W.B.1 | |
---|---|
Role | Bomber |
National origin | British |
Manufacturer | Beardmore |
Designer | G. Tilghman Richards |
First flight | 1917 |
Status | Prototype |
Number built | 1 |
The Beardmore W.B.1 was a British single-engine bomber biplane of World War I developed by Beardmore. [1]
In 1916, G. Tilghman Richards, the newly appointed chief designer of the aviation department of the Scottish shipbuilder William Beardmore, designed his first aircraft for Beardmore, the W.B.1. This was to be a single engined bomber for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), which was intended to carry out long gliding attacks to achieve surprise. It was a three-bay biplane with long span high aspect ratio wings, which were highly staggered. [2] It was powered by a 230 hp (172 kW) BHP engine and first flew in early 1917. [3]
The W.B.1 was delivered to the RNAS at Cranwell for evaluation on 8 June 1917. [4] By this time however, the larger and more capable Handley Page O/100 was in production and the W.B.1 was rejected by the RNAS. [3]
Data from Mason, The British Bomber since 1912 [3]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament