Type 130 Bombay | |
---|---|
Bombay Mark I L5838 in flight. | |
Role | Transport aircraft |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
First flight | 23 June 1935 |
Introduction | 1939 |
Retired | 1944 |
Primary users | Royal Air Force Royal Australian Air Force |
Produced | 1939 |
Number built | 51 |
The Bristol Bombay was a British troop transport aircraft adaptable for use as a medium bomber flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
The Bristol Bombay was built to Air Ministry Specification C.26/31 which called for a monoplane bomber-transport aircraft to replace the Vickers Valentia biplane in use in the Middle East and India. The aircraft was required to be capable of carrying 24 troops or an equivalent load of cargo as a transport, while carrying bombs and defensive guns for use as a bomber. [1] This dual-purpose design concept was common to British pre-war designs. Other entries for the specification were the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.23 and the Handley Page HP.52. [2]
Bristol's design, the Type 130, was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction. [1] Bristol's previous monoplane design, the 1927 Bagshot, had suffered from lack of torsional rigidity in the wings leading to aileron reversal. [3] This led to an extensive research program at Bristol which resulted in a wing design with a stressed metal skin rivetted to an internal framework consisting of multiple spars and the ribs. This was the basis of the Bombay's wing, which had seven spars, with high-tensile steel flanges and alclad webs. [1] The aircraft had a twin-tail and a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. [1] [4]
The aircraft's crew consisted of a pilot, who sat in an enclosed cockpit, a navigator/bomb-aimer, whose working position was in the nose, and a radio-operator/gunner, who divided his time between the radio operator's position behind the cockpit and a gun turret in the nose. When the aircraft was operated as a bomber, an additional gunner was carried to man the tail gun position. In the prototype, this position was equipped with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring but in production aircraft, both gun positions were hydraulically-operated gun turrets each armed with a Vickers K machine gun. Eight 250-pound (110 kg) bombs could be carried on racks under the fuselage. [1] [4] [5]
A prototype Type 130 was ordered in March 1933 and first flew on 23 June 1935, powered by two 750 horsepower (560 kW) Bristol Pegasus III radial engines driving two-bladed propellers. [4] Testing was successful and an order for 80 was placed as the Bombay in July 1937. [4] [6] These differed from the prototype in having more powerful (1,010 hp (750 kW)) engines driving three-bladed Rotol variable-pitch propellers, discarding the wheel spats fitted to the undercarriage main wheels in the prototype. [7] [8] As Bristol's Filton factory was busy building the more urgent Blenheim light bomber, the production aircraft were built by Short & Harland (owned by Short Brothers and Harland and Wolff) of Belfast. [4] [9] The complex nature of the Bombay's wing delayed production at Belfast. The first Bombay was not delivered until 1939 and the last 30 were cancelled. [4] [10]
The first production Bombay flew in March 1939, with deliveries to No. 216 Squadron RAF based in Egypt beginning in September that year. [9] Although it was outclassed as a bomber for the European theatre, it saw some service with British-based 271 Squadron ferrying supplies to the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940. [9] [10] In June 1940, French pilot Jean-Francois Demozay used an abandoned Bombay to ferry himself and 15 troops from France to England, after which he became an ace with the RAF. [11]
The Bombay's main service was in the Middle East, particularly with 216 Squadron, which operated most of the Bombays built at some stage. [10] When the war with Italy began in June 1940, in the absence of more modern aircraft, 216 Squadron's Bombays were used as night bombers as well as in their principal role as transport aircraft. [12] [13] The design bombload of 250 lb (110 kg) bombs under the fuselage was supplemented by improvised bombs thrown out of the cargo door by hand. [10] [13] The aircraft flew bombing sorties against targets in the Western Desert, including Benghazi and Tobruk, and against Italian Somaliland, until the buildup of Vickers Wellington bombers in Egypt allowed the Bombays to concentrate on transport operations. [14] [15]
As transports, they ferried supplies and evacuated the wounded during the Siege of Tobruk, [16] and on 2 May 1941, Bombays of 216 Squadron evacuated the Greek Royal Family from Crete to Egypt. [9] Later that month, Bombays played an important role in ferrying troops during the Anglo-Iraqi War. [9] [17] Five Bombays were used by the fledgling SAS in their first official operation in the Middle East, a parachute drop on five forward German aerodromes on 17 November 1941. [18]
Lieutenant General William Gott, the highest ranking British officer killed in the war, died when a Bombay piloted by Hugh James in which he was being carried was shot down in the Western Desert on 7 August 1942. He was about to assume command of Eighth Army from General Claude Auchinleck who had been removed as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and had been directing the Army directly after dismissing its commander Neil Ritchie. His death opened the way for General Bernard Montgomery to take over. [19]
Bombays evacuated over 2,000 wounded during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, and one crew was credited with carrying 6,000 casualties from Sicily and Italy before the type was finally withdrawn from use in 1944. [20] [21]
Data fromThe British Bomber since 1914 [10]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
The Bristol Beaufort is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At least 1,180 Beauforts were built by Bristol and other British manufacturers.
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. Development began with the Type 142, a civil airliner, after a challenge from the newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe. The Type 142 first flew in April 1935, and the Air Ministry, ordered a modified design as the Type 142M for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber.
The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handley Page O/100 (H.P.11) and the Handley Page O/400 (H.P.12).
The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second World War.
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Alongside the Vickers Wellington and the Handley Page Hampden, the Whitley was developed during the mid-1930s according to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34, which it was subsequently selected to meet. In 1937, the Whitley formally entered into RAF squadron service; it was the first of the three medium bombers to be introduced.
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.
The Bristol Type 163 Buckingham was a British Second World War medium bomber for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Overtaken by events, it was built in small numbers and was used primarily for transport and liaison duties.
No. 14 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Beechcraft Shadow R1 in the Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) role from RAF Waddington.
No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Westland/Airbus Helicopters Puma HC Mk.2 helicopter. The squadron transitioned from the previously operated Bell Griffin HAR.2 to the Puma HC.2 in 2023.
The Martin Model 167 Maryland was an American light bomber that first flew in 1939. It saw action in World War II with France and the United Kingdom.
The Vickers Valentia was a British biplane bomber transport aircraft built by Vickers for the Royal Air Force. The majority built were conversions of the earlier Vickers Victoria, itself derived from the Vickers Virginia.
No. 37 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron of the First and Second World Wars.
No. 21 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1979.
No. 40 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport as No. 40 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and was disbanded for the last time in 1957. The squadron also included many non-British members, including volunteers from the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Fairey Hendon was a British monoplane, heavy bomber of the Royal Air Force, designed by Fairey Aviation in the late 1920s. The aircraft served in small numbers with one squadron of the RAF between 1936 and 1939. It was the first all-metal construction low-wing monoplane to enter service with the RAF.
The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft at its factories at Brough and Dumbarton.
The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and used during the Second World War, although not as a bomber.
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).
No. 223 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Originally formed as part of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Squadron flew in both World Wars.
No. 114 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in India during the First World War, serving as a light bomber squadron during the Second World War and as a transport squadron post-war. It was last disbanded in 1971.