А.Шепс Самолеты Первой мировой войны. Страны Антанты

Бристоль F.2В "Файтер" (Fighter) 1917 г.

   Появление этой машины было вызвано изменениями в тактике применения истребительной авиации. Одиночные стычки переросли в столкновения крупных формирований противников.
   Основным способом уничтожения противника стал заход с помощью маневров высшего пилотажа ему в хвост и открытие огня с максимально короткой дистанции. И если на бомбардировщиках и разведчиках появились хвостовые установки, то истребитель долгое время уходил из-под удара маневром. К концу 1916 года британской моторной промышленностью были созданы двигатели мощностью 250-300 л. с., что позволило создать двухместные самолеты со скоростными характеристиками одноместных. Такой машиной и стал самолет "Бристоль Бритиш энд Колониэл Эйрплэйн Компани" F2В "Файтер". Машина была классическим двухстоечным бипланом деревянной конструкции. Отличался он от других британских машин тем, что фюзеляж прямоугольного сечения, обтянутый полотном, был приподнят над крылом. Это было сделано для обеспечения обзора пилоту и сектора обстрела стрелку. Крыло двухлонжеронное, обтянутое полотном, оборудовалось элеронами. Стойки бипланной коробки - металлические трубы в деревянных каплевидных обтекателях. Растяжки - профилированные стальные ленты. Оперение обычной схемы, стабилизатор, регулируемый на земле. Конструкция деревянная, обтянута полотном. Двигатели на машину ставились разные, но в основном - "Роллс-Ройс" "Фалкон II" или "Фалкон III", 12-цилиндровые, V-образные, жидкостного охлаждения, оборудованные четырехлопастным винтом и лобовым сотовым радиатором. Вооружение - 2 синхронных пулемета 7,69-мм "Виккерс" и спаренная установка пулеметов 7,62-мм "Льюис" на турели у стрелка. Самолет впервые взлетел в середине 1917 года, а с начала 1918-го стал поступать в войска, в том числе и в английские эскадрильи на Итальянском фронте, в Греции и на Ближнем Востоке.
   Во время интервенции несколько машин попали и в Россию. После войны эти двухместные истребители оставались на вооружении ВВС Британии и некоторых европейских государств.

В.Шавров История конструкций самолетов в СССР до 1938 г.

"Бристоль-Файтер" - двухместный истребитель и разведчик с двигателем "Испано-Сюиза" в 300 л. с., двухстоечный биплан, в котором фюзеляж находился над нижним крылом, не примыкая к нему. Выпущенный в 1918 г. этот самолет по летным данным мало уступал одноместным истребителям с тем же двигателем. Был приобретен в двух экземплярах для ознакомления, применялся в школах.


Самолет||"Бристоль-Файтер"
Год выпуска||1919
Двигатель , марка||"Испано-Сюиза"
   мощность, л. с.||300
Длина самолета, м||7,55
Размах крыла, м||11,9
Площадь крыла, м2||37,6
Масса пустого, кг||880
Масса топлива+ масла, кг||170+30
Масса полной нагрузки, кг||400
Полетная масса, кг||1280
Удельная нагрузка на крыло, кг/м2||34,1
Удельная нагрузка на мощность, кг/лс||4,3
Весовая отдача,%||31,3
Скорость максимальная у земли, км/ч||206
Скорость посадочная, км/ч||75
Время набора высоты||
   1000м, мин||3
   2000м, мин||6
   3000м, мин||10
   4000м, мин||14,5
Потолок практический, м||6200
Продолжительность полета, ч.||2,6
Дальность полета, км||480

C.Barnes Bristol Aircraft since 1910 (Putnam)

The Bristol Fighter F.2A and F.2B

   By March 1916 the Company had contracts for over 600 R.E. two-seaters of various types, and had delivered over 400; a further 550 B.E.2d and B.E.2e were to be produced before production of official designs ended in 1917. The shortcomings of the B.E. series and the requirements of the War Office for new designs were well known to Capt. Barnwell, and he held no high opinion of the R.E.5, the Royal Aircraft Factory's designated successor to the B.E.2e, so he set about producing a similar biplane having none of its defects. The result was the R.2A, which was laid out in March 1916 as a light two-seater powered by a 120 h.p. Beardmore engine, with the pilot in the front cockpit, with a synchronised Lewis gun on the starboard upper longeron, and an observer close to him in the rear cockpit, which contained dual controls, wireless, camera and message-launching tube. The observer could fold his seat and stand up to fire a single Lewis gun carried on a rotating ring mounting. To improve the observer's field of fire, the fuselage tapered to a very small cross-section aft, and more than a third of the fin and rudder area was below tailplane level. For the same reason, the fuselage was mounted high between the staggered wings, so that the observer could fire over the pilot's head at quite low elevations. The upper wing was thus placed so as to minimise the pilot's blind spot. The design was promising though underpowered, and it was hoped that a 150 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engine might be released later, so in May 1916 a modified design, R.2B, was sketched round this engine. This had wings of unequal span with a partial Warren girder lift bracing intended to simplify rigging in the field. Then in July Barnwell was offered one of the new 190 h.p. Rolls-Royce engines as well as the Hispano-Suiza, and he immediately redesigned the R.2A to suit both engines. He was not content to adapt what he had already drawn, but started afresh from the Rolls-Royce installation diagram, designing a new cowling and fuselage to accommodate all the R.2A's equipment in perfect harmony with the new fuel and oil tanks required; at the same time he incorporated the latest improvements in armament.
   He sent Frise on a fortnight's course on the Vickers gun at Hythe, with instructions to find out all about it. Frise returned with the information and a complete Vickers gun as well. Various positions for it were tried, but in the end Barnwell decided that only a mounting on the centre line would be satisfactory, with the cocking handle immediately in front of the pilot, so that jams could be readily cleared. This involved making a tunnel through the upper fuel tank, but this complication had the advantage of keeping the gun in the warm air behind the engine, free from stoppages from frozen oil. The tail unit was redesigned and the top of the fuselage cambered to a horizontal knife-edge stern, thus reducing still more the observer's blind area. The rear cockpit arrangement was also revised, and the observer's tip-up seat was mounted to slide fore-and-aft so that he could sit facing either way. This gave him a better look-out while using his wireless and placed him within arm's reach of the pilot to give him instant warning of attack by a thump on the shoulder. An important innovation was the adjustable tailplane, whose incidence could be varied to give stable' hands-off' flying over a wide range of speeds. The dual control was removed, but a small emergency lever could be plugged into a socket for elevator control, and there were hand-grips on the rudder cables, which enabled the observer to minimise the effect of a crash landing with a dead or unconscious pilot. The new design was renamed F.2A to mark its ability as a fighter, and 'Bristol Fighter' was the name universally bestowed on it from the start. The Company was instructed to proceed at once with two prototypes, one with the Rolls-Royce engine and the other with the Hispano-Suiza. On 28 August 1916 a contract was awarded for the two prototypes and 50 production aircraft.
   Work commenced on the two prototypes during July, and the first, No. 1379 (A3303), was ready for flight on 9 September 1916; the second, No. 1380 (A3304), followed on 25 October. The first flight was eagerly awaited by everyone in the factory, and there was dismay when Capt. Hooper reported that he was unable to climb higher than 6,000 ft. Rigging was checked but small alterations of incidence and stagger had no effect, and finally Capt. Barnwell sent for his brother Harold, Vickers' chief test pilot, who in turn reported a maximum altitude of 6,000 ft., although he felt certain he had climbed very much higher. Then the penny dropped, the altimeter was changed and the fault was found. In fact, the F.2A had climbed to 10,000 ft. in 15 min. A3303 was flown to Upavon on 21 September, and in its official trials exceeded its estimated performance by a handsome margin. Originally, the Rolls-Royce installation had two separate radiators mounted vertically on either side of the fuselage just ahead of the wings. This arrangement obscured the pilot's view for landing, and a new circular radiator was designed to fit into the nose, equipped with shutters in front; a similar radiator, but with shutters behind, was installed on the second prototype. As further Hispano-Suiza engines were not immediately available, Rolls-Royce engines were standardised for production aircraft, and in November the contract was amended to call for 200 more of an improved model, the F.2B. In accordance with A.I.D. recommendations the gap in the lower wing was filled by a lower centre section, and the upper longerons forward of the pilot's cockpit were sloped down so as to improve the view. All production Bristol Fighters had raked wing tips instead of the B.E. shape chosen for the two prototypes. Production aircraft numbered 1431-1480 (A3305-A3359) for the 50 F.2A's and 2069-2268 (A7101-A7300) for the 200 F.2B's were assembled at Brislington, because Filton works were full of B.E.'s and deliveries began on 20 December 1916; six left the factory before the year ended, and the fiftieth was dispatched on 23 March 1917.
   The second prototype, A3304, was modified to incorporate the F.2B's lower centreplane and sloping longerons, and these were approved for production; deliveries of the 200 F.2B's began on 13 April, but before this the first squadron of F.2A's had gone into action over Arras. Deliveries of Bristol Fighters had begun early in the year to experimental stations, where they were intensively flown in mock battle by pilots with front line experience. Their reports were enthusiastic, and two squadrons were formed and trained for the spring offensive of 1917. The first squadron, No. 48, received F.2A's in February and arrived in France on 8 March, but was held back from action in order to achieve the maximum surprise effect. Early in April the squadron was based at Bellevue, near Arras, under the command of Major A. Vere Bettington. As a result of numerous applications from experienced pilots and observers, weary of the odds against them and eager to fly the Bristol Fighter, No. 48 Squadron contained the cream of the R.F.C. and numbered more than one V.C. amongst its crews. All were convinced that the Bristol Fighter would prove fast and manreuvrable enough to outfly the notorious Albatros D.III's used in formations or 'circuses' by Baron von Richthofen to establish local air superiority.
   On 5 April 1917 the first offensive reconnaissance over Arras was made by six F.2A's led by Capt. Leefe Robinson, V.C. They were met near Douai by Richthofen with five Albatros and attempted to fight back in the orthodox two-seater manner, with the pilots manreuvring to give their gunners a good field of fire, but four Fighters were shot down, two by Richthofen personally, and Leefe Robinson was taken prisoner. Six days later, four Fighters were attacked by four Albatros and shot down two of the latter without loss, but later in the patrol one had to return to Bellevue with a jammed gun and the other three were shot down by four more Albatros. On 16 April six more of No. 48 Squadron's machines patrolled over Douai for over half an hour without meeting any enemy, which beguiled the formation leader into straying too far downwind, so that five ran out of fuel while still over the enemy lines. All but one were burned by their crews to avoid capture, and this sequence of losses was a disastrous debut for the new Fighter, from which so much had been expected. Some of the pilots then began to fly the Fighters as if they were single-seaters, using the front gun for the main attack and the observer's only as secondary rear cover. Immediate and striking success resulted from this change of tactics, and on 30 April a patrol of six F.2A's fought their way home from Douai without loss. The tip was passed on to the second Bristol Fighter Squadron, No. 11, which had just re-equipped after flying Vickers Gunbus pushers.
   No. 11 Squadron went into the line in May and for some weeks performed photographic reconnaissance without interference from the enemy. On 20 June 1917, the first attack by an Albatros was made on one of No. 11's Fighters, flown by Lt. A. E. McKeever with Sergt. Powell as observer, McKeever held his fire until his attacker crossed his sights at close range, when a short burst from the front gun proved decisive. He repeated the performance the next day and within a week had scored four victories. In September he met eight enemy fighters, shot down one and disabled five others, for which he was awarded the Military Cross. By the end of October he had destroyed 20 enemy aircraft and had won a bar to his M.C. On 30 November, returning from a long patrol into enemy territory, he was attacked by seven Albatros and two two-seaters. He shot down one of the latter and in the melee that followed three of the single-seaters were destroyed, two by Powell with the rear gun. This final demonstration of prowess not only gained McKeever a D.S.O., but proved the magnificent fighting ability of the Bristol Fighter, when handled by a determined crew, and similar feats by many other pilots soon avenged the early casualties suffered by No. 48 Squadron.
   Both Nos. 48 and 11 Squadrons had received F.2B's as soon as they became available, and the production contract was twice revised until by July the quantity on order was 602. Capt. Hammond tested the first F.2B, A7101, on 10 April 1917, three days before its despatch to the Acceptance Park. Of this batch, the first 150 were fitted with the 190 h.p. Rolls-Royce engine, now named Falcon I, and 50 with the 220 h.p. Falcon II. Later the first 275 h.p. Falcon III was installed in A7177, and this engine was standardised for future production, as long as supplies lasted. With the extra performance the Falcon III provided, the Bristol Fighter was one of the really great aeroplanes of 1917 and 1918. In a letter to Capt. Louis Strange after his posting to the Central Flying School, Major Vere Bettington, C.O. of No. 48 Squadron, wrote from France on 13 May 1917:
   "Regarding the Bristol, she is a topping fighting two-seater, the best here; not excepting the D.H. as she is much handier than that and communication between pilot and passenger in the Bristol is splendid whereas D.H.4 is not.... She is faster than the Hun two-seater but cannot touch the latest Albatros Scout for speed. Where she does score tremendously is in her power to dive, in this she is alone among English or Allied machines. Many Huns who have dived on the tail of one, missed and gone on diving, have been dived after, overtaken and destroyed. They are dived plumb vertically for thousands of feet until the noise is like that of a million sabres cleaving the air. The indicated speed on a Clift or Ogilvie Indicator is then generally 60 to 90 m.p.h. the second time round the dial. The indicator reads normally to 130 m.p.h. then a space so probably the speed is considerably over 230 m.p.h.... She loops well ... she will do a fine spinning nose dive (if held in but will come out soon if left alone).... She stands an enormous amount of punishment in the way of being shot about and several have been very hard hit and come home, to be written off charge as beyond repair.... The Norman sight for the Lewis seems to be awfully good; observers have done well with it and many a Boche diving on the tail of a Bristol possibly mistaking it for a wretched Quirk (B.E.) has been badly stung; up to now observers have got about as many Huns as the pilots have done with their front guns."
   Production of the F.2B at Filton began with Nos. 2269-2518 (B1101-B1350), which were delivered between 18 July 1917 and 18 February 1918, while Brislington continued with Nos. 2851-2950 (C4801-C4900) delivered concurrently between 17 October 1917 and 2 March 1918. The B.E.2e line at Filton ended at last, and in July 1917 the War Office adopted the Bristol Fighter for the re-equipment of all fighter-reconnaissance squadrons; a second production line began at Filton with a contract for 500 placed on 4 September covering Nos. 2951-3450 (C4601-C4800) and (C751-C1050) delivered between 30 November 1917 and 28 May 1918. This was increased in October by a further 300 shared by both factories, Nos. 3451-3750 (C7801-C8100), which were delivered between 29 March and 11 July 1918. But the Bristol factories were already working to their limit and still more drastic steps were needed to accelerate production, large contracts being let from November onwards to firms outside the aircraft industry; these firms included Angus Sanderson and Armstrong-Whitworth, both of Newcastle-on-Tyne; Austin Motors and Harris & Sheldon of Birmingham; the Gloucestershire Aircraft Co. of Cheltenham; Marshall and Sons of Gainsborough; National Aircraft Factory No.3 (managed by Cunard) at Aintree; and the Standard Motor Co. of Coventry. Each of these undertakings received orders for between 100 and 500 airframes, the total number being nearly 2,000.
   Soon it was obvious that Rolls-Royce Falcons could not be produced fast enough for all the Bristol Fighters ordered, and the first alternative sought was the Hispano-Suiza, of which the 200 h.p. geared version was being produced by the French motor industry and in England also by Wolseley Motors. As the power was less than that of the Falcon III, Fighters with the latter engine were reserved for fighter-reconnaissance squadrons and those with alternative engines were to be issued to corps-reconnaissance units. As there would still not be enough Hispano-Suizas to meet the whole programme, because of the concurrent adoption of the S.E.5a Scout which used only this engine, a second alternative engine, the 200 h.p. Sunbeam Arab, was chosen; at Filton, Arabs were specified for 300 Fighters, C751-C1050. Unfortunately all these engines had been rushed into production before being fully developed and suffered severely from 'teething troubles'. Wolseley-built Hispanos averaged only 4 hours' life before crankshaft failure; Brasier-built Hispanos were no better, and although those built by Mayen were more reliable, all these were taken for the S.E.5a programme. Only 80 out of a promised 1,800 Sunbeam Arabs had been accepted by the end of 1917, because of severe vibration, and even these gave endless trouble when installed. It was then hoped to use a larger Hispano-Suiza of 300 h.p. which, having direct drive, was immune from reduction gear trouble, and the Sunbeam Arab installation was modified to accommodate it, but this too was delayed in production.
   The effect of these cumulative troubles and delays was to postpone the changeover from R.E.8's to Bristol Fighters from April 1918 till September, and large numbers of F.2B airframes delivered early in the year remained in storage and did not reach France in time to take any active part in the fighting, apart from Bristol-built Rolls-Royce machines. At the Armistice, the Royal Air Force had on charge about 900 of the latter and 720 with other engines, out of a total of 1,349 from Filton, 853 from Brislington and 1,600 from other contractors.
   When supplies of both types of Hispano-Suiza failed, it was decided to substitute the Siddeley Puma of 240 h.p., but as this was a six-cylinder vertical engine it was difficult to install, and in particular the front gun had to be moved from its successful central position. Even the Puma was delayed in delivery, due to foundry difficulties. In the summer of 1918 the direct-drive 300 h. p. Hispano-Suiza at last became available, and this proved to be entirely reliable, but deliveries had hardly commenced before the war ended. It was the original Falcon-engined version which never failed in production and proved invincible in action. It equipped six squadrons in France, one in Italy, two in Palestine and five for home defence. The Arab-engined version also rendered valuable service with five long-range corps-reconnaissance flights in France.
   In the great German offensive of March 1918, the Bristol Fighter squadrons in France took a major part in strafing the advancing enemy infantry, flying almost at ground level with guns blazing and blasting enemy batteries with 20 lb. Cooper and 112 lb. Hale bombs in support of the hard-pressed Third and Fifth Armies. Nothing came amiss to the Bristol Fighter. In the arid wastes of the Palestine desert, No. 67 (Australian) Squadron gained superiority over the enemy air forces in October 1917 with the arrival of five F.2B's, for the first time since the campaign began. The Australian pilot Capt. Ross Smith and his observer Lt. E. A. Mustar flew the same Bristol Fighter, B1229, throughout the campaign, during which time they destroyed 17 enemy aircraft between them and twice rescued the crews of other stranded machines.
   On the home front daylight raids by Gotha bombers caused heavy civilian casualties and at first met little opposition, but on 7 July 1917 an attempt was made by Home Defence units to intercept the raiders. The only aircraft to get within range was a Bristol Fighter, and later the type was chosen to reequip three H.D. squadrons; they were equipped with a sight set to face forward at an elevation of 45 degrees from the pilot's eye. The rear gunner fired over the pilot's head at the same elevation while the pilot aimed the aircraft, and at 100 m.p.h. the trajectory remained straight for 800 yards. Rolls-Royce-engined fighters equipped the Home Defence squadrons and were painted matt dull green, with all white stripes and rings in the insignia obscured.
   Although the Falcon installation varied only in minor detail during the entire period of production, there were several changes in external appearance when alternative engines were used. The 200 h.p. Hispano-Suiza employed a nearly circular radiator slightly taller than wide, and its oil tank was mounted externally beneath the cowling. The Sunbeam Arab at first had a similar radiator of larger area and more nearly rectangular, but the simple tubular engine mounting was found to be too flexible for this very rough-running engine and a deep braced girder had to be substituted making the bottom line of the cowling square and horizontal; this mounting was combined with an S.E.5a radiator for a time, but had to be increased in area for the 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza, raising the top cowling to pent-roof shape. Finally an improved mounting and radiator was designed to accommodate either the Sunbeam Arab or the 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza, and this pattern was standardized for 1918 production. The Puma installation, designed at Farnborough, resembled that of the D.H.9, with a similar underslung radiator. Some late Falcon installations had enlarged radiators with a squarer shape, and a few Fighters had the aircooled R.A.F.4d engine; most of these were flown for test purposes at Farnborough.
   When the United States entered the war in 1917 the Bristol Fighter was among the British types proposed for large-scale production in America; 2000 were ordered first from the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation of Buffalo, N.Y., and later from a group of other firms to be supervised by the Engineering Division of the Bureau of Aircraft Production at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio; all were originally to be fitted with the 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza, licence-built by the Wright-Martin Corporation. These plans met with approval from the Company, and several of the Filton staff went to America to supervise the arrangements, taking with them two sample airframes. To their dismay, they found that the engine actually chosen was the 400 h.p. Liberty 12, which was too heavy and badly installed. Capt. Barnwell predicted trouble but was overruled; when the first Curtiss-built F.2B flew and crashed he was proved correct, but the U.S. Army blamed the aircraft rather than the power plant, and only 27 of the contract were built, the rest being cancelled. Technical opinion at McCook Field was less biased and the two Filton-built aircraft were flown, one (P 30) with a 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza and the other (P 37) with a 290 h.p. Liberty 8. P 37 crashed before any performance tests could be made, but on 18 November 1918 P 30 was flown by Major Schroeder to a height of 29,000 ft. above Dayton, an unofficial world's altitude record for which homologation was never sought. A Hispano-Suiza-engined F.2B variant with semi-monocoque veneer fuselage was built at McCook Field with the designation XB-1A