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Boulton Paul Bittern
The Boulton Paul Bittern was a 1920s British night-fighter aircraft from Boulton Paul Limited of Norwich, named after the marsh bird of the same name
Design and development
Designed to Air Ministry Specification 27/24, which called for a single-seat night fighter for use against enemy bomber aircraft, the Bittern design was different from others in that it was a twin-engined shoulder wing monoplane rather than the usual single-engine biplane.
Two prototypes were built, both very underpowered. As a result, during testing performance was so poor that further development was abandoned.[1]
The first prototype had fixed .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns, the second had guns that could be angled from 0-45° upwards so the fighter could attack bombers from below without having to put the aircraft into a climb. The wingspan of the second prototype was increased by about 5 ft (1.5 m).[2][3]
Specifications (Second prototype)
Data from The British Fighter since 1912 [4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 (pilot)
- Length: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
- Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m)
- Height: ()
- Empty weight: 3,215 lb (1,461 kg)
- Loaded weight: 4,500 lb (2,045 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Armstrong Siddeley Lynx seven cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 230 hp (172 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 145 mph (126 kn, 233 km/h)
- Endurance: 3¾ hr
Armament
- Guns: 2 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns mounted in barbettes
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Notes
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft: pg 118. (1997). Ed. Donald, David. Prospero Books. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- ↑ Boulton-Paul P.31 Bittern - night fighter
- ↑ The WWII Fighter Gun Debate: Upward firing guns
- ↑ Mason 1992, p.187.
References
- Mason, Francis K. (1992). The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, US: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
Template:Boulton Paul aircraft
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
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