Beardmore W.B.III
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| WB.III | |
|---|---|
| Type | Carrier-based fighter |
| Manufacturer | William Beardmore and Company |
| Maiden flight | 1917 |
| Primary user | Royal Navy |
| Number built | 100 |
| Developed from | Sopwith Pup |
The Beardmore WB.III was a British carrier-based fighter biplane of World War I. It was a development of the Sopwith Pup that Beardmore was then building under licence, but was specially adapted for shipboard use.
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[edit] Design and development
It featured a redesigned wing cellule with no stagger, facilitating folding for stowage, a stretched fuselage that carried emergency floatation gear, and main undercarriage that could be folded for stowage (though not in flight). Later examples could also jettison their undercarriage.
One hundred of these aircraft were deployed on the carriers HMS Furious, Nairana and Pegasus.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 20 ft 3 in (6.16 m)
- Wingspan: 25 ft (7.62 m)
- Height: 8 ft 1 in (2.47 m)
- Wing area: 243 sq ft (22.6 m2)
- Empty weight: 890 lb (400 kg)
- Loaded weight: 1,290 lb (585 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Le Rhône 9C, 80 hp (60 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 103 mph (166 km/h)
- Service ceiling 12,400 ft (3,780 m)
- Rate of climb: 534 ft/min (2.7 m/s)
- Endurance: 2 hours 45 min
Armament
- Guns: 1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 in Lewis gun
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 122.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 890 Sheet 04.
[edit] See also
Related lists List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
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