А.Шепс Самолеты Первой мировой войны. Страны Антанты

Бристоль M.1 1916 г.

   Успехи французских истребителей фирмы "Моран" не остались незамеченными в Англии. И хотя к 1916 году преобладающей схемой истребителя стал одностоечный биплан или полутораплан, фирма "Бристоль" создала один из лучших истребителеймонопланов Первой мировой войны - M.1.
   Это был расчалочный моноплан смешанной конструкции. Фюзеляж типа "монокок" имел каркас из стальных труб и обшивку капота и передней части из профилированных листов. Задняя часть обшивалась полотном. В носовой части устанавливался двигатель "Рон" мощностью 110 л. с. Винт двухлопастный, с большим коком. Крыло двухлонжеронное, деревянной конструкции, обтягивалось полотном и имело эллиптические законцовки. Оперение имело такую же конструкцию. Стабилизатор регулируемый. Растяжки крыла крепились к Лобразным стойкам "кабана" и фюзеляжу. Элероны отсутствовали. Управление по крену осуществлялось гошированием. Шасси двухстоечные с костылем. Амортизация резиново-шнуровая. Вооружение - 1-2 пулемета "Виккерс" калибром 7,69 мм с синхронизатором конструкции Константинеско. Боевые качества машины были отличные, а вот взлетнопосадочные характеристики не устроили командование RFC. Высокая посадочная скорость и строгость в пилотировании при напряженной боевой работе и наличии большого количества молодых пилотов приводили к росту аварийности в частях. Поэтому в крупную серию самолет не пошел: было построено около 120 экземпляров, которые использовались на Ближневосточном фронте - в Палестине и Месопотамии.

C.Barnes Bristol Aircraft since 1910 (Putnam)

The Bristol M.1A, M.1B and M.lC Monoplane Scouts

   In the spring of 1916 the Royal Flying Corps was woefully short of properly-armed fighting Scouts, and the pusher-type two-seaters which bore the brunt of the fighting were no match for the Fokker monoplanes with their two or three synchronised machine guns firing through the airscrew. British gun interrupter gears had not been reliable until the hydraulic Constantinesco-Colley gear was invented, and, as soon as this device had been put into production, aircraft firms were urged to submit designs using Vickers guns firing through the airscrew disc. The officially-designed B.E.12 was a makeshift attempt to turn the outworn B.E.2c into a single-seat fighter, and its success was so limited that in June 1916 Sir Douglas Haig had condemned its continued use on the Western Front. The demand for better fighting machines became acute as casualties among pilots and observers mounted, and soon after the Battle of the Somme began, on 1 July 1916, the first prototype of a new single-seater designed by Capt. Barnwell had been built. This was the M.1A, No. 1374, a monoplane incorporating all the experience gained with the Scout D and refined aerodynamically to the limit of practicability.
   In March a few Scout Ds had been equipped with hemispherical spinners, and a marked reduction of drag had been gained thereby. Comparative tests between Scout 5555 with this spinner and Scout 5556 with an equivalent pointed spinner had revealed structural instability in the latter which made it unusable because of vibration, whereas the domed spinner gave no trouble. Both Scouts were equipped with the 110 h.p. Clerget, and this engine, with a similar spinner and cowling, was taken as the basis of Barnwell's new monoplane. The fuselage was conventional in structure, but the wire-braced four-longeron girder was faired throughout its length to a circular section. The monoplane wings, raked at the tips, were attached to the top longerons, wire-braced below to the bottom longerons and above to a cabane formed from two hoops of streamline section tubing. The undercarriage was a simple Vee type carrying two wheels on a rubber-sprung cross-axle. The pilot's cockpit was located under the cabane which thus gave protection in the event of overturning in a forced landing. The empennage was conventional, with a fixed fin of generous area.
   The M.1A, a private venture, was first flown at Filton on 14 July 1916 by Fred P. Raynham, the foremost free-lance test pilot of his day. In his hands the little monoplane, as yet unarmed, achieved the astounding speed of 132 m.p.h. and he even flew it under Clifton Suspension Bridge! In October the M.1A was purchased by the War Office for evaluation by the A.I.D. and four more of similar type were ordered. These had a Vickers gun on the port wing root, a cut-out panel in the starboard wing root and a revised cabane consisting of four straight struts arranged in a pyramid, and were called M.1B. The M.1A, revised to the new standard, was delivered to the Central Flying School as A5138 on 29 November 1916 and was followed by No. 1481 (A5139) on 15 December and No. 1482 (A5140) on 19 January 1917. All three had 110 h.p. Clerget rotaries, but the third M.lB, No. 1483 (A5141), was fitted with a 130 h.p. Clerget when dispatched on 8 February. A further engine change was made in the last M.lB, No. 1484 (A5142), which left Filton with a Bentley A.R.l rotary of 150 h.p. on 22 March 1917. It was hoped that a large production order would follow the official trials, in view of the great advance in performance, but to the Company's (and many R.F.C. pilots') intense disappointment, the landing speed of 49 m.p.h. was considered too high for operation from small airfields on the Western Front. The pilot's view was also criticised, but Capt. Barnwell himself flew one of the monoplanes at Upavon and found no difficulty in landing, although he was well known to be a somewhat erratic pilot.
   Eventually a production order was given, on 3 August 1917, for only 125 aircraft, Nos. 2719-2843 (C4901-C5025), delivered between 19 September 1917 and 25 February 1918, and these were relegated to Middle East squadrons as replacements for the Scout D. The production version, M.1C, was fitted with the 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine and had its single Vickers gun centrally mounted so that the windscreen was divided by the sight, which had a padded surrounding frame, with the cocking handle ready to hand, making stoppages very easy to clear; cut-outs were made in both wing-roots to improve the downward view. This location for the gun had been tried out experimentally on the fourth M.lB, and the Sopwith-Kauper interrupter gear was normally employed, because C.C. gears were in short supply.
   Only five squadrons were partly equipped with M.1C for active service, although a fair number of the monoplanes were issued without guns to flying schools at home, where they were highly esteemed as senior officers' personal mounts. Nos. 17 and 47 Squadrons, based on Salonika, operated against the Turks and Bulgars in January 1918 with one flight of each equipped with M.1C's, and these two flights were merged in April to form No, 150 Squadron. No. 111 Squadron in Palestine flew a few monoplanes for a time, and in March 1918 No. 72 Squadron went to Basra with one flight of monoplanes, which later operated from Mirjana in support of the Third Army Corps. In 1917 six M.1C's were sent to the Chilean government in part payment for two warships built for Chile, but commandeered by the Admiralty before completion. One was flown by Lt. Godoy from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina, and back on 12 December 1918; this was the first flight across the Andes and entailed climbing to over 13,000 ft. to clear the Uspullata Pass. On 4 April 1919 this exploit was repeated by Lt. Cortinez, but without official permission; on being reprimanded after arriving at Mendoza, he flew back again and found himself a popular hero.
   These two flights after the Armistice drew attention to the M.1C's capabilities, and the Company bought back from the Aircraft Disposal Board four of them for reconditioning and resale. One of them was an M.1B, and this machine, G-EAVP, was modified as a flying test-bed for the three-cylinder Bristol Lucifer radial engine, under the new designation M.1D, which is separately described later in this book. Of the other three, one was sold in America, one, formerly G-EAVO, in Spain to Senor Juan Pombo in 1921 and one, G-EASR, remained at Filton. Two other M.lC's were bought from the Disposal Board by private owners in 1919; one was C4964, registered G-EAER, and flown in the 1919 Aerial Derby by Major C. H. Chichester Smith; the other was C5001, purchased at Waddon in July 1919 by an Australian pilot, Capt. Harry Butler, A.F.C., who in partnership with H. A. Kauper (formerly Harry Hawker's assistant), flew it in the neighbourhood of Adelaide from a field at Minlaton, S.A., as G-AUCH, winning the first Australian Aerial Derby on 8 September 1920. Harry Butler died in July 1923 from injuries received in a crash in another aeroplane and his M.1C was then stored until it was bought in 1930 by H. Miller, who replaced the Le Rhone engine by a Gipsy II engine in 1931; with this combination, now VH-UQI, he won the Adelaide Aerial Derby in 1931 and 1932 and also competed in the Victorian Aerial Derby in 1932, but had to retire with engine trouble. After some years' further flying with the Commercial Aviation Co., the machine was flown from Adelaide to Perth in 1938, and was then stored in the roof of a hangar at Guildford Airport. It was rediscovered there in 1956 by C. B. Tilbrook, who raised a fund to build an exhibition hall to house it permanently at Minlaton as the Harry Butler Memorial. Painted red and bearing the name Puck, VH-UQI is now the only surviving M.1C, although until 1960 the mouldering remains of Lt. Godoy's monoplane still existed at Santiago de Chile.

SPECIFICATION AND DATA

Type: M.1A, M.1B and M.1C
Manufacturers: The Bristol & Colonial Aeroplane Co. Ltd., Filton, Bristol
Power Plants: One 110 hp Clerget (M.1A & M.1B)
   One 110 hp Le Rhone (M.1C)
   One 130 hp Clerget (M.1B)
   One 150 hp A.R.1 (M.1B)
Span: 30 ft 9 in
Length: 20 ft 4 in
Height: 7 ft 10 in
Wing Area: 145 sq ft
Empty Weight: 900 lb
All-up Weight: 1,350 lb
Max. Speed: (M.1A) 132 mph
   (M.1B) 125 mph
   (M.1C) 130 mph
Service Ceiling:(M.1A) 17,000 ft
   (M.1B) 15,000 ft
   (M.1C) 20,000 ft
Endurance: (M.1A) 2 3/4 hours
   (M.1C) 1 3/4 hours
Accommodation: Pilot only
Production: 1 M.1A, 4 M.1B, 125 M.1C
Sequence Nos.: 1374, 1481-1484, 2719-2843 (rebuilt: 5885-5887)

P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)

In contrast with the situation prevailing in Britain, the monoplane had thrived on the Continent as a military machine in both France and Germany. The type had consequently received its full share of attention to development and both countries possessed a fairly useful range of monoplanes in service. By comparison, progressive experience in the design and construction of monoplanes in Great Britain had suffered severely as a direct result of the ban of 1912 and the consequent concentration, to its virtual exclusion, on biplanes, triplanes and even quadruplanes.
   The advent of the Bristol M.1A single-seat monoplane fighter in September, 1916, was therefore an event of some considerable significance as Frank Barnwell had been given sanction by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company to design it during July, 1916, despite continued official disapproval of the form for Service equipment. Such short-sighted behaviour in official circles, exhibited in various forms on many occasions, militates directly against accumulation of invaluable experience in design, construction and operation which those striving in all good faith on behalf of their country are entitled to acquire for its protection and continued well-being. Anything less than whole-hearted encouragement and assistance to those whose direct responsibility is the strength of the armed forces for the shielding of the population, is playing straight into the hands of the country’s enemies and is a scandalous denial to its brave sons of the quality of equipment which they have every right to expect to be provided for them.
   The monoplane ban of 1912 meant the loss of several years of steady development which Great Britain could ill afford, particularly since her traditional protection of the water surrounding her had been shown three years earlier as being no longer her complete safeguard. She could now be attacked by air from the Continent and consequently needed to exploit every conceivable means for her protection. The banning of a particular class of fast aeroplane was certainly no way of furthering this object and even the Bristol Monoplane in Barnwell’s advanced style was unable to make much headway against the opposition, a resistance which was to face the monoplane until the mid-1930s.
   The 110 h.p. Clerget powered the M.1A and the designer aimed at achieving as streamlined an installation as possible by employing a spinner with a large diameter, leaving a cooling slot between itself and the cowling. A simple rectangular-section wooden basic fuselage was faired to circular form with the usual arrangement of formers and stringers. The wings were mounted in the shoulder position and braced by wires from a central cabane over the cockpit.
   Construction of the prototype A5138 was so quick that it was ready in September, 1916, for testing by Freddy Raynham. The machine’s top speed was a rewarding 132 m.p.h. and a further four examples were constructed as M.1Bs with slight modifications and armed with a single synchronized Vickers gun on the port decking.
   News of the new fast and handy monoplane fighter, which soon circulated among squadron pilots, raised high hopes and anticipation of its appearance in France. Such was not to be, however, and the landing speed of 49 m.p.h. was stated to be too high in justification of the rejection for use on the Western Front. One hundred and twenty-five were, nevertheless, ordered into production as the M.1C using the 110 h.p. le Rhone and having the gun mounted centrally and synchronized by the Constantinesco gear. The M.1C did manage to see operational service in the Middle East but its denial to the pilots of the Western Front stands out as one of the worst examples of official incompetence and ineptitude extant. The issue in quantity of the M.1C to the R.F.C. in France could have wrought a great change in the Allies’ favour in the fighting in the skies.

F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)

Bristol M.1 Monoplanes

   All credit is due to Frank Barnwell at Bristol for his defiance in the face of ill-informed prejudice by venturing into the realm of monoplane design. Ever since the summary ban imposed by the War Office following a number of crashes involving monoplanes in 1912, reluctance by the military authorities to accept such aircraft had discouraged designers and manufacturers from flying in the face of such misplaced prejudice. Even when the Germans introduced their successful series of Eindekker scouts in 1915, the War Office remained trenchantly unconvinced.
   Barnwell’s M.1 design, started early in 1916, was lent urgency by the increasing casualties over the Western Front even though, with the arrival of such fighters as the Airco D.H.2, the air fighting was becoming less one-sided. The first example, known as the M.1A and built as a private venture, was first flown without armament at Filton on 14 July by the great free-lance test pilot, Fred Raynham, and at once demonstrated a marked performance superiority over current biplane scouts, returning a maximum speed of 132 mph at sea level on a 110hp Clerget engine.
   The new monoplane’s fuselage retained the wooden box-girder of the Bristol biplane scouts, but faired throughout its length to circular section with formers and stringers. The two-spar wings were attached at their main spar ends to the upper longerons, being externally cable-braced below to the bottom longerons and above to a pair of hooped tubular members which formed a cabane under which the cockpit was located; this cabane thus provided some protection for the pilot in the event of the aircraft overturning while landing. The wings, rigged with two degrees of dihedral but zero incidence, were of distinctive planform, possessing elliptical leading edge and straight trailing edge with rounded tips. The tailplane and elevator were scarcely altered from those of the Scout biplanes, but a fixed fin was introduced forward of the unbalanced rudder. A large hemispherical spinner with a small aperture in the nose was fitted over the two-blade propeller, having been shown on some Scout Ds to result in a marked reduction in drag - although care had to be taken to avoid engine overheating.
   The prototype underwent AID evaluation in July, confirming the initial performance measurements, and these led to the purchase of the first aircraft (which became A5138) and an order for four further prototypes (A5139-A5142), modified to include a synchronized Vickers gun with Constantinesco CC interrupter gear, mounted on the port upper longeron. This version, the M.1B, featured a cutout panel in the starboard wing root for downward vision, and the cabane hoops were discarded in favour of four straight tubular members arranged pyramidally. The 110hp Clerget engine was retained, although one of the M.1Bs was tested with a 150hp Bentley A.R.1 engine in March 1917.
   Despite being eagerly awaited by RFC squadrons on the Western Front, a production contract was delayed, due it was said to War Office apprehension at the Bristol’s high landing speed - 49 mph; this may have stemmed from the rumour that a senior officer crashed one of the prototypes, having misjudged his landing speed.
   When production M.1Cs (with 110hp Le Rhone engine, cutouts in both wing roots and a centrally mounted Vickers gun with Sopwith-Kauper interrupter gear) appeared, it transpired that none was scheduled for France. A total of 125 aircraft was built and, apart from a small number used for training on Salisbury Plain and at Hounslow, Marske and Montrose, these only served with squadrons in the Balkans and the Middle East. First was No 14 Squadron in Palestine at Deir-el-Belah in May 1917, followed
in August by No 111 Squadron on the same aerodrome; M.1Cs were issued to ‘A’ Flights of Nos 17 and 47 Squadrons at Mikra Bay in Salonika for operations against the Turks and Bulgars, and these Flights merged to form No 150 Squadron in January 1918. The only other Squadron was No 72 which received the monoplanes at Basra in March 1918. The last to be declared obsolete were those of No 150 Squadron when it was disbanded in September 1919.
   After the Armistice an M.1B and several M.1Cs were repurchased by Bristol, reconditioned and sold to civilian owners who flew them in sporting events for several years.


   Type: Single-engine, single-seat, shoulder-wing monoplane fighting scout.
   Manufacturer: The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co Ltd, Filton and Brislington, Bristol.
   Powerplant: M.1A. One 110hp Clerget engine. M.1B. 110hp Clerget; 150hp Bentley A.R.1. M.1C. 110hp Le Rhone.
   Structure: Wooden box-girder formed to circular section; two-spar wings attached to upper longerons and cable-braced to lower longerons and cabane members over cockpit.
   Dimensions: Span, 30ft 9in; length, 20ft 3in (M.1A), 20ft 5 1/2 in (M.1C); height (M.1C), 7ft 9 1/2 in; wing area, 163 sq ft.
   Weights: M.1C. Tare, 896lb; all-up, 1,348lb.
   Performance: M.1C. Max speed, 130 mph at sea level; 111.5 mph at 10,000ft.; climb to 10,000ft, 10 min 25 sec; service ceiling, 20,000ft; endurance, 1 3/4 hr.
   Armament: M.1A, nil. M.1B and M.1C. One 0.303in Vickers machine gun with either Constantinesco CC or Sopwith-Kauper interrupter gear.
   Prototypes: One M.1A, A5138 (first flown by Fred Raynham on 14 July 1916); four M.1Bs, A5139-A5142.
   Production: Total of 125 M.1Cs, C4901-C5025.
   Summary of Service: M.1Bs and M.1Cs flew with Nos 14, 72, 111 and 150 Squadrons (the last-named Squadron being formed from ‘A’ Flights of Nos 17 and 47 Squadrons). All these Squadrons served either in Macedonia or the Middle East.

W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

BRISTOL M.1C UK
  
   The M.1C was the production derivative of the private-venture M.1A which, designed by Frank Barnwell, had flown for the first time on 14 July 1916. It was of innovatory design in being a shoulder-wing monoplane with a fully faired fuselage of good streamline form and a drag-reducing hemispherical spinner. Four similar aircraft were ordered by the War Office, these each having a single 0.303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers gun mounted on the port wing root and a clear-view cut-out panel in the starboard wing root to afford the pilot a measure of downward visibility. This version received the designation M.1B and a production order for 125 aircraft was placed on 3 August 1917 as M.1Cs. Powered by a 110 hp Le Rhone 9J nine-cylinder rotary engine, the M.1C had a centrally-mounted Vickers gun, but its subsequent operational career was largely confined to the Middle East where 33 M.1Cs were sent during 1917-18. No aircraft of this type were issued to RFC squadrons based in France, most being used by UK-based training units, the 49 mph (97 km/h) landing speed being considered too high for small Western Front airfields.

Max speed, 130 mph (209 km/h) at sea level, 127 mph (204 km/h) at 5,0 ft (1 525 m).
Time to 10,000 ft (3 050 m), 10.45 min.
Endurance, 1.75 hrs.
Empty weight, 896 lb (406 kg).
Loaded weight, 1,348 lb (611 kg).
Span, 30 ft 9 in (9,37 m).
Length, 20 ft 5 1/2 in (6,23 m).
Height, 7 ft 9 1/2 in (2,37 m).
Wing area, 145 sq ft (13,47 m2).

J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)

Bristol M.1A, M.1B and M.1C

  CAPTAIN BARNWELL was quick to realise the value of speed and manoeuvrability in single-seat fighters, and in July, 1916, he designed an aeroplane of that type which was distinguished by remarkably clean design and high performance on a mere 110 h.p.
  By choosing a monoplane configuration he took a bold step, not merely against the convention of the biplane form, but also in defiance of the prejudice against monoplanes which had lingered in Britain since the hasty and ill-advised “monoplane ban” of 1912.
  The aeroplane he designed was as clean as contemporary constructional methods would permit. The basis of the design was the engine installation, and Barnwell had satisfied himself about its efficiency by using the Bristol Scout C No. 5555 as a flying test-bed. This Scout was fitted with a 110 h.p. Clerget rotary motor, and its airscrew bore a large spinner to provide reasonably clean aerodynamic entry.
  There was nothing radical about the construction of the monoplane. The basic structure of the fuselage was a typical wooden box-girder, cross-braced by wires; it was faired by means of wooden formers and stringers to continue the circular cross-section of the engine installation almost down to the sternpost. The wings were attached to the upper longerons and were braced by cables. The duplicated flying wires were attached at their inboard ends to the lower longerons, and the landing wires ran up to a cabane which, on the prototype, consisted of two roughly semicircular half-hoops of steel tubing.
  The first machine was designated M.1A, and was allotted the serial number A.5138. Design and construction work were carried out so expeditiously that the M.1A was first tested by F. P. Raynham in September, 1916, when it amply fulfilled its designer’s expectations by returning a maximum speed of 132 m.p.h. The M.1A had no armament.
  Four more prototypes were built for Service trials. These machines were designated M.1B, and differed from the M.1A in having a pyramidal cabane composed of four straight steel tubes; a Vickers gun was mounted on the port upper longeron just in front of the cockpit; a cut-out was made in the starboard wing root between the spars, in order to improve downward vision; and provision was made for the fitting of the 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine as an alternative to the Clerget. One of the M.1Bs was fitted with the 150 h.p. A.R.1 engine, and was tested in March, 1917.
  Rumours of the Bristol monoplane’s speed and manoeuvrability soon reached the R.F.C. in France, and its introduction as a standard fighter was eagerly awaited. But as time went on, no Bristol monoplanes reached the squadrons in France, and after a time it became known that the type had been rejected for operations on the Western Front. The official reason for its rejection was that its landing speed was too high at 49 m.p.h. It was said, however, that this reason was adduced to conceal the lack of skill of a certain senior officer who misjudged his landing on one of the prototypes and crashed.
  Be that as it may, the production contract called for only 125 machines, and those which saw operational service were relegated to the Middle East.
  The production aircraft were designated M.1C. They were powered by the 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine, and the spinner had a larger central aperture. The Vickers gun was moved to a central position on top of the fuselage, and there were clear-view cut-outs in both wing roots. One machine did go to France in 1917, but the only operational M.1Cs were drawn from the thirty-five which were sent to the Middle East. Even there the type did not form the complete equipment of any squadron.
  The first Bristol monoplanes to be sent into the field were those which were sent to Palestine in June, 1917. There they formed part of the heterogeneous collection of aircraft with which No. 111 Squadron was equipped. Their presence did something towards curbing the reconnaissance activities of the enemy, but their rather short flight endurance precluded their use on escort duties.
  In the Mesopotamian theatre of war, No. 72 Squadron arrived at Basra on March 2nd, 1918, equipped with Bristol M.1Cs, S.E.5a’s, D.H.4s, Spads and Martinsyde Elephants. The Bristol monoplanes were used by “C” Flight of the squadron: this Flight was attached to the III Corps, and operated from Mirjana. The first noteworthy achievement by “C” Flight was one which is probably unique in the annals of aerial warfare: two of the pilots, flying Bristol M.1Cs, so impressed some Kurdish tribesmen with a hair-raising display of aerobatics that the entire tribe came over to the British side.
  In May, 1918, Bristol M.1Cs of No. 72 Squadron played an important part in the capture from the Turks of the towns of Kifri and Kirkuk. During the few days immediately preceding these successes the Bristols strafed troop concentrations, drove off the few enemy aircraft which put in an appearance and, in one particularly fine effort, silenced an anti-aircraft gun in a low-flying attack. Later, in October, 1918, while cooperating with Brigadier-General A. C. Lewin’s force in Kurdistan, the machines of “C” Flight did much valuable work against ground targets: on one occasion they attacked a Turkish long-range gun from a height of 200 feet and put it out of action.
  In Macedonia, a few Bristol M.1Cs were added to the strength of Squadrons Nos. 17 and 47 in January, 1918. These machines were transferred to No. 150 Squadron on April 26th, 1918, when that unit was formed by combining two flights, one taken from No. 17 Squadron, the other from No. 47. These Bristols were few in number. One of them was shot down into Lake Dojran on September 3rd, and at the Armistice No. 150 Squadron had only one Bristol monoplane on its strength.
  In 1917 six Bristol M.1Cs were sent to Chile by the British Government in part payment for two battleships which had been building for Chile in British yards at the outbreak of war but had been taken over by the Royal Navy. These six had a chequered career. They were some of a batch of twelve which had been stored behind the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, and at one time orders were issued for the removal of serviceable equipment and the subsequent scrapping of the airframes. These orders were cancelled when demands came through from Marske and Montrose, each for six machines. The Bristols were sent there but were soon returned to Ascot, whence six went to Chile.
  One of these Bristol monoplanes, flown by Lieutenant Godoy of the Chilean Air Force, distinguished itself by making the first air crossing of the Andes on December 12th, 1918. The route flown was from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza, Argentina, and back; part of the flight was made at 20,000 feet. Godoy’s feat was repeated on April 4th, 1919, by Lieutenant Cortinez, who also flew a Bristol M.1C.
  After the Armistice, four M.1Cs were bought back by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Co. One was sold to Spain; and another, which was registered G-EAVP, was fitted with a 100 h.p. Bristol Lucifer three-cylinder radial engine and took part in several air races. This machine was re-designated M.1D.
  An M.1C found its way to Australia soon after the war, and made various exhibition flights there in the summer of 1919. This aircraft survived until the middle 1930s, when it was still flying, though in an extensively modified form and powered by a D.H. Gipsy engine. Its registration was VH-UQI.
  The failure to build the Bristol M.1C in large quantities for the squadrons in France has always been regarded as one of the major blunders of the 1914-18 war. Those pilots who flew the type were full of praise for its delightful handling qualities, and the view from its cockpit in all vital directions was unsurpassed by any contemporary fighter. It could not have failed to be popular with the pilots of its day, nor to have had a considerable influence on the war in the air.


SPECIFICATION
  Manufacturers: The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co., Ltd., Filton and Brislington, Bristol.
  Power: M.1A: 110 h.p. Clerget. M.1B: 110 h.p. Clerget, 150h.p. A.R.1. M.1C: 110 h.p. Le Rhone.
  Dimensions: Span: 30 ft 9 in. Length: M.1A 20 ft 3 in., M.1B, with A.R.1 engine, 20 ft 8 in., M.1C 20 ft 5 1/2 in. Height: M.1B, with A.R.1, 7 ft 7 in., M.1C 7 ft 9 1/2 in. Chord: 5 ft 11 in. Dihedral: 2°. Incidence: 0°. Span of tail: 10 ft 3 in. Airscrew diameter: 8 ft 6 1/2 in. Wheel track: 4 ft 7 in. Tyres: 700 X 75 mm.
  Areas: Wings: 145 sq ft. Ailerons: each 9 sq ft, total 18 sq ft. Tailplane: 20 sq ft. Elevators: 15 sq ft. Fin: 5 sq ft. Rudder: 4-5 sq ft.
  Armament: One fixed forward-firing Vickers machine-gun, synchronised to fire through the revolving airscrew by Constantinesco C.C. Gear Type B. On the M.1B the gun was mounted on the port upper longeron; on the M.1C it was mounted centrally on top of the fuselage.

Weights (lb) and Performance:
M.1A M.1B (with A.R.i engine) M.1C
No. of Trial Report M.2I M.87 M.161
Date of Trial Report July, 1916 March, 1917 December, 1917
Type of airscrew used on trial P-3017 - P.3017
Weight empty 913 930 896
Military load 50 80 80
Pilot 180 180 180
Fuel and oil 183 180 192
Weight loaded 1,326 1,370 1,348
Maximum speed (m.p.h.) at
ground level - - 130
5,000 ft - - 127
5,400 ft 128 - -
6,500 ft 127 115-5 -
7,300 ft 125-5 - -
9,300 ft 120 - -
10,000 ft 118 110 111-5
I 1,200 ft 115-5 - -
13,100 ft 112-5 - -
15,000 ft 110-5 100 104
m. s. m. s. m. s.
Climb to
1,000 ft 0 35 - - 0 40
2,000 ft 1 10 - - - -
3,000 ft 1 55 - - - -
4,000 ft 2 40 - - - -
5,000 ft 3 25 - - - -
6,000 ft 4 25 - - 5 10
6,500 ft 4 5° 5 50 - -
7,000 ft 5 "5 - - - -
8,000 ft 6 20 - - - -
9,000 ft 7 20 - - - -
10,000 ft 8 30 11 05 10 25
I 1,000 ft 9 50 - - - -
12,000 ft I I 10 - - - -
13,000 ft !2 55 - - 15 55
14,000 ft 14 55 - - - -
15,000 ft 17 25 27 40 19 50
15,600 ft 19 40 - - - -
16,000 ft - - - - 23 35
18,000 ft - - - - 30 55
20,000 ft - - - - 41 35
Service ceiling (feet) 17,000 15,000 20,000
Endurance 2 hours 55 minutes 1 3/4 hours 1 3/4 hours
Tankage (gallons': Petrol 17-5 - 18
Oil 5-5 - 5

  Service Use: Mesopotamia: No. 72 Squadron, “G” Flight only. Palestine: No. 111 Squadron, part only. Macedonia: a few Bristol M.1Gs were used by R.F.C. Squadrons Nos. 17, 47 and 150. Training: flown at Stonehenge, Marske, Montrose and Hounslow.
  Production and Allocation: One Bristol M.1A, four M.1Bs, and 125 M.1Cs were built. Official statistics state that only seventy-eight were actually delivered to the R.F.C.: one went to France, thirty-five to the Middle East, and forty-two to training units. On October 31st, 1918, the R.A.F. had forty-seven on charge, of which thirteen were in Mesopotamia, two in Macedonia and one in Palestine; twenty-six were with training units, and five were at various aerodromes in Britain.
  Serial Numbers: M.1A: A.5138; M.1B: A.5139-A.5142 (M.1A and M.1Bs were built under Contract No. 87/A/761). M.1C: C.4901-C.5025 (built under Contract No. A.S.8236).
  Notes: C.4902 had 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine No. 101149 W.D. 15867. At Martlesham Heath in November, 1917, holes of 2 mm diameter were drilled in the engine’s induction pipes; this reduced speed to 106 m.p.h. at 10,000 ft. C.4965 was flown at Hounslow.
  Costs:
   Airframe, without engine, instruments and gun £770 0s.
   110 h.p. Le Rhone engine £771 10s.

H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)

M.1A.B.C. Like the Bristol Fighter, this fast monoplane single-seater was in large degree designed around the Vickers gun, though not literally so, for the gun lay exposed on top of the fuselage. The A version (1916) appears never to have been armed; the B carried a Vickers gun at the port wing root, fixed to the fuselage longeron and synchronised by Sopwith-Kauper gear or C.C. gear Type B (one example had the gun centrally mounted); and on the M.IC (the production version, and the only British monoplane in service during the 1914-18 War) the central position for the gun was standardised, the padded windscreen being divided to receive the sight. For training, the type was fitted with a camera gun. Sir Miles Thomas has related how, confronted with a stoppage caused by a thick-rimmed cartridge, and finding it impossible to get his hand high enough to give the cocking handle the required blow, he had recourse to a tin of Fray Bentos corned beef. Although this split on contact with the handle it did the trick.

O.Thetford Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918 (Putnam)

Bristol M1C Monoplane

   Although never used in quantity on the Western Front, the Bristol Monoplane gave limited service with the RFC in Macedonia, Mesopotamia and Palestine. The RAF inherited some which served with Nos 72 and 150 Squadrons until 1919 in Mesopotamia and Greece respectively. One 110hp Le Rhone rotary engine. Span, 30ft 9in; length, 20ft 5in. Loaded weight, 1,348lb. Max speed, 111mph at 10,000ft; service ceiling, 20,000ft. Armament: One synchronised Vickers machine gun.

A.Jackson British Civil Aircraft since 1919 vol.1 (Putnam)

Bristol Types 20 and 77

   The Bristol M.1C single-seat fighter designed by Capt. F. S. Barnwell in 1916 was a complete breakaway from contemporary practice, not only by virtue of its wire-braced, shoulder-mounted and crescent-shaped monoplane wing, but also because it represented a serious attempt to produce an aerodynamically clean airframe. The fuselage, although internally of standard wooden construction, was faired to a circular section in order to streamline the 110-h.p. Le Rhone rotary engine. In spite of the low power, the result was a fast and highly manoeuvrable aircraft, but prejudice against the monoplane in those days was such that only 125 were ordered, the majority being shipped to the Near East in 1917-18.
   Five war surplus machines were acquired for civil purposes in 1919, four by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. and a fifth by Major H. C. Chichester Smith, who flew it in the first post-war Aerial Derby at Hendon on 21 June 1919 and again in the Hendon Trophy Race on 12 July 1919. It was never fully converted as a civil aeroplane and was sold to the Grahame White Company. A Bristol M.1C which may, in fact, have been Major Chichester Smith’s G-EAER was taken to Australia in 1920 by Capt. H. Butler, and was eventually acquired after his death by Mr. H. Miller, who fitted a Gipsy engine and raced it for several seasons under the registration VH-UQI. This M.1C has been restored lor permanent exhibition in South Australia. One of the four bought back by the manufacturers was sold in Spain as M-AFAA, and the other three became G-EASR, ’VO and ’VP respectively. I he first two ol these were used for general flying at Filton for several years, but ’VP had a more eventful, if brief, career. This one is believed originally to have been a prototype Bristol M.1B monoplane, and in 1922 was rebuilt with a 100-h.p. Bristol Lucifer three-cylinder radial for racing purposes. In this form it was known as the Bristol M.1D and won the Croydon Whitsun Handicap on 3 June 1922 piloted by Bristol s chief test pilot, C. F. Uwins. On 7 August of the same year the late L. L. Carter averaged 107-85 m.p.h. to bring it to victory in the Aerial Derby Handicap at Croydon, where a month later a Martlesham test pilot, the late Rollo de Haga Haig, flew it in the first King’s Cup Race. He got no farther than Aylesbury, where he made a forced landing. In the following year, when Bristol designs were retrospectively allotted type numbers, the M.1C machines became the Type 20 and the M.1D the Type 77.
   G-EAVP made its final appearance in the Grosvenor Challenge Cup Race which started at Lympne on 23 June 1933, and in which it was flown by Major E. L. Foote. During the race he complained of petrol fumes, but carried on after a hurried repair to a leaking fuel-tank. Later in the race, while flying low over the Fox Hills Estate near Chertsey, Surrey, the aircraft made an unexplained dive into the ground and was burnt out, Major Foote being killed.


SPECIFICATION
Manufacturers: The British and Colonial Aeroplane Co. Ltd., Filton, Bristol.
Power Plants:
   (Type 20) One 110-h.p. Le Rhone.
   (Type 77) One 100-h.p. Bristol Lucifer.
Dimensions: Span, 30 ft. 9 in. Length, 20 ft. 5 1/2 in. Height, 7 ft. 9 1/2 in. Wing area, 145 sq. ft.
Weights:
   (Type 20) Tare weight, 896 lb. All-up weight, 1,348 lb.
   (Type 77) All-up weight, 1,300 lb.
Performance:
   (Type 20) Maximum speed, 130 m.p.h. Initial climb, 1,500 ft./min. Ceiling, 20,000 ft. Duration, 1 3/4 hours.
   (Type 77) Maximum speed, 125 m.p.h.

Журнал Flight

Flight, January 23, 1919.

"MILESTONES"

The Bristol Monoplane

With the exception of the very earliest days of the War, there has been, at any rate in this country, a remarkable absence of aeroplanes of the monoplane type. Some of the first machines to go out were, it is true, of this type, as for instance the Bleriots and Moranes, but before many months of War had passed the biplanes were rapidly supplanting the monoplanes, and during the last two years of War the monoplane was hardly if ever seen. This may appear somewhat strange, especially as the monoplane has undoubted advantages for fighting purposes, giving as it does a much better view forward and upward. Especially is this true of the "parasol" type of monoplane in which the wings are on a level with the eyes of the pilot, but for some reason or other the type has not found general favour. Special interest, therefore, attaches to such few monoplanes as have been built during the war, among which is the Bristol monoplane. This machine, it will be seen from the accompanying illustrations, is of very pleasing appearance, with its streamline body and crescent-shaped wings. Efficiency is the keynote of its design, with head resistance reduced to a minimum. Thus the wing section employed is such as to allow of very deep wing spars which are capable of taking care of their load with a minimum of external aid, in the shape of one wire to each spar. Lateral control is not by means of wing warping, as was the general practice in monoplanes before the War, but by ailerons as in the biplanes. This form of lateral control is probably chosen in view of the deep wing section, which would tend to make a comparatively rigid wing structure difficult to warp and liable to excessive strain if warping were employed. In order to give the pilot a better view downwards - forward and upward is already as good as it is possible to make it - openings are provided in the inner portion of the wings, near the sides of the fuselage, and one is inclined to think that in this respect at least the Bristol monoplane is able to hold its own against any conceivable biplane combination. As regards performance: from the table it will be seen that near the ground the monoplane is capable of a speed of 130 m.p.h., which is distinctly good for an engine of only 110 h.p. At 10,000 ft. this speed has dropped to 117 m.p.h., which is not bad considering that the engine is a rotary. The climb also is quite good, the first 5,000 ft. only taking 3 1/2 mins., while 10,000 ft. is reached in 9 mins. As the landing speed is certainly not unduly high, it appears that taking it all round, the monoplane is able to hold its own against the biplane for performance, and there can be no doubt that as regards visibility the mono, has it all its own way. As a matter of fact, had the War continued it is not in the least improbable that this type of machine might have reconquered some of the prestige it appears to have lost, and in France at any rate there was not lacking indications to this effect, although this may not be common knowledge on this side of the Channel. For peaceful purposes we are not at all certain that the last has been heard of the monoplane type of machine.

  

Flight, April 10, 1919.

Flight over the Andes

   A MESSAGE from Santiago de Chile, dated April 5, states that Lieut. Cortinez, on one of the Bristol aeroplanes pre sented to the Chilean Air Service by the British Government, had flown over the Andes at a height of 6,000 metres (19,600 ft.). Last December Lieut. Godoy, also on a Bristol, flew across the Andes from the Chilean capital to Mendoza, in Argentina, in one and a-half hours.


Flight, April 24, 1919.

Across the Andes

   THE Chilean pilot, Lieut. Cortinez, who crossed the Andes recently from Santiago and landed at Mendoza (Argentina) has re-crossed the range on his return to Santiago, the journey occupying 2 hours. Lieut. Cortinez reached a height of over 20,000 ft.


Flight, June 26, 1919.

THE AERIAL DERBY

THE MACHINES

No. 12. - The Bristol Monoplane, 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine
   This machine was briefly described in the Bristol "Milestones" series published in our issue of January 23, 1919. The chief feature of it is the unusual shape of the wings, which are of very deep section, and have their leading edges swept back in a curve which gives the wings an appearance of being crescent-shaped. For visibility this machine is excellent, since the pilot sits between the wing spars where these cross the body. The only direction in which the wings obstruct the view is downwards, but this has been remedied by cutting slots in the wings near the sides of the fuselage. The latter, it will be seen, is of circular, streamline shape, and the whole machine has been designed for low resistance. Thus the wing bracing has been reduced to one wire per spar on each side. This is rendered safe by the employment of a very deep wing section, as already mentioned. Lateral control, on account of the thick wings, is by means of ailerons and not, as was the case in nearly all monoplanes before and during the early part of the War, by warping.