The Bristol Ten-seater and Bristol Brandon were British single-engine

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 ...

transport aircraft built by the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

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) and ...

Design and development

In 1919 and 1920,

Frank Barnwell Captain Frank Sowter Barnwell OBE AFC FRAeS BSc (23 November 1880 – 2 August 1938) was a Scottish aeronautical engineer. With his elder brother Harold, he built the first successful powered aircraft made in Scotland and later went on to a c ...

, chief designer of the

, 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 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 The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...

engine, but this had not yet been type-approved, so the initial

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

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 produ ...

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

, with a cabin for nine passengers and a forward

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

for the single pilot. Bristol Tenseater

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''") 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

. 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 awarded on 14 February 1922Jackson 1974, p.307. and was transferred to

Instone Air Line Instone Air Line was an early British airline from 1919 to 1924. Along with other private airlines of the time, it was absorbed into Imperial Airways. This airline is not to be confused with Instone Air Line (1981) of Stansted, which operated ...

for service on its

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 ...

-to-

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 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 States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

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 Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

together with the

Avro Andover The Avro Andover was a 1920s British military transport aircraft built by Avro for the Royal Air Force. Four aircraft were built, in two versions. Three aircraft, the Type 561, were used as flying ambulances. The sole example of the Type 563 wa ...

Variants

;Bristol Type 62 :First aircraft, powered by 450 hp (340 kW)

engine. ;Bristol Type 75 :Second aircraft, powered by 425 hp ( kW)

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

;: *

* Handley Page Transport * Imperial Airways *

Specifications (Type 75)

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