The Beardmore W.B.IV was a British single-engine biplane ship-based fighter of World War I developed by
Beardmore Beardmore can refer to:
*Andrew Beardmore, better known as Andy Moor, English trance DJ, producer and remixer
*Bob Beardmore, British rugby league footballer
*Bud Beardmore (1939–2016), American lacrosse coach
*Jim Beardmore, Former All-American ...
.
[Taylor 1990, p.57.] Only one was built.
Development and design
The W.B.IV was designed to meet
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
Specification N.1A for a naval land- or ship-based fighter aircraft. The design was dominated by the demands for the aircraft to be able to be safely ditching and remain afloat. A large permanent flotation chamber was built into the fuselage under the nose and the pilot was in a watertight cockpit. The propeller shaft ran underneath the cockpit from the
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...
V-8 engine which was over the centre of gravity of the aircraft. The entire undercarriage could be released from the plane for
water landing
In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water ...
s. The wing tips were fitted with additional floats,
while the aircraft's two-bay wings could fold for storage on board ship.
[Mason 1992, pp.116-117.]
The single prototype first flew at Beardmore's
Dalmuir
Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ori ...
factory on 12 December 1917, being delivered for evaluation at
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and th ...
in July 1918.
[Bruce 1965, p.73.] The W.B.IV had poorer performance than the much simpler and smaller
shipborne version of the Sopwith Camel and was not developed further.
The sole prototype was lost when it sank during ditching.
[Mason 1992, p.117.]
Specifications
References
Bibliography
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External links
picture in 1965 edition of ''Flight''
{{Beardmore aircraft
Mid-engined aircraft
1910s British fighter aircraft
W.B.IV
Carrier-based aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1917
Biplanes