Bristol Type 159
Type 159 | |
---|---|
Role | Heavy bomber |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
Status | Cancelled project |
Primary user | Royal Air Force |
Number built | None |
TheBristol Type 159was a British design for a four-enginedheavy bomberby theBristol Aeroplane Company,of Filton, Bristol. A mockup was built but the project was cancelled and no aircraft were built.[1]
Design and development
[edit]In March 1939 the BritishAir Ministryissuedspecification B.1/39for a heavy bomber to replace theAvro Manchester,Short StirlingandHandley Page Halifax.[1]Bristol had submitted the Type 159, sometimes known as theBeaubomberwhich was a low-wing monoplane with a twin tail, using mainly components used by theBristol Beaufort.[1]It had a nosewheel landing gear with the entire 15,000lb bomb-load stored inside the inner wing.[1]FourHerculesengines were the proposed engines with the ability to interchange withRolls-Royce Griffons.[1]The crew, apart from the bomb aimer, would be housed in an armoured monocoque structure with both a dorsal and a ventral gun turret.[1]The Type 159 and the Handley Page HP.60 design, a variant of the Halifax, were selected and the intention was to order two prototypes of each for evaluation.[1]The Type 159 passed wind-tunnel for stability and low drag and with design well advanced a full-scale mock-up was ready by early 1940.[1]
It was intended to build a half-scale aircraft for flight testing but with theMinistry of Aircraft Production(MAP) concentrating on the production of fighters, further work on the Type 159 was stopped and the mockup dismantled in May 1940.[1]
Specifications (Proposed)
[edit]Data from[1]Bristol Aircraft since 1910
General characteristics
- Crew:seven
- Length:80 ft 3 in (24.46 m)
- Wingspan:114 ft 0 in (34.75 m)
- Height:20 ft 3 in (6.17 m)
- Wing area:1,800 sq ft (170 m2)
- Empty weight:37,350 lb (16,942 kg)
- Gross weight:71,000 lb (32,205 kg)
- Powerplant:4 ×Bristol Hercules VIIradial piston engine, 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed:302 mph (486 km/h, 262 kn)
- Range:2,500 mi (4,000 km, 2,200 nmi) at 280 mph
- Service ceiling:25,300 ft (7,700 m)
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Barnes, Chris, ed. (1988).Bristol Aircraft since 1910.London: Putnam.ISBN0 85177 823 2.