The Blackburn R.2 Airedale was a single-engine three-seat

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

deck-landing aircraft for land and sea

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 ...

, built in the UK in 1924. Only two were built.

Development

The Airedale was designed by F.A.Bumpus to Air Ministry specifications R.37/22 calling for a three-seat deck-landing reconnaissance aircraft intended to replace the Fleet Air Arm's Blackburn B.1 Blackburn and the Avro 555 Bison. Unlike the B.1, it was a monoplane with a high wing for good visibility. The wooden-sparred thick wing was of low aspect ratio, with a maximum chord section of about 38% of the span. This chord was maintained from about ¼-½ the span with a much narrower centre section to improve vision; the wingtips were very square. The wings, braced with N-type

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

s to the fuselage, could be folded by rotation around an inclined axis so that they lay chord-vertical alongside the fuselage for storage aboard an

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. The fuselage was of semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

construction with ash

longeron In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...

s and a

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

covering. At the front was a metal mounting for the uncowled 385 hp (286 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III radial engine and at the rear an empennnage similar to that of the B.1. The second prototype carried small stabilising fins on the underside of the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

. The main

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

was of the single axle type complemented by a tailskid. During development the undercarriage was strengthened with two extra struts forward of the main axle which carried arrestor claws at each end for deck-landing. These engaged with the fore and aft wires used on

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

carriers up to 1926. The pilot sat in an open cockpit forward of the wing for optimum visibility during deck landings and behind him in an enclosed, windowed cabin were the navigator and wireless operator, who could access an open gunner's position further aft. The pilot was able to enter the cabin if needed, in which case the navigator could fly the aircraft from a rear folding seat provided with duplicate controls.

Operational history

Two Airedales were built, the first in 1924 for trials against the

Hawker Hedgehog The Hawker Hedgehog was a three-seat reconnaissance biplane, to be used for naval scouting, produced to meet List of Air Ministry specifications, Air Ministry Specification 37/22. It was designed in 1923, and had its first flight the next year, ...

. It crashed after these trials and a second Airedale went to

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 ...

for testing in 1926. It was judged not to offer sufficient performance advantage over the B.1 and the Bison, and no orders followed. Blackburn considered a biplane derivative with a more powerful engine, the R.3A, but this remained on the drawing board.

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Blackburn aircraft

Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire. The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on ...

1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1924