The Grahame-White Ganymede was a prototype

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, ...

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 torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

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) an ...

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 A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...

biplane, 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, it was unsuccessful.

Development and design

In 1918, the Grahame-White Aviation Company of Hendon,

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 ...

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

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 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 ...

on 12 September 1919, with the

Aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much lik ...

''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 Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 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