https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Beverley
The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built
by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of the Royal Air Force
Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.
Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the
first aircraft was dismantled at the Feltham, Middlesex factory and transported
to Brough in Yorkshire to have its maiden flight on 20 June 1950. This was
followed by a second, the GAL.65, which was modified from the original.
Clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane
boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became
Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it a short
landing length and the ability to reverse under its own power. The takeoff run
at full load was given as 790 yards, the landing run at full load, 310 yards.
The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage.
The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The
tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell
doors. A 36 ft (11 m) main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger
accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops,
with another 36 in the tailboom. In operation, it was regarded as "ungainly but
highly effective" and was described by Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Freer as
"like something out of the Ark, but it was a superb supply dropper.
The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond
the paratroop hatch located on the floor of the tailboom. One fatality was
caused by a serviceman who fell twenty feet to the ground when exiting the
toilet, unaware that the paratroop hatch had been opened. Modifications were
made to prevent the toilet doors from being opened when the paratroop hatch was
open.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last one being manufactured
in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967.
Role
Military transport aircraft
Manufacturer
Blackburn Aircraft
Design group
General Aircraft
First flight
20 June 1950
Introduction
1955
Retired
1967
Primary user
Royal Air Force
Produced
Number built
49
The first operational aircraft was delivered to 47 Squadron Royal Air Force at
RAF Abingdon on 12 March 1956. 53 Squadron, also at RAF Abingdon, received
Beverleys in early 1957 but was absorbed into 47 Squadron in June 1963. They
were flown until October 1967 when the squadron disbanded. 30 Squadron received
its Beverleys in April 1957 at RAF Dishforth subsequently deploying to RAF
Eastleigh, Kenya and RAF Muharraq, Bahrain where it disbanded in September 1967.
Specifications (B-101)
General characteristics
Crew: six (two pilots, flight engineer, navigator, signaller, air quartermaster)
Capacity:
80 troops
70 paratroopers
Payload: 44,000 lb (20,000 kg) for 200 mi (322 km)
Length: 99 ft 5 in (30.3 m)
Wingspan: 162 ft (49.4 m)
Height: 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m)
Empty weight: 79,234 lb (35,950 kg)
Loaded weight: 82,100 lb (37,240 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 135,000 lb (61,235 kg)
(2,130 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 238 mph (208 kn, 383 km/h)
Cruise speed: 173 mph (150 kn, 278 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (1130 nmi, 2092 km) with standard 29,000 lb (13,154 kg) payload
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
Rate of climb: 760 ft/min (3.9 m/s)
Power/mass: 0.138 hp/lb (228 W/kg)
Takeoff roll: 1,340 ft (410 m)
Landing roll: 990 ft (300 m
*
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