The Beardmore W.B.II was a British
biplane fighter prototype of the 1910s.
Development
A two-seat fighter of wooden construction, the W.B.II was built as a private venture by
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...
. A development of the
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c it was designed by
G. Tilghman Richards in 1916. Powered by a
Hispano-Suiza 8Bd engine, it carried two guns and design finished early in 1917 with the production of the first prototype.
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]
Operational history
The W.B.II was first flown on 30 August 1917, and performance proved good. However, the 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 ...
deemed that the 8Bd engine, at that time in short supply, was needed more urgently for use in the S.E.5a fighter at that time serving with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Variants
;W.B.II: 2-seat fighter built as a private venture;two built.[
;W.B.IIb: A fast mail-plane civilian variant; two built.][
]
Specifications (W.B.II)
References
Bibliography
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{{Beardmore aircraft
1910s British fighter aircraft
W.B.2
Aircraft first flown in 1917