C.Barnes Bristol Aircraft since 1910 (Putnam)
The Bristol F .2C and Badger
The designation F.2C was first applied in February 1917 to a proposed variant of the Falcon-engined Bristol F.2B Fighter having improved landing gear, tail unit and engine installation. As these affected interchangeability and jigs had already been designed for large production, this variant was abandoned in March 1917 and the designation was revived in October for a new two-seater fighter-reconnaissance biplane designed for rapid production. It was severe in outline with unstaggered two-bay wings of equal span and small gap, and the pilot and observer were placed close together and high up so as to have the best possible view for fighting. The pilot's seat was below the centre section, which had a circular hole in it for the pilot's head. Armament comprised a pair of synchronised Vickers guns forward of the pilot firing through the airscrew and two separate pillar-mounted Lewis guns for the observer, one forward and one aft.
The engine proposed was a nine-cylinder Salmson water-cooled radial of 260 h.p. with tall rectangular radiators on each side of the flat-flanked fuselage in line with the pilot's position. At the end of November it was evident that the Salmson engine would not be available and the design was revised, with wings of reduced area, to suit the Bentley B.R.2 rotary of 230 h.p. Neither of these layouts met with official approval because the engines selected were not powerful enough to permit overloads to be carried without performance penalties.
Barnwell realised that at least 300 h.p. was required to meet the specification, and in April 1918 he submitted a new design based on the 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly air-cooled radial. This was a single-bay staggered biplane of unequal span and clean appearance, having many features derived from the Scout F. A fuselage mock-up was built and the layout of guns, camera, wireless and other equipment was agreed with specialist R.A.F. officers. Detail design went ahead, but no prototypes were ordered until September. By this time the Dragonfly engine had shown itself to be no more reliable than the Sunbeam Arab and was achieving an average life of only 17 hours before crankshaft failure occurred.
Meanwhile Fedden and Butler of Brazil Straker had designed a new nine-cylinder radial engine of 400 h.p. called the Cosmos Jupiter. The contract for three prototypes of the F.2C, officially named Badger, allowed the second machine to be fitted with a Jupiter for comparison with the other two which were to have Dragonflies. Six weeks later the war ended and all production contracts were terminated, but experimental contracts were kept in being and the first two Badgers, Nos. 4254 and 4255 (F3495 and F3496), were completed. The first, with a Dragonfly, suffered engine failure from an airlock in the fuel system on its first take-off on 4 February and Uwins made a crash landing in which the landing gear and engine mounting were destroyed. It was repaired with a more pointed cowling and a larger rudder, and delivered to the Air Board on 15 February 1919. The Jupiter engine was late completing its bench tests, and the second Badger did not fly until 24 May 1919. Barnwell shared Fedden's faith in the Jupiter as a promising civil aero-engine and gave him every assistance in installing it in the Badger, which was flown without armament, with the rear cockpit partly enclosed. No engine trouble occurred in the early flight tests, but the lateral control of the Badger was not satisfactory and so the third prototype, No. 4256 (F3497) was cancelled before delivery. The second Badger was formally purchased by the Air Board on 5 September, after having had a Dragonfly engine substituted for the Jupiter, with full armament and equipment installed; a fixed fin, added to improve handling with the heavier Jupiter engine and airscrew, was retained. When the Badger had been designed and before construction was completed, Barnwell had sent a 1/10th scale model for test in the N.P.L. wind-tunnel, to confirm the aerodynamic design; he was therefore concerned that the tunnel tests had given no warning of the lateral control deficiencies which appeared in full-scale flying. He had already emphasised the importance of the Company's having its own wind-tunnel and in March he and Frise designed a simple rectangular fuselage of spruce and plywood in which was installed a 240 h.p. Siddeley Puma engine bought very cheaply from the Disposal Board. To this were attached a spare set of Badger wings, tail surfaces and landing gear, and the result was a single-seat laboratory biplane whose flying qualities could be directly compared with wind-tunnel tests on a model. Known at first as the Badger Experimental, soon shortened to Badger X, this machine, No. 5658, cost only ?250 to build and was the first Bristol aeroplane to be entered on the British Civil Register, with the mark K110, which was revised to G-EABU on 30 May 1919. By that date it had already been written off, for, although Uwins made a successful first flight on 13 May, Barnwell himself nosed it over on 22 May and had to be released by onlookers from the safety harness in which he hung, helpless and cursing, upside down. He was uninjured and the aeroplane was not beyond economic repair, but the Directors decided not to go to the expense of doing so in a machine which could not easily be developed into a commercial two-seater. Barnwell himself had hoped to use the Badger X as a runabout and it was nicknamed 'Barnwell's Week-ender', though whether this referred to its proposed use or the extreme shortness of its design time is not certain.
The Air Board were sufficiently impressed with the Jupiter's performance to order a fourth Badger equipped to full military standard. This was No. 5657(J6492) and was named Badger II. As at first built it had the same rudder as F3496, but this was replaced by a horn-balanced unit in conjunction with redesigned wings featuring large-area ailerons with 'park-bench' balances designed by Frise. Unknown to him, an exactly similar device had just been patented by A. V. Roe and Co. Ltd., who wrote to the Company pointing out the infringement; the matter was settled amicably and Frise then sought an alternative method of aerodynamic balancing, which later became world-famous as the Frise aileron, for which royalties were paid for fifteen years by many other manufacturers, including A. V. Roe and Co. The Badger II was formally purchased by the Air Council on 11 March 1920 and loaned to the Company thereafter for development testing of the Jupiter engine, of which the Company acquired the whole design and manufacturing organisation in July 1920. Several different engine cowlings were tested on the Badger II, the last being a polygonal type designed for the Handley Page 0/10 installation in July 1921.
SPECIFICATIONS AND DATA
Type: F.2C and Badger
Manufacturers: The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co. Ltd., Filton, Bristol
Type F.2C F.2C Badger I Badger II Badger X
Power Plant 260 hp 230 hp 320 hp 400 hp 230 hp
Salmson B.R.2 A.B.C. Cosmos Siddeley
Dragonfly Ia Jupiter I Puma
Span 36 ft 5 in 31 ft 5 in 36 ft 9 in 36 ft 9 in 34 ft 2 in
Length 23 ft 8 in 23 ft 7 in 23 ft 8 in 23 ft 8 in 24 ft
Height 6 ft 8 ft 9 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft
Wing Area 408 sq ft 348 sq ft 357 sq ft 357 sq ft 340 sq ft
Empty Weight - - 1,950 lb 1,950 lb -
All-up Weight - - 3,150 lb 3,150 lb -
Max. Speed - - 135 mph 142 mph -
Service Ceiling - - 19,000 ft 20,600 ft -
Accommodation 2 2 2 2 Pilot only
Production nil nil 3 1 1
Sequence Nos. nil nil 4294-4296 5657 5658
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P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
As the War’s last days drew nearer Bristol’s F. S. Barnwell proceeded with his design for a two-seat fighter to take over from the F.2B. His first approach to a successor was started in November, 1917, as the F.2C with three alternative engines - the 230 h.p. Bentley B.R.2 rotary, the 260 h.p. Salmson radial and, finally, the 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly 1 - considered as the power unit. The Dragonfly was selected for the Badger Mk.I, as the F.2C was eventually named, and the prototype, F3495, was taken into the air for the first time on 4th February, 1919, by Capt. C. F. Uwins but crashed when the engine stopped suddenly owing to the failure of the petrol supply. The second Badger constructed, designated Mk.II, used the 450 h.p. Cosmos Jupiter radial with its greater power and reliability. The Badger was characterized by its single-bay, staggered, sweptback wings with their N-style interplane struts, and was armed with twin Vickers guns for the pilot and a Lewis for the observer. Three prototypes were built but no production ensued.
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F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
Bristol Badger
The Bristol designation F.2C came to be used, after the appearance in service of the famous F.2B Fighter in 1917, for a proposed replacement, the design of which began in November that year. Originally this project was intended to be fitted with either a Bentley B.R.2 rotary engine or a 260hp Salmson water-cooled radial engine.
The promise held out by the powerful new ABC Dragonfly, however, attracted the attention of Frank Barnwell, who then embarked on an entirely new design with this engine - though still retaining the F.2C designation.
Named the Type 23 Badger (to conform to Technical Department Instruction No 538 of 1918 which required multi-seat fighters to be named after mammals), the new aircraft was a two-seat, single-bay, staggered biplane of fabric-covered, wooden box-girder construction, with the N-type interplane struts which had been a feature of the Bristol Scout F. Ailerons were fitted to the upper wing only and - again reverting to the Scouts - no fixed tail fin was included.
Three prototypes, F3495-F3497, were ordered on 14 May but, in view’ of troubles and delays being experienced with the Dragonfly engine, design work continued slowly during 1918. Ironically, the first prototype was damaged in a crash landing during take-off for its first flight on 4 February 1919, the accident being caused by an air lock in the fuel feed. The pilot, Cyril Uwins, was unhurt.
This aircraft, the Badger Mk I, was repaired and given an improved, more pointed engine cowling, and the opportunity was taken to fit a slightly enlarged rudder. The work only occupied ten days, and F3495 was handed over to the Air Board on 15 February; it subsequently underwent prolonged performance and handling trials at Martlesham Heath, remaining there until September 1920.
Meanwhile the second prototype, the Badger Mk II F3496, had been scheduled for the 400hp Cosmos Jupiter I nine-cylinder radial engine, but the bench tests delayed delivery so that its first flight was not accomplished until 24 May 1919. Production of the Jupiter, which would have recovered the heavy cost of development for its manufacturers, had been cancelled after the Armistice, foreshadowing virtual ruin for Cosmos Engineering Co Ltd. Believing that the Jupiter engine held considerable promise, the British & Colonial Aeroplane company began negotiating the acquisition of all assets of the Cosmos company - under some pressure from the British Government. A preliminary order was then placed for six experimental engines for test purposes, two of these being intended for flight in the Badger.
No trouble was experienced with the Jupiter in F3496 during trials. The aircraft, however, had been criticised on account of inadequate lateral and directional control, and it was decided to fit a conventional fixed fin. This prototype was handed over to Air Ministry charge in June and was delivered to Martlesham in October, but is believed to have crashed the same month after being fitted with a Dragonfly IA engine...
Owing to the handling deficiencies of the second Badger, the third of the original prototypes was delayed pending wind-tunnel tests, and was first flown in February 1920. Another Badger had been completed in 1919 for aerodynamic tests, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Puma engine, but in fact only the wings and undercarriage were of Badger design. Locally referred to as the Badger X (for experimental) the aircraft was entered on the Civil Register as K110, but had already crashed on 22 May that year.
If one accepts that this was indeed the fourth Badger, a fifth had been designed to conform to RAF Type II Specification of 1918 - later re-designated the D of R Type II. A single prototype, J6492, was ordered on 19 November 1918 as a Badger Mk II, to be powered by a 500hp Cosmos Jupiter II. This aeroplane featured new control surfaces including a horn-balanced rudder integral with the outline of the fin, and ailerons with ‘park-bench’ balances; the latter, designed by Leslie Frise (Barnwell’s assistant), were in effect a combination of aerodynamic and mass balances, strut-mounted on but angled forward of the control surface. They were to be developed later into the patented Frise balanced ailerons.
J6492 was flown in March 1920 and taken on charge by the Air Ministry immediately. It was straightway loaned to its manufacturer to continue flight testing of the Jupiter engine, paying several visits to Martlesham Heath and Farnborough before being struck off charge at the RAE in October 1923.
For all its delays and setbacks, the Badger was an important aircraft, and the work it did provided a great amount of data which enabled the Air Ministry to begin drafting realistic fighter requirements from 1922 onwards. The Jupiter, whose development and progressive improvement continued for a further ten years (and remained in RAF service until the eve of the Second World War), may be seen as the first truly successful static radial replacement for the old rotary engine. The industry was fortunate indeed that Roy Fedden - the originator of the Cosmos Jupiter - remained as Chief Engineer with the Bristol engine company for the next 22 years.
Type: Single-engine, two-seat, single-bay experimental biplane fighter.
Manufacturer: The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co Ltd, Filton, Bristol (later The Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd.)
Air Ministry Specification: RAF Type II (later D of R Type II).
Powerplant: Badger Mk I. One 320hp A.B.C. Dragonfly I. Badger Mk II. 450hp Cosmos Jupiter I; 500hp Cosmos Jupiter II.
Dimensions: Span, 36ft 9in; length, 23ft 8in; height, 9ft 1in; wing area, 357.2 sq ft.
Weights: Tare, 1,948lb; all-up, 3,152lb.
Performance: Max speed, 135 mph at sea level (Mk II, 142 mph at sea level); climb to 10,000ft, 11 min 0 sec; service ceiling, 20,600ft.
Armament: Two synchronized 0.303in Vickers machine guns in nose, and one Lewis gun with Scarff ring on rear cockpit.
Prototypes: Four ordered, F3495-F3497 (Mk I, F3495, first flown 4 February 1919; Mk II, F3496, 24 May 1919); J6492 (flown in March 1920). No production.
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W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters
BRISTOL F.2C BADGER UK
Intended as a successor to the F.2B two-seat fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, the F.2C Badger was designed for the 320 hp ABC Dragonfly I nine-cylinder radial, three prototypes being ordered. Armament comprised two fixed 0.303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers machine guns and a 0.303-in (7,7-mm) Lewis gun mounted on a Scarff ring in the rear cockpit. The first prototype suffered a crash landing as a result of an engine failure during its first take-off on 4 February 1919, but was subsequently rebuilt and flown. The second prototype was completed with a nine-cylinder Cosmos Jupiter of 450 hp and flew on 24 May 1919, but later had a Dragonfly substituted for the Jupiter. A third aircraft was completed as the Badger II with a Cosmos Jupiter engine and redesigned wings, this being re-engined in 1921 with a 385 hp Jupiter II (this power plant having meanwhile been taken over by Bristol) and subsequently being used primarily for engine development purposes. The following data relate to the Dragonfly-engined Badger.
Max speed, 135 mph (217 km/h) at sea level, 129 mph (207 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3 050m).
Time to 10,000 ft (3 050 m), 11 min.
Empty weight, 1,948 lb (884 kg).
Loaded weight, 3,152 lb (1430 kg).
Span, 36 ft 9 in (11,20 m).
Length, 23 ft 8 in (7,21m).
Height, 9 ft 1 in (2,76 m).
Wing area, 357.2 sq ft (33,18 m2)).
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J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
Bristol F.2C, the Badger
DESPITE the great success achieved by the Bristol F.2B Fighter, Captain Barnwell was not content to rest upon his laurels. It had been realised that sooner or later a better aeroplane would be required as a replacement for the redoubtable Bristol Fighter and, to meet the new requirements, he began work on the design of a two-seat fighter, designated Bristol F.2C, in November, 1917.
The original design was for a biplane powered by either a 230 h.p. Bentley B.R.2 engine or a 260 h.p. Salmson water-cooled radial, and deliberately designed to be easily produced in large quantities. However, neither of these power units was sufficiently powerful to give the required performance, but early in 1918 it seemed that the new A.B.C. Dragonfly radial engine held out great promise of high power for low weight, and Captain Barnwell, like so many contemporary designers, decided to use it for his new two-seat fighter.
He produced a completely new design based on the Dragonfly, and it was this aeroplane which was built under the designation F.2C and named Badger. The initial order was for three prototypes numbered F.3495 - F.3497.
The first machine, Badger Mk. I, was built with the Dragonfly engine and appeared in two forms: at first without spinner and with a more or less hemispherical cowling over the front of the engine, and later with a small spinner, more pointed cowling, and modified rudder. The first Badger crashed on February 4th, 1919. An air-lock in the fuel-line caused engine failure, and the undercarriage and engine installation were destroyed when the machine struck the ground. The second Badger was fitted with the new 450 h.p. Cosmos Jupiter nine-cylinder radial engine, and had a re-designed vertical tail incorporating a fixed fin; it was named Badger Mk. II. The third prototype was not built.
Design of the Jupiter engine had begun early in 1918, almost immediately after Brazil, Straker & Co. had been renamed the Cosmos Engineering Co. As soon as the preliminary design was complete, A. H. R. Fedden submitted a sketch to the Air Board and in July, 1918, received an informal intimation of official interest in the proposed engine. By autumn, 1918, the Cosmos company were so convinced of the Jupiter’s superiority that they decided to concentrate on its development at the expense of the earlier Mercury engine. Designs were completed for two versions of the Jupiter: one was a direct-drive engine, the other had a planetary reduction gear.
Soon after the cancellation of the contract for the 200 Cosmos Mercuries, the Government placed an order for six Jupiters. The first direct-drive Jupiter had been completed in October, 1918, and made its first bench run shortly before the Armistice. Its air tests were carried out in the Badger Mk. II during 1919, and ultimately it became the first engine to pass the new (in 1920) official 50-hour type test. By then the cost of developing the Jupiter had broken the Cosmos company, whose assets and patents were taken over in August, 1920, by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, who had been strongly pressed to do so by the Government.
Despite early misgivings experienced by the Bristol company, the Jupiter was developed into an excellent power unit, and its development continued for many years.
It is as a flying test-bed for the Jupiter that the Badger is best remembered. Badger F.3496 was flown as a simple two-seater with the Scarff ring removed from the rear cockpit and the side apertures glazed over, but later another Jupiter-powered Badger was built under a separate contract. This was numbered J.6492, and was fully equipped as a two-seat fighter with twin Vickers guns for the pilot and a Scarff ring for the observer. At first the rudder on this machine was identical to that of F.3496, but a balanced rudder was later fitted. The ailerons on J.6492 were balanced by small superimposed aerofoils in the same fashion as those of the Avro Manchester. This last Badger had a variety of engine cowlings during its career.
SPECIFICATION
Manufacturers: The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co., Ltd., Filton, Bristol.
Power: Badger I: 320 h.p. A.B.C. Dragonfly I. Badger II: 450 h.p. Cosmos Jupiter.
Dimensions: Span: upper 36 ft 9 in., lower 31 ft 4 in. Length: 23 ft 8 in. Height: 9 ft 1 in. Chord: upper 6 ft 2 in., lower 5 ft 6 in. Dihedral: 2°.
Areas: Wings: 357-2 sq ft.
Weights and Performance: No. of Trial Report on Badger I: M.263. Date of Report: September, 1919. Type of airscrew used on trial: P.3086. Weight empty: 1,948 lb. Military load: 334 lb. Crew: 360 lb. Fuel and oil: 510 lb. Weight loaded: 3,152 lb. Performance (with Dragonfly engine): maximum speed at ground level: 135 m.p.h.; at 6,500 ft: 131 m.p.h.; at 10,000 ft: 129 m.p.h.; at 15,000 ft: 122 m.p.h. Climb to 6,500 ft: 6 min 20 sec; to 10,000 ft: 11 min; to 15,000 ft: 20 min 30 sec. Service ceiling: 20,600 ft. (With Jupiter engine) Maximum speed at ground level: 142 m.p.h.
Armament: Two fixed forward-firing Vickers machine-guns, synchronised to fire through the revolving airscrew; and one Lewis machine-gun on Scarff ring-mounting on the rear cockpit.
Production: Three Badgers were built.
Serial Numbers: F.3495-F.3497: ordered under Contract No. 35A/1122/C.994. (F.3497 was not built.) J.6492: ordered under Contract No. 35A/3312/C.3844.
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H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)
Badger. Like its rivals in the contemporary (1918) two-seat fighter/reconnaissance category, the Westland Weasel and Austin Greyhound, the Badger had two fixed Vickers guns, mounted much as on the Scout F, and one Lewis gun on a Scarff ring-mounting. This mounting was over a cockpit with cutaway sides to improve the gunner's view. The scheme was later reproduced in. (e.g.), the Supermarine Seamew. Brackets for the ring-and-bead and Aldis sights were attached to the upper wing.
Makers' figures for the Jupiter-engined version, which, at one stage at least, had the full complement of guns mentioned, included 170 lb for 'ammunition, bombs etc', but this figure would easily be accounted for by the three guns with a normal supply of ammunition. Mention of two guns in another makers' document suggests that one of the Vickers guns was, or would be, deleted in the event of bombs being carried.
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A.Jackson British Civil Aircraft since 1919 vol.1 (Putnam)
BRISTOL BADGER X
The Badger X (pronounced Exe, not Ten) was also known as ‘Captain Barnwell’s Weekender’. One aircraft only: powered by one 240-h.p. Siddeley Puma, built at Filton 1919 with the wings and tail unit of the Badger Mk. 1 fighter F3497, and a flat sided plywood single-seat fuselage. This machine, K-110/G-EABU, c/n 5658, flew only a few times, first on 13.5.19. Believed crashed 5.20.
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C.Owers British Aircraft of WWI. Vol.7: Experimental Fighters Part 3 (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 81)
The Bristol F.2C Badger
In October 1917 Frank Barnwell proposed a new two-seat fighter-reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Bristol F.2B Fighter. This was designated F.2C. The designation had been used earlier to denote a version of the Rolls-Royce Falcon F.2B having improved engine installation, landing gear and tail unit. As this would have meant a major redesign of jigs that were already in use for mass production, the idea was abandoned. This new aircraft had been designed for rapid production.
The proposed biplane had unstaggered two-bay wings with the pilot and gunner/observer close together and mounted high up to give them the best possible view. The pilot’s head projected through a hole in the centre-section of the upper wing. Twin synchronised Vickers guns were provided for the pilot and the gunner had two pillar-mounted Lewis guns, one forward and one facing aft. The proposed powerplant was the 260-hp Salmson nine-cylinder radial. By the end of November, it was evident that the Salmson engine would not be available and the design was revised to use the 230-hp Bentley B.R.2 rotary engine. Neither engine had the required power to permit overloads without loss of performance and were rejected.
The new A.B.C Dragonfly radial seemed to be the solution with its promise of 320-hp. Barnwell drew up a new design around this engine that he submitted in April 1918.
This emerged as a single bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span. Its clean appearance showed it had many features derived from the Scout F. Although a fuselage mock-up was built and the layout agreed with RAF officers, it was September 1918 before a contract was raised. By then the Dragonfly had shown its intractability and could only be run for some 17 hours before it broke a crankshaft.
The Badger was proposed for the RAF as:
Type IIIa Short distance fighter reconnaissance machine
Type IIIb Corps machine for artillery work.
Type IVb Long distance photographic machine.
It was in competition with the Austin Greyhound and Westland Weasel. By June it was decided that the Type IVb requirements should be met by twin-engine machines.
The following Reports of the Technical Department, Aircraft Production, Design Branch, give the following sequence of events relating to the construction of the Bristol design. (One additional report is inserted where it fits the chronological sequence as noted).
F/E 01.05.18. Bristol, Dragonfly. Contract for three machines. Design proceeding.
F/E 12.06.18. The mock-up has been inspected and will be ready for final inspection next week. Detail design proceeding.
F/E 26.06.18. Mock has been inspected and the modifications suggested have been carried out.
1st machine. Components of fuselage and planes well in hand. F/E 07.08.18. Mock has been inspected and the modifications suggested are been carried out.
1st machine. No. F3495. Components of fuselage and main planes well in hand.
F/E 21.08.18. Bristol Badger. (First use of the name).
1st machine. No. F3495. Fuselage being erected. Planes, tail unit and undercarriage components well in hand.
F/E 04.09.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Fuselage being erected and planes being assembled. Details of engine installation in hand.
F/E 18.09.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Fuselage erected in skeleton. Engine bearer plate has been fitted. Planes ready for assembly. Modifications to main plane structure for strength have been called for.
F/E 02.10.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Machine erected in skeleton. Controls and petrol tanks fitted. Engine bearer plate being fitted.
It has been arranged to fit the Jupiter engine in one of the remaining machines for flying trials of the engine.
F/E 16.10.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Fuselage erected in skeleton and is almost ready for covering.
As it has been arranged for a Jaguar engine to be fitted in one of these machines (Bristol Badger Mk. II) for air trials of the engine, a recommendation has been made that the contract be increased to cover 4 machines of this type.
W/E 26.10.18. Contract 35A/1122/C994 of 28.09.18 with British & Colonial, Mod No.35A/4653
Amend contract so as to increase the No. of experimental two-seat tractor aeroplanes to RAF Spec No.30 Br478 and 3B to be supplied from three to four. Three to be fitted with Dragonfly engines as specified in Contract and to be known as Bristol Badger M.1 and the fourth Aeroplane is to be fitted with Bristol Straker Juniper (sic) engine and be known as Bristol Badger Mark.2.
F/E 14.10.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Machine is completely erected in skeleton. Certain fittings are being modified and the armament components, which are complete, are now being fitted. When this is done the machine will be dismantled for covering.
(As it has been arranged to fit a Jaguar engine in one of these machines (Bristol Badger Mk.II) for air trials of the engine, a recommendation has been made that the contract be increased to cover 4 machines.)
F/E 13.11.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Machine is completely erected in skeleton. Controls being fitted and armament details are now being completed.
Design approved for production as regards strength.
F/E 27.11.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Machine is completely erected in skeleton and ready for covering. Engine controls and armament details complete.
F/E 11.12.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Centre section has been covered and erected. Remaining components being covered. Rear portion of engine cowling completed. Petrol system nearly complete.
Period to 31.12.18.
1st machine No. F3495. Engine has been delivered and machine is ready to commence flying trials as soon as engine installation is complete.
Month ending 31.01.19.
1st machine No. F3495. Machine practically ready for flying. Some slight modification to the petrol system is being effected.
As described in the chapter on the Scout F, the Cosmos Jupiter nine-cylinder 400-hp radial had become available. Bristol was given a contract for three prototypes, two to be powered by the Dragonfly and one with the Jupiter so that comparison testing could be made. The new aircraft was given the designation F.2C and the name Badger. Serials F3495 to F3497 were allocated to the machines. As the war ended soon thereafter all contracts were quickly terminated but experimental contracts were allowed to continue with the first two Badgers being completed.
The Badger was a good-looking aeroplane when first rolled out. It had a hemispherical cowling over the engine that left the cylinders exposed. A single bay biplane with swept-back wing panels, the crew were positioned close together, the pilot having the usual synchronised twin Vickers guns and a single Lewis gun for the observer/gunner mounted on a Scarff ring. This mounting was above the upper longerons and had cutaway sides to increase the field of vision of the observer/gunner. According to King a Bristol document indicated that one of the pilot’s guns could be removed when bombs were carried.
F3945 was taken for its first flight by Cyril Frank Uwins on 4 February 1919. Flt Lt Uwins was seconded from the RAF on 25 October 1918, to the Company as a test pilot, replacing New Zealander Capt Joseph J Hammond who had been killed at Indianapolis while with the British Aviation Mission to the USA. Hammond was on a war bond tour when he crashed his Bristol Fighter after entering a spin. Uwins was formally demobilised on 1 May 1919, and continued to be a test pilot for Bristols. The Badger was the first aircraft he was entirely responsible for. He was to make the first flight of 58 different types of aircraft and became the Chairman of Bristol Aircraft. He passed away on 11 September 1972, at Bath.
An airlock in the Dragonfly engine caused a forced landing of F3945 on 4 February 1919, in which the landing gear and engine mounting were destroyed. The machine was rebuilt with an improved engine installation with revised cowling to provide more cooling, and a slightly larger rudder but still without a fin, and delivered to the Air Board on 15 February. Although the Dragonfly engine’s problems were finally realised as serious, in September 1919 a Dragonfly powered Badger was undergoing official trials at Martlesham Heath.
It appears that F3945 was the only Badger to have the Dragonfly engine installed. Owing to the late delivery of the Jupiter engine F3946 did not fly until 24 May 1919, with Uwins as pilot and Barnwell in the observer’s seat. By June this machine was flown without armament and had the rear cockpit partly faired over. A large fin and plain rudder were fitted. Although engine testing was carried out without any trouble the lateral control of the Badger was not satisfactory and the third machine, F3497, was cancelled.
Barnwell was concerned that the wind tunnel tests of a 1/10 model of the Badger at the National Physics Laboratory had not predicted the lateral instability. He and Leslie Frise designed a slab sided simple aerodynamic flying test-bed using the wings, tail surfaces and landing gear from the cancelled Badger F3947, and a war-surplus 240-hp Siddeley Puma engine. This was initially known as the Badger Experimental, later the Badger X. Registered as K110, later G-EABU, but it had been written off by this date. Although Uwins made a successful flight on 13 May, Barnwell, never a good pilot, nosed it over on 22 May. Although it could be repaired, the Directors of the company decided not to.
After cancelling the project, the Air Board was impressed enough by the Badger’s performance to order a fourth example under Contract No. 35a/3312/C3844 of 9 November 1918.36 This was J6492, a Badger Mk. II. Originally built with the same rudder as F3496, it was fitted with a horn balanced rudder and park-bench balanced ailerons. Purchased by the government the machine was then loaned to the company for testing the Jupiter engine.
On Wednesday 15 June 1919, representatives of the press were invited by The Cosmos Engineering Co Ltd to inspect their works and watch a flight of the ungeared 450-hp Cosmos Jupiter Mk.I engine in the Bristol Badger. The Aeroplanes correspondent described how the engine started at the very first attempt, and the machine got away and flew well, very much as one would expect a machine designed by Capt. Barnwell, with 450 h.p. for a total weight of2,800 lbs., to fly.
Preliminary test figures were:
Engine revs on ground - 1,550 rpm
Average revs while climbing at 80 mph - 1,600 rpm
Climb to 2,000 ft - 1 min 4 sec
4,000 ft - 2 min 10 sec
6,000 ft - 2 min 33 sec
7,000 ft - 4 min 15 sec
The Aeroplane reported that the engine installation been modified somewhat, the machine guns removed and the passenger’s seat faired in, and the test results given above will doubtless be considerably improved upon.
J6942 appeared with a variety of engine cowlings, the last being that destined for us on the Handley-Page O/10 passenger liner.
An April 1920 Report gave the following:
1st machine F3495 at Martlesham under repair.
2nd machine J6492 (Jupiter) RAE undergoing repairs to engine.
3rd machine F3496 at Martlesham under repair.
F3495 was at the AEE from June 1919 to September 1920.
F3496 is reported to have crashed, possibly in October 1919.
J6492 was at the RAE from March 1920 to February 1921.
On 13 December 1921, J6492 was in flight from the RAE when the propeller suddenly burst, losing a large portion of one blade. The machine was fitted with Jupiter engine No.801/A/26466 at the time. The pilot reported as follows: -
I left the ground at 14.55 hours, intending to carry out a general test of the engine. I climbed the aeroplane at full throttle at 70 m.p.h. and reached 10.000 feet after 7 min. 15 secs. I continued the climb, with various throttle adjustments and testing the altitude control, to 11,000 feet where I shut off the engine and glided down to 8,000 feet.
After having thus cooled the engine I tested it to see if it would open up well, which it did without hesitation. Having warmed up the engine slightly, I started to fly level with full throttle to ascertain the full level speed at 8,000 feet. After about 10 seconds level flight (the revs, having reached just over 1600, and the airspeed having passed 105 m.p.h. and still increasing) one blade of the propeller came off at 15.11 hrs. After 16 mins, flight.
I immediately throttled down, switched off, and glided down to land. I landed at 15.23 hrs. After 28 mins, flight. The vibration of the engine before it could be stopped was exceptionally severe and seriously distorted the fore part of the machine, necessitating the removal of the engine.
After landing examination showed that the engine had moved back about 3/4 inch after the propeller had failed and then moved back to its near original position. This displacement was indicated by deep bruises in the bulkheads made by the ends of the induction pipes, that had distorted the engine back-plate, smashed the heads of several rivets and buckled the port bottom stay behind the backplate.
In February 1922 a report was made on modifications that were made to J6492. It had been found “during the inspection made after the propeller had burst in flight that the aeroplane had been passed out as airworthy in a condition that did not meet the requirements originally laid down by the Air Ministry.” The propeller had failed on the second flight the machine made at the R.A.E.
On examination it was found that the machine had spindled spars and not the solid spars required. As a new propeller had to be designed and made and new wing spars had to be fitted it was decided to make other modifications considered desirable while the opportunity presented.
These were:
The laminated and spindled spars were replaced by solid spars. While this increased the weight, the complete redesigning of the wings would have meant scrapping them with all their fittings.
The standard box-section compression ribs in all planes were replaced by solid ribs.
The internal bracing wires between the centre-section and the struts were increased in size from 4 B.A. to 2 B.A.
The pulleys on the lateral control cable on the bottom plane were insufficiently guarded. The ailerons were provided with variable gearing but the pulleys were not provided with any form of adjustment for different gear ratios. When the aircraft arrived at the R.A.E. the pulley brackets were set for one gear-ratio and the cable was attached to the aileron for another. New standard Bristol Fighter pulleys were fitted.
The RAF Peace Establishment - Type Machines table that was compiled by the Technical Department and issued on 25 November 1918, listed under the heading “Corps Reconnaissance, Fighter Reconnaissance, Night Reconnaissance,” the Bristol Badger along with the Westland Weasel and Austin Greyhound, all with Dragonfly engine as the recommended type to meet these three classes that were then held by the Bristol Fighter. The design was stated to be “Ready” and a competition would be held in February with a decision made by 1 March. Such competition was never held, all three machines remaining only prototypes. The Bristol F.2B continued in service through the 1920s performing the work required by the reduced RAF at home and abroad.
The Badger did perform experimentally and although unknown today, it deserves to be remembered for its pioneering work as an engine test-bed that helped to bring the Jupiter series of engines into series production. It was struck off charge in October 1923, presumably still at the RAE.
Bristol F.2C Badger Specifications
Source 1 1 1 1 1 2 3
Type F.2C F.2C Badger I Badger II Badger X Badger Badger II
Span 36 ft 5 in 31 ft 5 in 36 ft 9 in 36 ft 9 in 34 ft 2 in - -
Length 6 ft 8 ft 9 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft - -
Height 6 ft 8 ft 9 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft 1 in 9 ft - -
Wing Area, ft2 408 348 357 357 340 - -
Empty Wt, lbs - - 1,950 1,950 - - -
Loaded Wt, lbs - - 3,150 3,150 - 2,800 2,800
Speed Max - - 135 142 - - -
Spd at 7,000 ft - - - - - 137 -
Ceiling, ft - - 19,000 20,600 - - -
Climb to 2,000 ft - - - - - - 1 min 04
Climb to 4,000 ft - - - - - - 2 min 10
Climb to 6,000 ft - - - - - - 2 min 33
Climb to 7,000 ft - - - - - - 4 min 15
Engine 260 Salmson 230 B.R.2 Dragonfly Ia 400 Jupiter I 230 Puma Jupiter
Sources:
1. Barnes, C.H. Bristol Aircraft since 1910, Putnam, UK, 1964.
2 Flight, 26.12.1919. P.1652.
3. J.M. Bruce Data. RAF Museum J.M. Bruce Collection Box 26.
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