The Avro 571 Buffalo was a prototype

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-based

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, designed and built by

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

in the 1920s. It was not selected for service, the

Blackburn Ripon The Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was the basis for both the license-produced Mitsubishi B2M and the improved ...

being ordered instead.

Design and development

The Avro 571 Buffalo was designed by

as a private venture to meet the requirements of

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

Specification 21/23, for a two-seat torpedo bomber and

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

aircraft, intended to replace the

Blackburn Dart The Blackburn Dart was a carrier-based torpedo bomber biplane designed and manufactured by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the standard single-seat torpedo bomber operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) between 1923 and 19 ...

. The prototype (''G-EBNW'') first flew at the Avro works at Hamble during 1926.Jackson 1990, p.229. It was evaluated against the

and the Handley Page Harrow, but was found to have poor handling and was therefore rejected.Mason 1994, p. 157. The prototype was therefore rebuilt as the Avro 572 Buffalo II, with new, all-metal wings, fitted with controllable Handley Page slats and a more powerful engine. In this form, the Buffalo was much improved. By this time however, the Ripon had been declared the competition winner.

Operational history

After it failed to be ordered into production, the Buffalo was converted into a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

in 1928 for the

. As serial number ''N239'', it was used for trials at the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

at Felixstowe.

Variants

;Avro 571 Buffalo I :Prototype powered by 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion Va engine. ;Avro 572 Buffalo II :Rebuilt Buffalo I with new wing and powered by 530 hp (400 kW) Lion XIA.

Operators

; *

Specifications (Buffalo II)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Jackson, A.J. ''Avro Aircraft since 1908''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books 2nd edition, 1990. . * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. . {{Avro aircraft 1920s British bomber aircraft Buffalo Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft