ABC Dragonfly engine and was abandoned after the first prototype was built.
The Fairey Fawn was a British single-engine light bomber of the 1920s. It was designed as a replacement for the Airco DH.9A and served with the Royal Air Force between 1924 and 1929.
The Handley Page H.P.24 Hyderabad was a twin-engine biplane heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last wooden heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF).
The Airco DH.3 was a British bomber aircraft of the First World War. The DH.3 was designed in 1916 as a long-range day bomber by Geoffrey de Havilland, chief designer at the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It was a large biplane with wide-span three-bay wings, slender fuselage, and a curved rudder. It was powered by two 120 hp (89 kW) Beardmore engines, mounted as pushers between the wings. In addition to tailskid landing gear, two wheels were placed under the nose to prevent it from tipping over on the nose.
The Avro 533 Manchester was a First World War-era twin-engine biplane photo-reconnaissance and bomber aircraft designed and manufactured by Avro.
The Boulton & Paul Bugle was a heavy bomber designed and produced by the British manufacturing group Boulton & Paul.
The Nieuport London was a British night bomber aircraft designed in the First World War. A twin-engined triplane, the London was dogged by the unavailability and unreliability of its engines, and did not fly until 1920. Only two were built.
The de Havilland DH.15 Gazelle was an engine testbed for the B.H.P Atlantic engine, converted from a de Havilland DH.9A for flight trials in 1919–20. Only one was built.
The sole Boulton & Paul P.32 was a British three-engined biplane built to an Air Ministry specification for a long range night bomber. A lack of engine availability slowed construction and by the time it went for tests the thinking on bomber types had moved on.
The Boulton & Paul P.15 Bolton was a one-off experimental twin-engined reconnaissance biplane ordered by the Air Ministry to sustain Boulton & Paul's development of steel-framed aircraft early in the 1920s. It was the RAF's first metal-framed aircraft.
The Boulton & Paul P.8 Atlantic was Boulton & Paul's attempt to adapt their well-performing Bourges bomber into an airliner. They hoped to gain publicity for it by winning the outstanding prize for the first non-stop Atlantic crossing but a first flight accident made them miss their opportunity. Two were built but none sold as airliners.
The Sopwith Cobham was a British twin-engined triplane bomber aircraft designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. The only twin-engined aircraft built by Sopwith, the Cobham did not fly until after the end of the war, and was unsuccessful due to the failure of its engines, only three prototypes being built.