White & Thompson Bognor Bloater

Last updated

Bognor Bloater
White & Thompson Bognor Bloater.jpg
RoleReconnaissance and coastal patrol biplane
National originUnited Kingdom
Manufacturer White & Thompson
DesignerFrancis Percy Beadle [1]
First flight8 March 1915
Introduction1915
Retired1916
Primary user Royal Naval Air Service
Number built12

The White & Thompson Bognor Bloater was a British First World War two-seat reconnaissance biplane. It was designed and built by White & Thompson Limited of Middleton-on-Sea, near Bognor Regis, Sussex for the Admiralty as a competitor to the Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2. Designated N.T.3 by White & Thompson, it is not known if there was an official designation for the aircraft, which was known in service with the nickname Bognor Bloater.

Contents

Design and development

The Bloater was a conventional unequal-span tractor biplane with a monocoque fuselage and powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Renault engine. Twelve were ordered but only ten were delivered, the other two retained for spares. The Bloater nickname came from the unusual copper-sewn cedar monocoque fuselage built by S.E Saunders (later Saunders-Roe) the first production aircraft to use the monocoque technique. [2]

The prototype was first flown on 8 March 1915 at Bognor by Gordon England. [3]

Operational history

The Bloaters entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915 and had only limited service in communications and training roles but mainly on coastal patrols from the air stations at Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth and Killingholme.

Operators

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom

Specifications

Side elevation White & Thompson Bognor Bloater, side view.jpg
Side elevation

Data from The Norman Thompson File [3]

General characteristics

See also

Related lists

Notes

  1. Moss, Roger. "Francis Percy Hyde Beadle". British Aviation - Projects to Production. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. Flight 8 February 1945
  3. 1 2 Goodall 1985, pp. 39-43

Related Research Articles

Fairey III

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.

Farman MF.11 French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft

The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties.

The Pemberton-Billing P.B.25 was a First World War British single-seat scout aircraft built by Pemberton-Billing Limited, later Supermarine Aviation Works Limited.

Bréguet 4 French WW1 bomber aircraft

The Bréguet Bre.4, also known variously as the Type IV and BUM, was a French biplane bomber of World War I. A fighter version of it was also produced as the BUC and BLC; some of these saw service with the British Royal Navy, which called them 'the Bréguet 'de Chasse.

Bréguet 5

The Bréguet Bre.V B.2 bomber and Bréguet Bre.V Ca.2 escort fighter were French biplanes of World War I which were developments of the Bréguet Bre.IV bomber. The Bre.VI and Bre.XII were, in turn, developments of the Bre.V

Norman Thompson N.T.4

The Norman Thompson N.T.4 was a twin-engined British flying boat of the First World War. Although less well known than similar Curtiss and Felixstowe flying boats, 50 were ordered for Britain's Royal Naval Air Service.

The Sopwith Admiralty Type 807 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company.

The Sopwith Two-Seat Scout was a 1910s British biplane Anti-Zeppelin scout biplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was nicknamed the Spinning Jenny due to a tendency to enter a spin.

The Wight Twin was a British large twin-engined aircraft of the First World War. It was a twin-engined, twin boom biplane. One was built as a landplane for France, while three more similar aircraft were built as Seaplanes for the British Royal Naval Air Service. Both versions were unsuccessful and saw no service.

Norman Thompson N.T.2B

The Norman Thompson N.T.2B was a British single-engined flying boat trainer of the First World War. A single-engined biplane, the N.T.2B was adopted as a standard flying boat trainer by the Royal Naval Air Service, training pilots for larger patrol flying boats such as the Felixstowe F.2.

White and Thompson No. 3

The White and Thompson No. 3 was a British flying boat of the First World War. While the prototype was originally designed to compete in an air-race around the UK, eight more similar aircraft were built for the Royal Naval Air Service.

Norman Thompson N.1B

The Norman Thompson N.1B was a prototype British flying boat fighter aircraft of the First World War. A two-seat single-engined pusher biplane, a single example was built in 1917, but no production followed.

The Sopwith Three-seater was a British aircraft designed and built prior to the start of the First World War. One of the first aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company, it was operated by both the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), being used briefly over Belgium by the RNAS following the start of the War.

Renault 70 hp

The Renault 70 hp or Type WB was a French V-8 aero engine that first ran circa 1907. It was also manufactured under license by Renault Limited of West Brompton, London between August 1914 and December 1918, three other companies, including Rolls-Royce, also produced the engine. A variant known as the Type WC used an external oil pump as opposed to the internal pump of the Type WB. The Renault V-8 engines were noted as inefficient but reliable, the inefficiency being mainly due to the excessively rich fuel/air mixture used to assist cooling.

Royal Aircraft Factory H.R.E.2

The Royal Aircraft Factory H.R.E.2 was intended as a Naval reconnaissance floatplane. The single example built was serving with the Royal Naval Air Service at the start of World War I.

White & Thompson No. 1 Seaplane

The White & Thompson No. 1 Seaplane was the first British built twin-engined biplane flying boat, assembled just prior to the outbreak of the First World War to compete in an air-race around the UK. It was unsuccessful, only the single prototype being built.

The Norman Thompson Flight Company was a British aircraft manufacturer specialising in the construction of flying boats. It was formed as the White and Thompson Company in 1912, and designed and built the Norman Thompson NT.4 patrol aircraft and the N.T.2B flying boat trainer for the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, but production problems led to the company entering receivership in 1918, being liquidated in 1919.

Short S.38

The Short S.38 was an early British aircraft built by Short Brothers.

The Dyott Bomber was a prototype twin-engined British biplane bomber aircraft of the First World War. Two examples were built but the type was not adopted for service.

References