Beardmore W.B.II

The Beardmore W.B.II was a British biplane fighter prototype of the 1910s.

Beardmore W.B.2
Role	Fighter
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	William Beardmore and Company
Designer	G. Tilghman-Richards
First flight	30 August 1917
Number built	3

Development

A two-seat fighter of wooden construction, the W.B.II was built as a private venture by William Beardmore and Company. A development of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c it was designed by G. Tilghman Richards in 1916. Powered by a 200 hp (150 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8Bd engine, it carried two guns and design finished early in 1917 with the production of the first prototype.^[1]

Operational history

The W.B.II was first flown on 30 August 1917, and performance proved good. However, the Air Ministry deemed that the 8Bd engine, at that time in short supply, was needed more urgently for use in the S.E.5a fighter at that time serving with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I.^[1] As such, no further production of the W.B.II took place, however in 1920 two civil examples were produced, named the W.B.IIB.^[2]

Variants

W.B.II

2-seat fighter built as a private venture;two built.^[3]

W.B.IIa Adriatic

A proposed version to have been powered by the Galloway Adriatic engine.^[3]

W.B.IIb

A fast mail-plane civilian variant; two built.^[2]

Specifications (W.B.II)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1919^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
• Height: 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m)
• Wing area: 354 sq ft (32.9 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,765 lb (801 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,650 lb (1,202 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 41.5 imp gal (49.8 US gal; 189 L)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 8Bd V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 200 hp (150 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller, 9 ft (2.7 m) diameter

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn) at sea level: 111 mph (96 kn; 179 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
• Endurance: 2.8 hours
• Time to altitude: 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in 7 minutes; 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 15 minutes
• Wing loading: 7.5 lb/sq ft (37 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 13.25 lb/hp (8.06 kg/kW)

Armament

• Guns:
  
• 2x fixed synchronised forward-mounted 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun.
• 1x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun on a swivelling mounting in the rear cockpit.

References

1. Green, William; Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. Godalming, UK: Salamander Books. p. 44.
2. Jackson, A. J. (1973). British Civil Aviation since 1919 Volume 1 (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-370-10006-7.
3. Grey, C.G., ed. (1969). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1919 (Facsimile ed.). London: David & Charles (Publishers) Limited. pp. 94a–95a. ISBN 07153 4647 4.

Bibliography

• Owers, Colin (2023). Beardmore Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 69. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-69-0.