The Bristol Ten-seater and Bristol Brandon were
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
single-engine
biplane transport aircraft built by the
Bristol Aeroplane Company in the early 1920s. Only three were built, two of which were used as civil transports and one of which (the Bristol Brandon) served 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) an ...
.
Design and development
In 1919 and 1920,
Frank Barnwell, chief designer of the
Bristol Aeroplane Company, considered designs for a commercial transport aircraft, ranging from single-engine, three-seat aircraft to four-engine aircraft carrying ten passengers, none of which were built. Early in 1921, the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
government decided to provide subsidies for approved airlines, so Bristol's management authorised Barnwell to proceed with a design for a single-engined transport aircraft. It was intended to be powered by a
Bristol Jupiter engine, but this had not yet been type-approved, so the initial
prototype was fitted with a
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...
engine instead.
[Barnes 1964, pp.156–157.]
The Lion-engined prototype, the Bristol Type 62, or Bristol Ten-seater, with the registration ''G-EAWY'' first flew on 21 June 1921.
[Barnes 1964, p.157.] The Ten-seater was a large, two-bay
biplane, with a cabin for nine passengers and a forward
cockpit for the single pilot.
![Bristol Tenseater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Bristol_Tenseater.jpg)
The second aircraft, the Bristol Type 75 was powered by the preferred Jupiter engine, which was mounted forward of a fireproof bulkhead, with the entire engine installation (or "''
power-egg
A power-egg is a complete "unitized" modular engine installation, consisting of engine and all ancillary equipment, which can be swapped between suitably designed equipment, with standardised quick-changing attachment points and connectors.
In a ...
''") capable of being swung open like a gate to allow easy access to the rear of the engine. The Type 75 was designed to accommodate eight passengers and two crew. This aircraft, registered ''G-EBEV'', first flew in July 1922.
A third aircraft, the Bristol Type 79 was ordered by the Air Council to meet a requirement (
Specification 32/22) for a single-engined ambulance landplane for 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) an ...
. It was fitted with wings of greater
chord, and had accommodation for three stretchers and an attendant or two stretchers and four sitting patients.
[Barnes 1964, p.158.]
Operational history
The Type 62 had its
Certificate of Airworthiness
A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spraye ...
awarded on 14 February 1922
[Jackson 1974, p.307.] and was transferred to
Instone Air Line for service on its
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-to-
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
route, carrying both passengers and cargo. It was later transferred to
Handley Page Transport Ltd.
[
The Type 75 received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 16 July 1924.][Jackson 1974, p.308.] By this time, Instone Air Lines had merged with the other three subsidised British airlines to form Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...
. Imperial had a policy of using only multi-engine aircraft for passenger flights, so the Type 75 was converted into a freighter to carry 1,800 lb (820 kg) of cargo, going into service on the London-Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
route on 22 July 1924, continuing in service until 1926.
The Type 79 first flew on 19 March 1924 and was delivered to the RAF, who named the aircraft the Bristol Brandon in 1925. It was overweight at full load and did not go into overseas service, being used as an ambulance at RAF Halton together with the Avro Andover.
Variants
;Bristol Type 62
:First aircraft, powered by 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion
The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...
engine.
;Bristol Type 75
:Second aircraft, powered by 425 hp ( kW) Bristol Jupiter IV engine."The Bristol 10-Seater Commercial Aeroplane"
''FLIGHT'', 19 January 1922
;Bristol Type 79
:Third aircraft built as a military transport and air ambulance aircraft for the RAF. Powered by Bristol Jupiter IV engine.
Operators
;:
*
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) an ...
*
Handley Page Transport
Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, by Frederick Handley Page.
The company's first planes were Handley Page Type O/400 bombers modified for passenger use. They flew a Lo ...
*
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...
*
Instone Air Line
Specifications (Type 75)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
External links
* Contemporary technical description of the Bristol Ten-seater with Napier Lion engine, including photographs and drawings.
Photos of the Bristol Brandon ''J6997''
{{Bristol aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
1920s British airliners
Ten-seater
Aircraft first flown in 1921