The Blackburn R-1 Blackburn was a 1920s British single-engine fleet spotter/reconnaissance aircraft built by Blackburn Aircraft.

R.1 Blackburn
Blackburn Blackburn II
General information
TypeCarrier-based reconnaissance
ManufacturerBlackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company Limited
Primary userFleet Air Arm
Number built44[citation needed]
History
Introduction date1923
First flight1922
Retired1931
Developed fromBlackburn T.2 Dart

History

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The Blackburn was developed to meet a naval requirement (Specification 3/21) for a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft and gun spotting aircraft. Blackburn designed a new fuselage and used the wing and tail surfaces from the Blackburn Dart. The pilot sat in an open cockpit above the engine, a navigator sat inside the fuselage and a gun position was located at the rear of the fuselage cabin. The aircraft's two-bay wings could fold for stowage aboard aircraft carriers, with the upper wing attached directly to the fuselage, which filled the interplane gap. Armament was a single forward-firing Vickers machine gun mounted externally to the left of the pilot, with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring for the gunner.[1]

Three prototypes were flown during 1922, leading to an initial production contract for 12 aircraft.[2] The production aircraft were designated Blackburn I and the first deliveries to the Fleet Air Arm at Gosport began in April 1923. 18 more Blackburn Is were built in 1923–1924.[3] Its first operational deployment was with No. 422 Fleet Spotter Flight, which deployed aboard HMS Eagle in the Mediterranean in 1923.[4]

A further order was placed for 29 Blackburns with the more powerful Napier Lion V engine, designated the Blackburn II. The upper wing was raised 22½ in (0.57 m) to improve handling.[3] A few Blackburns were used as dual-control trainers and all the Blackburn Is were converted to II standard before the type became obsolete in 1931, when they were replaced by the Fairey IIIF.

Variants

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Blackburn
Prototype, three built.
Blackburn I
Production version with a 449 hp (335 kW) Napier Lion IIB engines, 33 built.[4]
Blackburn II
Improved production version with a 464 hp (346 kW) Napier Lion V, and increased gap between wings. 29 built.[5]
 
Blackburn Blackburn Trainer
Blackburn Trainer
Trainer version of Blackburn I, fitted with side-by-side cockpit and dual controls. Known by the Fleet Air Arm as the Bull. Two out of Blackburn I batch.[6]

Operators

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  United Kingdom

Specifications (Blackburn I)

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Data from British Naval Aircraft since 1912 [5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3
  • Length: 36 ft 2 in (11.02 m)
  • Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m)
  • Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
  • Wing area: 650 sq ft (60 m2)
  • Empty weight: 3,929 lb (1,782 kg)
  • Gross weight: 5,962 lb (2,704 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 6,648 lb (3,015 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Napier Lion IIB W-12 water-cooled piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 122 mph (196 km/h, 106 kn) at 3,000 ft (914 m)
  • Endurance: 4 hours 15 minutes
  • Service ceiling: 12,950 ft (3,950 m)
  • Rate of climb: 690 ft/min (3.5 m/s)

Armament

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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  1. ^ Jackson 1968, pp. 160–161.
  2. ^ Jackson 1968, p. 162.
  3. ^ a b Jackson 1968, p. 164.
  4. ^ a b Thetford 1978, p. 48.
  5. ^ a b Thetford 1978, p. 49.
  6. ^ Thetford 1978, p. 50.
  7. ^ a b Jackson 1968, pp. 169.

Bibliography

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  • Jackson, A. J. (1968). Blackburn Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-00053-6.
  • Thetford, Owen (1978). Aircraft of the Royal Navy since 1912 (4th ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (part work 1982–1985). London: Orbis. OCLC 16544050.