The Blackburn Perth was a British flying boat which was in service during the interwar period. It was essentially an upgraded

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

, and hence the largest flying-boat to serve with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

at the time (and the largest

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 ...

flying boat ever to serve with the RAF).

Design and development

The Blackburn R.B.3A Perth was designed as a replacement for the earlier

to Air Ministry Specification 20/32. Developed from the Iris Mk. V, the Perth first flew in 1933. It differed from the Iris by replacing the

Rolls-Royce Condor The Rolls-Royce Condor aircraft piston engine was a larger version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle developing up to 675 horsepower (500 kW). The engine first ran in 1918 and a total of 327 engines were recorded as being built. Variants ''Note:'' ...

engines of the Iris by more powerful

Rolls-Royce Buzzard The Rolls-Royce Buzzard was a British piston aero engine of capacity that produced about . Designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited it is a V12 engine of Bore and Stroke. Only 100 were made. A further development was the Rolls-Royce R e ...

s and having an enclosed cockpit for the pilots. Unusually, in addition to its normal armament, the Perth was fitted with a

Coventry Ordnance Works Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns particularly naval artillery jointly owned by Cammell Laird & Co of Sheffield and Birkenhead, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Glasgow and John Brown & Compa ...

C.O.W 37 mm (1.46 in) autocannon in its bows."C.O.W. 37mm cannon fitted to Blackburn Perth flying boat", ''YouTube''
/ref> Four Perths were ordered for service for the RAF.

Operational history

The Perth entered service with the RAF in January 1934, when the second aircraft was delivered to

No. 209 Squadron RAF Number 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)Rawlings 1978, p. 324. and saw active servic ...

RAF Mount Batten RAF Mount Batten was a Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal Navy Air Service Station Cattewater it became RAF Catte ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. Perths remained in service until 1937, being replaced by the

Short Singapore The Short Singapore was a British multi-engined biplane flying boat built after the First World War. The design was developed into two four-engined versions: the prototype Singapore II and production Singapore III. The latter became the Roya ...

and the

Saro London The Saunders Roe A.27 London was a British military biplane flying boat built by the Saunders Roe company. Only 31 were built, entering service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1936. Although due for replacement by the outbreak of World War ...

. One aircraft was retained by 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 ...

until 1938.

Operators

; *

No. 204 Squadron RAF No. 204 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit first formed in March 1915 as No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service. First World War No. 4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service was formed on 25 March 1915 at Dover from the former RNAS Defence Flight.Jeff ...

Specifications (Perth)

References

External links

British Blackburn-General Flying Boats

"New Plane Hunts Submarines"
''Popular Science'', January 1934
"Huge All Metal Flying Boat Weighs Ten Tons"
''Popular Mechanics'', March 1931 {{Blackburn aircraft

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...