The Blackburn B-1 Segrave was a 1930s
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, ...
twin-engine four-seat touring aircraft built by
Blackburn Aircraft.
History
The aircraft was designed by the
racing driver (and
world land speed record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
holder) Sir
Henry Segrave
Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...
as a twin-engine four-seat touring
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 con ...
. A wooden
prototype, designated Saro Segrave Meteor I was built by
Saunders Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a ...
at
Cowes. The prototype (registered G-AAXP) first flew on 28 May 1930. Development was delayed by the death of the designer on 13 June 1930 in a
speedboat accident. The aircraft was demonstrated in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Air Ministry, and a licence agreement was signed to produce the aircraft as the
Piaggio
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...
P.12, although only two appear to have been made. With lack of space at Cowes and with the decision to build a
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
version, two aircraft were built by
Blackburn Aircraft at
Brough Aerodrome
Brough Aerodrome was a private use aerodrome located at Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is now disused with the last known flight out of the airfield occurring in 2011. The airfield closed in 2013. It is planned that the site ...
with the designation Blackburn CA.18 Segrave. Blackburn changed the designation system, and the aircraft became the Blackburn B.1 Segrave.
Despite sales tours around
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, the aircraft was not ordered, and only one further example was built. This was completed by Blackburn as the Blackburn CA.20 Segrave II to test a new single-
spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...
wing.
Aircraft
;Segrave Meteor (registration G-AAXP)
:After use as a demonstrator, it was in private use until withdrawn from use at Brough in
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
.
;Segrave I (registration G-ABFP)
:The first metal version was used by the British Air Navigation Company for cross-
Channel charters, then sold for private use; scrapped at Brough in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
.
;Segrave I (registration G-ABFR)
:Was used by the North Sea Aerial & General Transport Company until
1935, mainly as a ferry across the
River Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...
, when it was sold to
British Air Transport at
Redhill Aerodrome
Redhill Aerodrome is an operational general aviation aerodrome located south-east of Redhill, Surrey, England, in green belt land.
Redhill Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P421) that allows flights for the public transport of ...
. It was withdrawn from use in
1938.
;Segrave II (registration G-ACMI)
:First flown 2 February 1934, it was used by Blackburn for trials, until it was dismantled at Brough in
1935. It was later presented to
Loughborough College
Loughborough College is a general further education college located in Leicestershire, England which offers a range of courses including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and professional qualifications.
List of princip ...
as an instructional airframe.
;Piaggio P.12
:Licensed version, two built.
Specifications (Segrave I)
See also
References
*
*
*
Blackburn Segrave– British Aircraft Directory
External links
{{Piaggio aircraft
Segrave
1930s British civil utility aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Segrave
Aircraft first flown in 1930
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft