The Grahame-White Ganymede was a prototype British heavy night

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

intended 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 ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A large, three-engined, twin-boom

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 ...

, the sole prototype Ganymede did not fly until after the war had ended, and although an attempt was made to convert the aircraft to an

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

, it was unsuccessful.

Development and design

In 1918, the Grahame-White Aviation Company of

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

developed a large, long-range heavy bomber intended to equip the

. The resulting design, the E.IV Ganymede, was of unusual layout, being a three-engined, twin-boom biplane with four-bay wings. Two of the engines were located at the front of the booms, driving tractor propellers, while the third engine was installed at the rear of the central nacelle, driving a pusher propeller. A biplane tail unit with three fins and rudders spanned the gap between the two main fuselage booms.Grahame-White E.IV-Ganymede at flyingmachines.ru
Accessed 13 March 2017 The two pilots and a

bomb-aimer A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bom ...

/gunner were accommodated in the central nacelle, while additional gunners cockpits were provided in each of the fuselage booms, with

Scarff ring The Scarff ring was a type of machine gun mounting developed during the First World War by Warrant Officer (Gunner) F. W. Scarff of the Admiralty Air Department for use on two-seater aircraft. The mount incorporated bungee cord suspension in eleva ...

mountings for a machine gun together with a tunnel opening under the fuselages to allow the gunners to repel attacks from below.Mason 1994, p.125.Bruce 1957, pp.264-265. It was intended that the Ganymede be powered by three 400 hp (298 kW)

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

engine, but concerns about the availability of the American-built Liberty resulted in considerably less powerful

Sunbeam Maori The Sunbeam Afridi was an aero-engine produced by Sunbeam during the First World War. Design and development Conceived to replace the Crusader/Zulu on the production lines, Louis Coatalen designed a companion engine for the V-12 Cossack, givi ...

engines being specified when an order was placed for three prototypes. The first of these prototypes, serial number ''C3481'' was completed late in 1918. While it was tested by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

during 1919, the RAF had little interest in purchasing a new heavy bomber, and the remaining two prototypes were cancelled. After being damaged in a landing accident in 1919, Grahame-White rebuilt the Ganymede into a civil airliner, becoming the E.9 Ganymede. The central engine was removed completely, while the two remaining engines were replaced by 450 hp (336 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 produ ...

s. The nacelle was rebuilt with two pilots in an open cockpit ahead of a glazed cabin housing 12 passengers. The modified aircraft was granted a Certificate of Airworthiness on 12 September 1919, with the Aircraft registration ''G-EAMW'', but was destroyed in a fire in September 1920.Jackson 1973, p.317.

Specifications (Bomber)

Notes

References

The Grahame-White Day Bomber "Ganymede"
. '' Flight'', 10 April 1919, p. 472. *Bruce, J.M. ''British Aeroplanes 1914-18''. London:Putnam, 1957. *Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919: Volume 2''. London:Putnam, Second edition, 1973. . *Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914''. London:Putnam, 1994. . * . {{Grahame-White aircraft 1910s British bomber aircraft Ganymede Three-engined push-pull aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1919

Development and design

Specifications (Bomber)

See also

Notes

References